Case Introduction

        Mr. Nguyen was born in 1930, but his parents passed away early. He has four older brothers and one younger sister. Currently, the two daughters of Mr. Nguyen's second brother and his sister are still alive. In 2011, the elderly and helpless Mr. Ruan sought help from the village committee. Due to the good relationship between Mr. Liu and his family, as well as their good reputation in the village, with the coordination of the village committee, Mr. Liu agreed to support Mr. Ruan. Under the leadership of the village committee, the two signed the "Inheritance and Support Agreement", which stipulated that Mr. Liu would take care of Mr. Ruan and be responsible for his birth, care, and burial. Mr. Ruan would bequeath all his property, including his house located in the village, to Mr. Liu. The agreement states, "We guarantee to take good care of the deceased and ensure that the elderly can live their old age in peace. Before the death of the deceased, Mr. Nguyen, we will maintain the average standard of living in the entire village."

        In August 2017, Mr. Ruan's homestead was included in the demolition project, and the elderly person was granted 5 resettlement houses as a result. Subsequently, the elderly person followed Mr. Liu's family to move to other residential areas for rental housing. In 2023, witnessed by the village committee staff and lawyers, Mr. Ruan and Mr. Liu signed a supplementary "Inheritance and Support Agreement", which stipulated that Mr. Liu would take care of Mr. Ruan and be responsible for his birth, care, and burial. Mr. Ruan would also bequeath all his property, including five sets of relocation houses, to Mr. Liu. In October of that year, Grandpa Ruan passed away due to illness. Mr. Liu escorted the old man on his final journey and purchased a cemetery for him to handle the funeral arrangements.

       Mr. Liu believes that the inheritance and support agreement he signed with Mr. Nguyen is legal and valid. After the agreement came into effect, he took care of Mr. Nguyen as if he were a family member for twelve years, allowing him to feel the warmth and happiness of his family in his later years. He has fulfilled his obligation to support him through childbirth, upbringing, and burial as agreed. In order to accept the inheritance, Mr. Liu sued Mr. Ruan's sister and two nieces to the Shunyi Court, requesting the court to confirm the validity of the inheritance and support agreement and assist him in handling the transfer of property.

        The three defendants believe that it is necessary to confirm whether Mr. Ruan had the capacity to act when signing the inheritance and support agreement, whether it was signed by him himself, and whether there were any situations of coercion, inducement, or unreasonable demands during the signing process.

Court judgment

        The Shunyi Court, after trial, believes that the inheritance is the personal legal property left by a natural person at the time of their death. After the start of inheritance, it shall be handled in accordance with legal inheritance; If there is a will, it shall be handled according to the inheritance or legacy of the will; If there is a legacy support agreement, it shall be handled in accordance with the agreement. Due to the inheritance and support agreement signed between Mr. Ruan and Mr. Liu before his death, the part of the inheritance and support agreement that involves the gift of Mr. Ruan's legal property and Mr. Liu's obligation to bear birth, support, and death should be valid. The defendant believes that Mr. Nguyen was coerced or involuntarily involved in signing the inheritance and support agreement, but based on the overall evidence of the case, no such circumstances were found, and the defendant did not submit evidence to prove his claim. At the same time, when Mr. Liu took on the responsibility of supporting Mr. Nguyen, he did not anticipate that his mansion would be demolished, resulting in huge economic benefits. After the demolition, Mr. Nguyen still agreed to continue fulfilling the inheritance and support agreement with Mr. Liu. From this, it can also be seen that giving all of his property to Mr. Liu is Mr. Nguyen's true intention. Therefore, the court does not accept the defendant's defense opinion.

       Filial piety and respect for the elderly are traditional virtues of the Chinese nation and an important part of the socialist core values. Mr. Liu took the initiative to take on the responsibility of supporting Mr. Ruan when he was old and without anyone to take care of him. He lived with him for many years, took care of his daily life, and fulfilled the obligation of giving birth, raising, and burying him in the inheritance and support agreement, enabling Mr. Ruan to spend a happy and joyful old age. Mr. Liu's behavior of supporting lonely elderly people for more than ten years conforms to the socialist core values, and his behavior should be positively evaluated. He should inherit all of Mr. Ruan's property in accordance with the provisions of the inheritance and support agreement. The five houses involved in the lawsuit are the legitimate property of Mr. Ruan, and the evidence provided by Mr. Liu can also prove that he has fulfilled the corresponding obligations of giving birth, nurturing, and burying Mr. Ruan. Therefore, Mr. Liu should inherit them. In summary, the Shunyi Court ruled that all the rights and interests of the five houses involved in the lawsuit should be inherited by Mr. Liu. After the judgment was made, neither the plaintiff nor the defendant appealed, and the case has now taken effect.

Judicial interpretation

        Retirement, filial piety, and respect for the elderly are traditional virtues of the Chinese nation. Allowing the elderly to live a healthy and happy life in their old age, achieving a sense of security, support, happiness, and security in their old age, is also related to social harmony and stability. In the face of the challenges posed by China's aging population, achieving "elderly care" not only requires a sound policy system for elderly care, filial piety, and respect, but also requires citizens to consciously assume family responsibilities, establish a good family tradition of elderly care and respect, and cultivate a strong atmosphere of elderly care, respect, and assistance throughout society.

        The main purpose of the legacy and support agreement system stipulated by Chinese law is to ensure the livelihood of elderly people who do not have legal support obligations, or those who have legal support obligations but cannot actually fulfill their support obligations, as well as elderly people without independent living ability. In this case, Mr. Liu, a villager, took good care of Mr. Ruan when he fell ill, lost his ability to work, and had no one to take care of him. This demonstrated the social virtues of mutual assistance, respect for the elderly, and love for family. The people's court has confirmed the legal validity of the legacy and support agreement, fully affirming Mr. Liu's more than ten years of support behavior. Through the judicial judgment of the case, it has advocated the traditional Chinese virtues of respecting, respecting, loving, and helping the elderly throughout society.

        This article is reprinted from Shunyi Court, and we would like to express our gratitude.