Family: "She used fake witnesses to register the marriage, then transferred assets"
Caregiver: "There was no coercion" ...files countersuit, legal battle ahead
In Taiwan, it has come to light that a caregiver in her 60s secretly registered a marriage with a man over 100 years old without his family’s knowledge, leading to a legal dispute over his assets.
On the 5th (local time), Taiwanese media outlet ET Today reported on an incident that occurred on the 3rd at a hospital in Taichung.
At the time, a 68-year-old caregiver surnamed Lai arrived at the hospital with a 102-year-old man surnamed Wang in a wheelchair, while about 10 family members, including Wang’s son and his wife and grandson, also came to take Wang away. A confrontation broke out as both sides tried to take custody of Wang, which escalated into a physical altercation. Lai was reportedly injured in the process and received medical treatment at the hospital.
Wang’s eight children claimed that “Lai, who is a caregiver, secretly registered a marriage with our father and siphoned off his assets.” Wang had accumulated wealth in the past through his work as a real estate broker, and is said to currently own assets worth between 700 million and 800 million New Taiwan dollars (about 32.5 billion to 37.0 billion won), including land and buildings.
A caregiver looking after an elderly person. The photo is not directly related to this article. Pixabay
According to the children, Lai, who had cared for Wang for more than 10 years, completed the marriage registration with witnesses, then transferred assets worth about 200 million New Taiwan dollars (about 9.2 billion won) - including land, real estate, and insurance payouts - into her own and her children’s names. Unaware of this, the family applied to the court in November last year to have one of the siblings appointed as Wang’s legal guardian, and said they only discovered the marriage registration on the 5th of last month.
The children claimed that after that, when family members went to the family home, Lai blocked their access and cut off contact. They filed a police complaint accusing Lai of unlawful confinement, and after a heated dispute in front of the hospital, they were at least able to take Wang away.
The children also raised objections with the administrative authorities for processing the marriage registration of a very elderly man whose judgment they say had deteriorated. However, the official in charge explained, “Wang answered the relevant questions normally, so we approved the household registration.”
The children plan to file a lawsuit seeking annulment of the marriage. Lai, for her part, has countersued the family for assault, applied for a restraining order, and stated that she will argue in court that there was no coercion involved in the marriage.
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