"Providing for the aged with housing" is the guarantee way for many people to provide for the aged. The elderly will transfer their property to their children or relatives, and support them through property replacement. However, if the children do not perform their maintenance obligations after receiving the house property, or have agreed on the "right of residence" in advance, but the children have to sell the house, how can the rights and interests of the elderly be protected?
Sign a letter of commitment to settle down
The old man gave the house property to his daughter
Mrs. Zhang, who lives in Fangshan District, Beijing, is nearly seventy years old. She has only one house of about 100 square meters and only one daughter. In February 2021, she signed a Letter of Commitment with her daughter, Qin, stating that her mother, Zhang, volunteered to give her daughter, Qin, the house involved in the case in her name as a free gift, but reserved the right to live permanently in the house as a gift in her lifetime. My daughter Qin also made a solemn commitment.
The judge tells the case
Xiao Daming, Judge of Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court: After receiving the gift, Qin Mou (daughter) promised to do his mother's duty of life, death and burial, maintenance and good treatment, and to guarantee the mother's right to permanent residence in the house involved in the case.
At the end of the Letter of Commitment, both mother and daughter and two witnesses signed and pressed their fingerprints
At the end of the Letter of Commitment, both mother and daughter and two witnesses signed and pressed their fingerprints. Subsequently, the mother and her daughter signed a property "gift contract", and handled the property transfer formalities at the real estate registration center, but did not handle the residence registration.
The assistant judge said there was some conflict between mother and daughter
Li Zheng, Assistant Judge of Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court: After signing the letter of commitment and the gift contract, there were some contradictions between the mother and daughter. The mother found a wife. The daughter felt that the wife had influenced the old mother's will, so there might be some contradictions and estrangement between her and her mother.
Qin, his daughter, secretly sold the house behind his mother's back
Two months after the transfer of the house, the mother found that her daughter, Qin, was quietly selling the house behind her back, and had signed a house sales contract with the buyer through a real estate intermediary. In order to protect her pension and prevent the house from being sold, she went to the real estate registration center to register her objection to the house. As a direct result, her daughter failed to go through online signing and property transfer procedures with the buyer.
The mother took her daughter to court
Request to revoke the property grant
Before donating the house property, Mingming wrote in black and white that she wanted to protect her mother's permanent residence right in the house. Why would her daughter sell the house with her mother behind her back soon after the house was transferred? In her late 70s, Mrs. Zhang felt that once the only house was sold, her pension would be completely lost, so she sued her daughter to the court and asked to cancel the property donation contract.
Mrs. Zhang, the mother, sued her daughter to the People's Court of Fangshan District, Beijing, claiming that she had agreed to give the house to her daughter as a gift with obligations, and that her daughter should fulfill her maintenance obligations and protect her permanent residence rights in the house in question. The daughter did not perform the maintenance obligation to herself and sold the house involved in the case soon after the transfer, which violated the agreement of both parties.
Judges handle cases
After accepting the case, Beijing Fangshan Court found that when dealing with similar cases, the courts all over the country and the basic courts in Beijing had different understandings of the relevant legal provisions on the change and cancellation of the gift contract with obligations, and there were different judgment standards. Therefore, according to the relevant regulations, it was reported to the Second Intermediate People's Court of Beijing for higher level jurisdiction.
After the Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court decided to promote the trial of the case, it organized trial experts to try the case. In the court, his daughter, Qin, explained why she broke her promise to sell the house, and also wrote an examination for her mother.
The court found that the daughter Qin sold the house in violation of the obligations attached to the Gift Contract
After hearing the case, the Second Intermediate People's Court of Beijing held that the mother's gift of the house involved in the case should be a gift attached with obligations. According to the provisions of the Letter of Commitment, the attached obligations are the daughter Qin's obligation to support his mother Zhang and to ensure his residential rights and interests in the house involved in the case. Shortly after her daughter Qin accepted the house gift involved in the case and handled the transfer of ownership, she signed a house sales contract with someone outside the case. The sale of the house involved in the case constituted a violation of the obligations attached to the gift contract. Finally, it was decided to cancel the house property "gift contract" signed by both parties. Her daughter Qin assisted her mother to register the house change involved in the case in her mother's name within ten days after the judgment came into effect. At present, the judgment has come into effect.
The court decided to cancel the house donation contract
What is the legal basis
In this case, the court finally decided to revoke the house "gift contract". What is the legal basis of the judgment? How can the elderly protect their rights and interests when they give their children real estate or make large contributions to help their children buy a house?
The judge introduced that there are two main legal bases for the judgment to revoke the house "gift contract" in this case. According to Article 661 of China's Civil Code, gift can be accompanied by obligations. If the gift is subject to obligations, the donee shall perform his obligations in accordance with the contract. Article 663 of the Civil Code stipulates that the donor may revoke the gift in any of the following circumstances:
（1） Seriously infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of the donor or his close relatives;
（2） Failing to perform his duty of maintenance to the donor;
（3） Failing to perform the obligations agreed in the gift contract.
The donor's right of revocation shall be exercised within one year from the date when he knows or should have known the cause of revocation.
Wang Lei, Judge of Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court: As far as the last case is concerned, when the donor donated the property of the donee, the contract agreed on the corresponding obligation of the right of residence. Because the donee did not perform the obligation of the right of residence, according to Article 663 of the Civil Code, the donor has the statutory right of revocation.
Under what circumstances
Can the elderly revoke the gift to their children?
In reality, many parents, out of selfless love, may not write a written "Letter of Commitment" like this case to stipulate the rights and obligations of both parties when they give their property or large amount of cash to their children. Once the property is given to their children, the children are not filial, and the elderly's pension problems occur, can the elderly take back these properties?
Wang Lei, Judge of Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court: For parents, children are called maintenance obligations or maintenance obligations. According to the provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly, this obligation includes three aspects: financial support, spiritual comfort, and life care. Therefore, if the son or daughter fails to perform these statutory obligations, the donor can sue the court to request the revocation of the gift.
After all, parents and children hurt feelings in court. To avoid similar events, the judge suggested that the elderly should sign a written donation agreement when donating property to their children, including important matters such as the right to live in the house and the children's obligation to support themselves, and should register the right to live in the house to ensure that they have a home for the elderly.
The judge suggested that the elderly should sign a written donation agreement when donating the house property to their children, including important matters such as the right to live in the house and the children's obligation to support themselves
Wan Huibing, Judge of Fangshan District People's Court of Beijing: For the protection of the elderly's right to live, we suggest that the elderly and their children should sign a written agreement on the right to live, and should go to the housing registration department to register, so that the elderly's right to live can be protected.
In order to support their children to buy a house, many parents will give everything they have. What if parents give all their funds to their children, and the children are not filial and do not perform their maintenance obligations? The judge suggested that the elderly, when transferring large amounts of funds to their children, had better ask their children to write a receipt or a debit note, and keep the transfer voucher of the bank card. In this way, once there is a problem with the elderly, they can claim back the loan to the court to protect their rights and interests, so that they can have security for their old age.
Source: CCTV News Client (CCTV reporter Ji Chenghai and Wei Bangjun)
(Source: CCTV News Client)
