Recently, the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court made a final judgment on the dispute over the "Bequest and Maintenance Agreement" signed by Ma, an 88-year-old elderly man who lived alone, and Liu, a fruit stall owner, before his death, upholding the first-instance judgment and determining that the agreement was valid. This case has aroused widespread concern and discussion in all walks of life about the legal validity of the bequest and maintenance agreement.
The bequest and maintenance agreement is a new system established by the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, which aims to provide living security for the elderly who are alone and widowed, and reflects respect for the autonomy of the elderly. According to the regulations, bequest and maintenance agreements take precedence over statutory succession and testamentary succession and have a higher legal status.
In this case, Ma signed an agreement with Liu before his death to donate real estate worth 3 million yuan to Liu, and agreed that Liu would be responsible for his birth, maintenance, death and burial. After Ma's death, his relatives claimed that Ma suffered from Alzheimer's disease and had doubts about the validity of the agreement, and sued the court. After trial, the court held that the available evidence was insufficient to prove that Ma's mental state and cognitive ability were limited at the time of signing the contract, and that the signing behavior did not exceed the scope of his understanding and did not constitute an adverse effect, so the agreement should be valid. At the same time, Liu had fulfilled the maintenance obligations agreed in the agreement, so the litigation claim of Ma's relatives was dismissed.
The reasons for the judgment in this case are legal and reasonable, and it is worthy of approval. First of all, the signing of the bequest and maintenance agreement should be based on the free expression of the will of the elderly and the absence of fraud and coercion. In the case that the agreement was signed by the elderly during his lifetime and the content of the agreement was not obviously unfair, the elderly person should be presumed to have the corresponding civil capacity, unless there is evidence to the contrary to overturn it. Secondly, the core of the bequest and maintenance agreement lies in the performance of the maintenance obligation. As long as the supporter fulfills the obligations agreed in the agreement and the elderly person obtains the benefits of support services, the agreement shall be valid and shall not be invalid due to the objection of the elderly's relatives. Finally, when understanding the bequest and maintenance agreement, the choice of the elderly should be respected, and the subjective wishes of the elderly should be based on their subjective wishes, rather than simply applying the thinking model of legal inheritance.
In short, as an innovative system of the Civil Code, the bequest and maintenance agreement is conducive to encouraging social forces to participate in the support services of the aging society, and providing material security and spiritual comfort for the elderly who are lonely and widowed. At the same time, the signing and implementation of the agreement should adhere to the principle of the elderly, and respect and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the elderly to the greatest extent. In cases of disputes involving bequests and maintenance agreements, the judicial organs should accurately grasp the rules on the validity of the agreement, balance the interests of all parties, and adjudicate fairly in accordance with the law, so that the warmth of the law can benefit the gray-haired elderly in the world.
Source: CCTV News