By hannover-web.com Since 2020, the Beijing Third Intermediate People’s Court has handled a total of 1,428 civil cases related to support for the elderly. According to recent statistics, the largest portion of these cases involves contract disputes, making up 34.48% of the total, while custody disputes constitute the smallest share at just 0.19%. With the shifting demographics and an aging population, the number and types of disputes related to elder care have been on the rise, indicating a need for improvements in the system and mechanisms protecting seniors’ rights.
At a recent news briefing on civil cases related to elderly support, Hu Qiang, the Vice President of the Beijing Third Intermediate People’s Court, explained that “elderly support” civil cases refer to lawsuits related to the care, assistance, and protection of older adults. These cases mainly encompass support disputes, inheritance issues, division of family property disputes, custody disputes, and contract disputes, including both gift and real estate sale contracts. Through a review of relevant cases, three main characteristics of elder support civil cases have emerged:
First, there is a noticeable increase in seniors’ legal awareness and the variety of rights protection cases. Older adults are increasingly using legal channels to assert their rights and interests, leading to a broader range of claims. In addition to traditional support and inheritance cases, there has been a rise in disputes arising from seniors actively arranging their support through gifts or real estate transactions. New types of cases have also begun to surface, such as disputes over “reciprocal support” or “means-tested support,” as well as issues concerning emotional support and habitation rights.
Second, disputes often involve significant emotional and financial family ties, complicating resolution efforts. Since these cases are closely related to the rights of elderly individuals and are interlinked with family issues—often involving inheritances and divisions of property—factors like financial, emotional, and accountability aspects tend to intertwine, making mediation challenging.
Third, there’s a noted lack of evidence awareness among parties involved, leading to difficulties in establishing the facts of the case. Many of these disputes are tangled with everyday family matters, encompassing care behaviors, daily expenses, large loans, and shifts in family structure, such as the death of children or remarriage of the elderly.
To address these challenges, the Beijing Third Intermediate Court is dedicated to a person-centered approach in family case adjudications. Zhou Jing, a member of the court’s adjudication committee, highlighted that their court has developed a flexible mediation process throughout family case proceedings, emphasizing psychological support. They have increased mediation efforts, achieving an 11.07% settlement rate in elder support disputes. This approach has effectively alleviated conflicts, allowing parties to avoid situations where they “win the case but lose the family ties,” fostering social harmony and stability.
Additionally, the court is actively researching new issues emerging from seniors’ rights protection. For instance, in cases of emotional support disputes, the court has initiated a mechanism to “prompt compliance with obligations,” sending notification letters to children to encourage them to fulfill their obligations toward their elderly parents. A follow-up system is also in place to regularly check in with seniors regarding their children’s adherence to these emotional support responsibilities.
