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Chinese siblings discover they were both adopted while fighting over family inheritance

An inheritance dispute in China has taken a dramatic twist after two siblings fighting over a 3 million yuan (S$540,000) property discovered they were both adopted.

According to the South China Morning Post, the case took place in Tianjin, northern China, following the death of the family patriarch, Mr Sun, in March.

Father gives house to son & leaves letter saying to ‘compensate’ adopted sister

Before his death, Mr Sun transferred full ownership of the property to his son, stating in a letter that his daughter was adopted, but that both children had been treated equally.

He wrote that while his son had taken care of his parents in their old age, the daughter also deserved “reasonable compensation”.

“Our daughter is adopted, but we have always treated her as our own,” the letter read.

“In our later years, it was our son who took care of us. We gave the house to him, and he intends to compensate his sister. We hope you two can get along like true siblings.”

Source: Canva, for illustrative purposes only.

The daughter, who had been adopted in 1966, contested the inheritance.

She argued that the property transfer only bore her father’s signature, implying her mother’s share had not been legally relinquished.

Sister shocks court with proof that her brother is also adopted

The legal battle escalated when the daughter delivered an unexpected blow: she presented household registration documents showing her brother was also adopted, a fact he had not known for his entire life.

The revelation reportedly caused the brother to break down in tears in court.

Despite the emotional shock, he maintained that after a family fallout in the 1990s, his sister had cut ties with the family, and he had cared for their ageing parents alone.

He argued that he had earned the property through his years of dedication and was unwilling to share it.

Court rules both siblings have equal inheritance rights

The judge clarified that under China’s Civil Code, adoption does not affect legal inheritance rights — adopted children have the same status as biological heirs.

Source: Canva, for illustrative purposes only.

However, the court also ruled that because the property transfer was legally notarised in 2007, it was no longer part of the estate to be contested.

Following three hours of intense mediation, a settlement was reached: the brother would keep the property but pay his sister 550,000 yuan (S$100,000) as compensation.

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Employee in China fired for napping during work, sues company for S$64K compensation

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