Land gift made without mental capacity declared void

Background

While our clients' elderly parent was receiving hospital treatment, title to a parcel of land was registered to a grandson (our clients' nephew) as a gift. After the parent passed away, our clients, as co-heirs, sued to cancel the registration as void.

Our approach

We argued that the parent lacked mental capacity at the time of the gift and that another family member had obtained the parent's seal certificate by proxy to process the registration.

Issues and ruling

Based on the medical records and a medical expert opinion, the court found that the parent could not understand the meaning of a legal act transferring the land to a grandson to the exclusion of the other children. Materials submitted by the other side to show a clear intent to give were found unreliable in light of a handwriting analysis and other evidence.

Outcome

The court ordered the opposing party to cancel the title registration, and the opposing party was ordered to bear the litigation costs.

This is the outcome of an individual case and does not guarantee the same result in similar matters. Some facts have been generalized to protect the parties involved.