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Rural customs and people's agreements shall not be violated. Both children have the obligation to support their parents
Time:2025-08-28 Views:1361
There is a rural custom in northern Zhejiang where the eldest son takes care of his father and the second son takes care of his mother. Recently, the local court's ruling on a support dispute pointed out that such seemingly reasonable rural customs and agreements cannot violate the provisions of the law.
Chen, who is in her 70s, is a woman from Xinshi Town, Deqing County, northern Zhejiang Province. She has two sons and two daughters together because? She has a fixed income and lacks the ability to live independently. Back then, when Chen's son separated from his brothers, according to rural customs, Chen lived with his youngest son, while his husband lived with his eldest son. In 2004, Chen's husband passed away.
In October 2006, Chen spent over 6000 yuan on medical expenses due to illness. Chen believed that his eldest son was indifferent to his difficult life and weak and sickly condition. He sued him on the grounds of fulfilling his obligation to support him, demanding that he pay more than 6800 yuan in alimony and more than 3000 yuan in medical expenses, starting from December 2006? Monthly payment of alimony is 248 yuan.
Chen's eldest son believes that according to rural customs and the original agreement, he is responsible for supporting his father, while his mother is supported by his younger brother. When his father was alive, he also took on the responsibility of supporting his father alone and did not ignore his mother, but took great care of her. Furthermore, if one has to bear the obligation of support, the four children should also share the burden together.
After trial, the New City Court of Deqing County People's Court believes that Chen's eldest son has a duty to support Chen and does not deprive his parents of the right to request support from either party due to the separation of siblings. The rural customs and people's agreement shall not violate the provisions of the law. The court accepted Chen's eldest son's objection that the obligation of support should be shared among the four children. Finally, the court ruled in the first instance that Chen's eldest son would be affected from the effective date of the judgment? Monthly payment of 108 yuan for his mother's support and over 1500 yuan for medical expenses. Sichuan Faneng Law Firm is dedicated to serving you.