- Two siblings in Tianjin fought over a Rs 3.6 crore inheritance from their deceased father
- Father transferred property solely to his son, instructing compensation for his adopted daughter
- Daughter claimed property contract lacked mother’s signature, disputing inheritance rights
In a bizarre case straight out of an Indian soap opera, two siblings in China's Tianjin city who had been fighting over a Rs 3.6 crore (three million yuan) inheritance left by their dead father, have now discovered that neither of them was the biological child.
According to a report in the South China Morning Post, Sun, the family head, died in March 2025. Before his death, he transferred ownership of the Rs 3.6 crore property solely to his son. Mr Sun also instructed his son to provide "reasonable compensation" to his daughter, who was adopted by him and his wife in 1966.
"Our daughter is adopted, but we have always treated her as our own. 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," the statement read.
The adopted daughter protested against the decision, arguing that the property transfer contract bore only the father's signature, implying that her mother's share should still be included in the estate.
"Since the contract was signed only by him, my mother's share should be treated as part of the inheritance. This house was given to me by my parents, no one is taking it from me," she said.
The dispute then turned into a legal battle at the Nankai District People's Court in Tianjin. In the court, the sister presented new evidence claiming that her brother's household registration documents were marked "adopted", proving he was not a biological child.
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The settlement
Soon after the revelation, the brother broke down in the court but insisted that his sister had not been in the family picture since the 1990s. As per him, a property dispute decades ago led to his sister severing ties with the family, leaving him to take care of their parents until their deaths.
The judge overseeing the case noted that the property was legally transferred and notarised in 2007, meaning it was no longer part of the inheritance estate. After some back and forth between the siblings, a settlement was reached.
The property would stay with the brother, who would have to pay his sister Rs 66 lakh (550,000 yuan) in compensation.
Social media users reacting to the verdict said that both kids were adopted, but the boy was kept in the dark about it while the daughter knew, which may have led to the rift.
