Good Morning,
Always ensure you fully understand documents before signing them.
The relationship between parents, children, and society significantly impacts interpersonal interactions, whether in Western or Eastern contexts. Respect and filial piety have been core virtues for millennia. Filial piety involves being good to one’s parents, caring for them, conducting oneself well both at home and in public to honour one’s parents and ancestors, showing love, respect, and support, and being courteous to all.
Unfortunately, some clients have experienced situations where their spouses or children did not display filial piety.
Case 1:
One of my clients was in a nursing home suffering from terminal cancer when her youngest daughter brought a document for her to sign. Despite not being fully aware of what she was signing, my client signed the document. Fortunately, she realised that she had signed a document which she could not recall the contents. She tried on several occasions to have her daughter bring the documents back to the hospital for her to review. In the absence of any communication from the daughter, her friend asked me to visit her friend in the hospital. My client advised me that she had signed documents but was unable to have her daughter return the documents. As a precaution, I drafted a new will reflecting her wishes according to law. Regrettably, several weeks later, her family informed me of her passing. They expressed their disappointment and were confused that their mother had left everything to their youngest sister in a will which she had provided to them giving everything to her. I was able to provide the children with the latest will, which divided her estate equally among them according to her expressed wishes.
Case 2:
My clients were an aged couple with little knowledge of English, who wished to assist their son and daughter-in-law in the purchase of a property. To assist them they agreed to allow them to use the family home as security for the borrowings. Their son guaranteed them that the home would always remain theirs and they would be covered by insurance in the event that he could not make the repayments. They attended on a lawyer who could not understand their language, who relied upon the son to translate. Regretfully, many years later the son and daughter-in-law divorced and the daughter-in-law commenced a property application. It was only then that my clients discovered that the property was in the name of their son and daughter-in-law. I had to join them in the proceedings and was able to assist them in achieving a successful outcome.
Issues such as this can often be resolved, but often incur significant legal and personal costs. It is always necessary to read documents and thoroughly understand what you are signing. Whenever I have clients, I always ensure that they understand fully the implications of the documents that they are signing. If my client has limited English, I always obtain translations of the documents and have an independent third party translator to explain the documents fully and to allow me to answer any questions.
If you or someone you know has faced similar issues, please contact me.
Wishing you a wonderful day,
Jeffrey Choy
JCL Legal
0419 233 670
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