A former social worker supervisor from the Taipei City Social Affairs Bureau was involved in embezzlement of an elderly person’s property. Lawyers urge the public to choose guardianship or nursing care trust as a precaution

Jiang Yijie, a former social worker supervisor of the Taipei City Social Affairs Bureau, was suspected of embezzling more than 12 million yuan in property from an elderly person under guardianship. It was not discovered until he was transferred to New Taipei City. As singles and inmates become the mainstream, lawyer Chen Qiujun reminds people that people can choose "willful guardianship", appoint a guardian through notarization, or apply for a nursing home trust.

Chen Qiujun, co-lawyer of Yanlu Law Firm, who has many years of experience as a judge in civil courts and family courts, said that after many elderly people lose their ability to act due to dementia or accidents, competent authorities such as social bureaus, interested parties, social welfare agencies, relatives, prosecutors, etc. can apply for a guardianship declaration. After the court accepts the case, it will appoint a guardian. If the elderly person has no relatives or support, in practice, the county or city social bureau will usually serve as the guardian. The case involving Jiang Nu falls into this model.

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With the increase in the number of singles and inmates, it is foreseeable that many Chinese people may have no relatives to act as guardians when they grow old. To avoid the situation of self-stealing by social workers in Taipei, Chen Qiujun suggested that when people over the age of 50 start planning for retirement, they can first choose "willful guardianship". Since the intended guardianship is a private contract, the contract must be notarized and recorded by the court. If the person becomes incapacitated in the future, the intended guardian will serve as the guardian. The intended guardian can designate one or more natural persons or legal persons. She said that if there are more than two intended guardians, the risk of property misappropriation can be reduced.

Chen Qiujun further pointed out that the public can also choose a bank trust, where the bank’s property is kept and a designated amount is allocated to the applicant every year. However, the amount of Anyang Trust is relatively large, and some banks will bundle Anyang Trust with stock and bond investments and sell them as commodities.

Chen Qiujun said that the guardians of the elderly can handle movable assets such as deposits. If they want to sell real estate such as houses and land, they must apply for court permission.