After a son's divorce, is there a legal basis for the mother-in-law to sue for 110,000 yuan in childcare fees?
[Prompt] The Shuimogou District Court in Urumqi, Xinjiang, recently accepted the first local dispute case over "grandchild care fees." A mother sued her son, demanding 110,000 yuan for three years of caring for her grandchild. The court ultimately rejected the mother's request.
[Case] Washing, cooking, and taking care of her grandson—this has been the life of Urumqi senior Li Meilan for the past three years. In early 2010, Li Meilan's grandson was born, and she moved into her son's home to help care for the child and do housework for free. Unexpectedly, earlier this year, due to a breakdown in their relationship, Li Meilan's son and daughter-in-law divorced, and the court awarded custody of the child to the daughter-in-law.
Grieving, Li Meilan sued both her son and daughter-in-law in the Shuimogou District Court of Urumqi, demanding payment of 110,000 yuan in labor compensation for the 46 months from her grandson's birth to January of this year. In court, Li Meilan stated that during the three-plus years of living together, she had essentially taken on all household chores and, after the grandson's birth, assumed the roles of caregiver and nanny. She argued that she could not give her efforts for free and was now seeking compensation for over three years of labor. Her former daughter-in-law responded that when the child was born, she had suggested hiring a nanny, but the mother-in-law volunteered to care for the grandson, adding that the child's growth had brought the grandmother much joy.
After trial, the court ruled to dismiss Li Meilan's lawsuit.
(新浪)
[Legal Study] Is caring for a grandchild an obligation or a moral requirement?
According to Article 36 of China's Marriage Law, "The relationship between parents and children shall not be terminated by the divorce of the parents. After divorce, whether the children are directly raised by the father or the mother, they remain the children of both parents." The elderly have no legal obligation to support their grandchildren. Meanwhile, the judge in this case also explained that in this instance, the elderly cared for the child based on traditional customs and blood kinship. During this period, the child's parents also fulfilled their obligation to raise the child. Therefore, the elderly's act of looking after the child was not an act of support but a moral act, insufficient to produce civil legal consequences. Additionally, the elderly had not agreed in advance with their son and Lin Fei on compensation for childcare labor, nor did they provide evidence to verify the expenses incurred during the childcare period. Hence, the court did not support their claim. Thus, it can be seen that the court's rejection of the elderly's request for "grandchild support fees" has a certain legal basis.
Similarly, a few years ago, an elderly couple in Le'an County raised their grandchildren for 15 years without receiving gratitude from their son and daughter-in-law. In anger, they sued their son and daughter-in-law, demanding payment for "grandchild-raising fees." However, the court held that parents are the legal guardians of minor children and have a legal duty to raise and educate them. As grandparents, they have no such obligation, and their assistance in raising the grandchildren constituted a debt of negotiorum gestio. Ultimately, based on local circumstances, the court ordered the couple, Da Chen and his wife, to pay 34,590 yuan in child support.
In fact, if elderly people help raise grandchildren or maternal grandchildren and wish to maintain a good family relationship, they should not treat money as a condition for childcare, turning family bonds into a naked monetary relationship. From a moral perspective, regardless of whether parents take care of the children, they should give money to the elderly. If it must be elevated to a legal perspective, parents only have the obligation to raise their children, not their grandchildren. However, elderly people helping to raise grandchildren is a Chinese tradition and a moral issue. Simply put, elderly people assisting in raising and educating the next generation should be seen as a matter of human sentiment, not an obligation. Yet, due to traditional concepts in our country, few parents claim expenses from their children, so the law has not clearly set standards for this.
Although the law does not explicitly stipulate that the elderly have an obligation to raise grandchildren, the elderly who voluntarily raise grandchildren out of moral consideration and go to court to demand "grandchild support fees" are not truly seeking money but expressing love for their grandchildren. Therefore, the author believes that while the elderly may lose legally in court when demanding "grandchild-raising fees," they do not lose morally. Moreover, most elderly people who demand "grandchild-raising fees" have children who are not considerate. Children themselves have the obligation to support their parents, and most parents do not fail to love their children and grandchildren. "Grandchild support fees" may be a signal: new fathers and mothers, faced with rising living costs, are you truly prepared to raise children?
