Mom Sues Dentist Son for Nearly $1M: Cost of Raising Him & Sending Him to School
The idea of a mother suing her own son may seem shocking and peculiar.
It sounds cold and calculating when we typically expect mothers to unconditionally love their children with enthusiastic support free of legally-binding contracts.
Luo is the mother whose surname is circulating the media for suing her dentist son. Her motivation may be more understandable than you think, however.
It reflects the culture of Taiwan regarding the importance of children respecting their elders.
Luo’s legal action was motivated by her fear that her sons wouldn’t care for her in old age.
She divorced their father and raised them as a single mother. Her sons’ dental schooling was funded by her, which added up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
When her sons reached the age of 20, they each signed a contract.
By signing the contracts, they were committing to pay their mother 60 percent of their dental practice’s net profits until they paid Lou 50 million new Taiwan dollars.
That is $1.7 million. Since becoming a dentist in 2003, her younger son, Chu, repaid over $1 million to his mother already.
He earned that money by working at Luo’s dental clinic.
After helping her clinic earn money while also paying off a significant portion of the debt, he stopped paying her.
Chu believed that he should be freed from the commitment to pay the remainder of the debt. The case was taken to court.
The validity of the contract was questioned by Chu because of his young age when he signed.
Considering the fact that he was an adult who voluntarily signed the contract, it was determined by the court to be valid.
A $754,000 “upbringing fee” increased to $967,000 once interest was added. This meant Dr. Chu was sued by his own mom for nearly $1 million.
Suing one’s child isn’t the norm, but adults in Taiwan are required by law to support their elderly parents. Luo ensured years ago that her sons would provide for her into old age, though her avenue for that assurance is a bit controversial.
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