A Chinese woman has sparked widespread discussion online after alleging that her deceased mother was posthumously married to her younger brother, who then inherited and transferred most of her assets.
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According to a report by South China Morning Post, the 27 year old woman from central China’s Henan province, surnamed Sun, lost her mother Zhao Fang to illness in 2008 when she was just nine years old.
At the time, Sun’s parents were already divorced and she had been living with her mother. After Zhao’s death, Sun was adopted by her mother’s younger sister. Sun said relatives notarised her mother’s assets around the time of her death.
She explained that a day before Zhao passed away, family members signed documents to sell three of her properties in order to repay debts. The remaining assets were reportedly placed under the custody of her aunt until Sun reached adulthood.
Childhood spent moving between relatives
{{/usCountry}}She explained that a day before Zhao passed away, family members signed documents to sell three of her properties in order to repay debts. The remaining assets were reportedly placed under the custody of her aunt until Sun reached adulthood.
Childhood spent moving between relatives
{{/usCountry}}Sun said she had earlier lived with her mother in Hebei province in northern China. After Zhao’s death, she moved between relatives in Henan, sometimes staying with her aunt and at other times with her maternal uncle, until she eventually left for college in 2018.
Medical records showed that Zhao had been diagnosed with sepsis, a condition that can quickly lead to organ failure and death. Sun said she only learnt about her mother’s passing from her aunt and did not attend the funeral.
When Sun later reached the legal age to inherit her mother’s assets, she began initiating procedures to claim the inheritance. However, she said she was shocked to discover that only a single shop remained under her mother’s name.
“All her other assets, including residential and commercial properties and jewellery, had been transferred to other names,” the report said.
Shocking discovery about remarriage
Sun then received another unexpected revelation from the notary office. Officials informed her that her mother had remarried in 2009, even though Zhao had died in 2008.
The alleged remarriage meant Sun was no longer the sole legal heir and could not independently proceed with inheritance procedures.
Sun later obtained a marriage registration document dated 2009. She claimed she was stunned to see that the person listed as her mother’s spouse had the same name as her maternal uncle.
She also said that the identity photograph attached to her mother’s marriage document was actually that of her aunt in law. Around the same time, her mother’s identity card had reportedly been altered to include the aunt in law’s photograph and address while keeping Zhao’s original identification number.
Sun believes that her uncle may have re registered the marriage using his wife’s identity under her mother’s name in order to legally inherit Zhao’s property.
Authorities announce investigation
Under Chinese law, spouses, children and parents are first order heirs and have priority in inheriting assets. Siblings are second order heirs and can inherit only if no first order successors exist.
However, marriage registration procedures previously relied largely on identity cards and household registration documents. If the individuals were not listed under the same household record, authorities might not detect familial relations.
According to SCMP, China also simplified marriage registration rules last year by removing the requirement to submit household registration documents.
After another failed attempt to notarise her inheritance in 2025, Sun decided to share the case online.
Authorities in Henan announced on March 3 that they would investigate the matter.