86-Year-Old Father’s Land Lawsuit Against Son Remains Unresolved After Decades-Long Dispute

A land dispute between an 86-year-old father and his son remains unresolved after more than three decades of conflicting claims over whether 274 square meters were given away or merely lent.

The regional People’s Court in Bac Ninh recently reopened the case. Both the father, identified as Mr. Dung, and his 55-year-old son, Mr. Minh, were absent and authorized lawyers and representatives to appear for them. The names were changed.

Dung’s side says the disputed property came from his parents and that he and his wife reclaimed a total of 595 square meters. After his wife died in 1980, he remarried and had no more children. Because the household was crowded, the land was divided into 321 square meters for the couple and 274 square meters for a house for their children.

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I never gave it away permanently, I only lent the land.

In 2020, Dung says he verbally agreed to let Minh use half of the 274-square-meter section, while reserving the other half for Minh’s older brother. Minh later built a permanent house there. The conflict intensified in 2024, when the older brother wanted to return to his hometown and asked for the remaining half so he could divide the plot. Minh refused.

Dung then learned that Minh had registered a land certificate for the entire property in 2000. Dung’s lawyers argue that officials prepared the registration documents without his signature or the confirmation of neighboring households, and that signatures were collected only in 2007 to regularize the file. They say Dung never intended to make a permanent gift, but only lent the land to help Minh establish a separate home. Dung also alleges that Minh insulted and verbally mistreated him, prompting him to seek the return of the entire plot and cancellation of the certificate.

Minh rejects that account. He says that in 1991, his father and paternal grandparents, who were still alive and mentally capable, agreed to give him the land, with family members witnessing and approving the arrangement. He maintains that the property belongs to him and his wife. His lawyers also deny that he mistreated his father, saying Minh was the only person to care directly for Dung and his stepmother for nearly 40 years.

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He has no right to cancel the land certificate or take back half of the property.