86-year-old father sues son to reclaim land, but son says the title is already in his name

An 86-year-old father has taken his son to court to recover 274 square meters of land that he says he lent him more than three decades ago. The son rejects the claim, saying the land certificate has long carried his name.

The case was recently reopened at the Regional People’s Court No. 7 in Bắc Ninh. The father, identified as Tuấn, and his 55-year-old son, Việt, were both absent and appeared through lawyers and authorized representatives. The names were changed in the court report.

Tuấn said his parents gave him land, which he expanded through reclamation, bringing his total holding to 595 square meters. After his first wife died in 1980, he divided the property into 321 square meters for his own household and 274 square meters where he built a house for his children. In 2020, he said, he verbally gave Việt half of the 274-square-meter section and planned to reserve the other half for another son. Việt later built a permanent house on the portion he received.

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an unfilial act

The dispute emerged in 2024, when Tuấn asked Việt to return the remaining half so the land could be subdivided. He then discovered, according to his account, that Việt had registered the entire area in his own name in 2000. Tuấn’s lawyer argues that officials prepared the registration documents without the knowledge or signatures of neighboring households, and that signatures collected in 2007 merely formalized paperwork after the certificate had been issued. The lawyer also says Tuấn lent the land rather than giving it outright.

Việt says his father, grandparents and other family members agreed in 1991 to give him the land. His lawyer says Việt and his wife cared for Tuấn and his second wife for nearly 40 years, including during her illness and funeral arrangements. The defense also says Tuấn signed the documents for the 2000 registration and kept both certificates until Việt needed his certificate to seek a loan in 2007. Việt is asking the court to reject the request to cancel his certificate and to divide the land for his older brother.

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lent, not given outright