The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that the widow of the late army commander-in-chief Ma An-lan (
Ma's family took the matter of inheritance to court after he passed away on Aug. 1 last year, leaving nearly NT$4 million in savings to his four children and his second wife, surnamed Wu.
After Ma died, his four children asked Wu to share this amount by dividing it into five equal portions, meaning each of them would receive NT$800,000.
The general had not specified how his property was to be distributed.
However, Wu said that she was supposed to possess half of the property and the four children were to share the other half, adding that she had contributed to the family for 17 years.
Ma's children said in their statement to the court that the NT$4 million was the result of their father's contribution to the country by serving in the army. They argued that Wu did not have the right to take away half of that amount.
However, the court ruled that Wu should receive the amount she requested because she had devoted herself to the family after she married Ma in 1985.
"The court believed that this amount of money left by the general was the joint contribution to the family by Ma and his wife, Wu. As a result, the court decided that Wu shall possess half of the amount alone and Ma's four children can share the other half, which is approximately NT$2 million," the judge said in the verdict.
Ma's children did not issue any comment after the verdict was announced.
RSS