102-Year-Old's Marriage Triggers Taiwanese Family Legal Battle Over Massive Assets

TAIPEI — On 7 February 2026, a Taiwanese family launched legal challenges after discovering a 68-year-old caregiver secretly registered a marriage with their 102-year-old relative without family consent, sparking a dispute over nearly 200 million Taiwanese dollars in assets. The caregiver, surnamed Lai, had reportedly cared for the elderly man for 17 to 30 years before registering the marriage on 5 January. The family alleges Lai sought to gain control of the man's substantial property holdings and intentionally restricted his contact with relatives, even allegedly confining him. Tensions escalated on 3 February when the man's family attempted to remove him from the caregiver's control during a hospital visit, resulting in a physical confrontation that required police intervention. The man, surnamed Wang, owns significant real estate valued around 780 million Taiwanese dollars, with the disputed assets totaling over 200 million dollars. Wang's sons plan to petition the court to annul the marriage, citing their father's declining cognitive abilities, while Lai has filed a countersuit for defamation and sought a protective order. The marriage's validity and asset claims will ultimately be determined by the courts.