Can you still live your old age peacefully? A lonely elderly person who has been hospitalized in Shanghai Jingwei Center for 27 years, whose guardian has taken over his pension, younger brother, social security card, and lonely elderly person

This year is the 27th year that Mr. Yang has been hospitalized at the Shanghai Mental Health Center for treatment. In his late seventies, he also suffers from schizophrenia and is gradually losing his ability to take care of himself. However, Uncle Yang is unmarried and has no children. As his only guardian, his younger brother not only ignores him but also takes his social security card as his own.

Since 2016, all of Mr. Yang's treatment, living expenses, and even expenses for going out for medical treatment due to physical illnesses have been advanced by the Shanghai Jingwei Center. But this is ultimately not a long-term solution. In desperation, a lawyer accidentally brought up this matter, and perhaps one can seek help from the prosecutor's office

Support filing a lawsuit to change the neighborhood committee to a guardian

When I first received a call from the Jingwei Center, the prosecutor hesitated a bit. "The prosecutor's office does have the function of supporting vulnerable groups in initiating civil litigation, but the situation in this case is somewhat special because Mr. Yang has never done a civil capacity appraisal." After visiting and analyzing, the prosecutor's office of Xuhui District, Pu Liang, believes that this case can support prosecution, but it needs to be done in two steps. Firstly, Mr. Yang needs to do a civil capacity appraisal, and then help him find a qualified guardian.

According to Article 31 and Article 36 of the Civil Code, in the event that the guardian fails to fulfill their guardianship duties, resulting in the ward being in a state of danger, the relevant individual or organization may apply to the court for designated guardianship. Considering that the guardian who does not perform his duties in this case is the only relative of Uncle Yang, the new guardian should be the neighborhood committee or the civil affairs department in the place where Uncle Yang's registered residence is located.

So Pu Liang called the neighborhood committee in the place where Uncle Yang's registered residence was located. The other party said that he could take this responsibility, but he did not understand the legal process, and hoped to get guidance from the procuratorate. With the help of the prosecutor, Mr. Yang went for an appraisal and the result was that he was a person with limited capacity for civil conduct.

On December 13th last year, the neighborhood committee officially filed its first lawsuit with the Xuhui District Court, applying to declare Mr. Yang as a person with limited capacity for civil conduct. According to Article 15 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, the Xuhui Procuratorate accepted this case and issued a supporting indictment on December 14th. On December 21 of the same year, the Xuhui Court ruled in the first instance that Mr. Yang was a person with limited capacity for civil conduct.

On March 2nd this year, the neighborhood committee filed a second lawsuit with the Xuhui Court, which is an application to determine the guardian. On the same day, the Xuhui Procuratorate issued a supporting indictment and sent prosecutors to appear in court to support the prosecution. On the 20th of the same month, the Xuhui Court made a first instance civil judgment, designating the neighborhood committee as the guardian of Mr. Yang.

My younger brother ignored me and even monopolized my retirement pension

After learning of the verdict, Shanghai Jingwei Center also breathed a sigh of relief. Vice Dean Shaoyang introduced that in fact, Mr. Yang had a stable job in his early years and also paid social security on time. Therefore, after retirement, his social security card would regularly deposit a pension every month, along with disability subsidies, which could have covered his hospitalization and treatment expenses at the Jingwei Center.

"When his condition was stable in the past, he could still leave the hospital to handle personal affairs on his own and pay the fees in a timely manner." Shaoyang said that in July 2015, Uncle Yang suddenly fell ill, with symptoms of high fever and vomiting, and his mental state gradually deteriorated, gradually losing his ability to take care of himself. Mr. Yang's bank card and social security card are all in the hands of his younger brother. The Jingwei Center once called and sent people to another city for interviews, hoping that his brother could come to visit him. Even if it didn't work out, he could use his social security card and other assets to pay for treatment. However, these expectations have all been dashed. Uncle Yang's younger brother completely ignored his brother. During the court hearing, he sent a subpoena to his younger brother, but he did not appear.

"Many patients, during their long-term hospitalization, have their property taken over or sold by their guardians or relatives, resulting in them being unable to be discharged or pay for treatment costs." Shaoyang said that currently, Shanghai's two levels of elite health centers will advance the relevant expenses of patients, but it is quite difficult. More importantly, as patients age, they are more likely to develop physical illnesses. What if a guardian's signature is needed for emergency treatment?

After Mr. Yang successfully changed his guardian, the relevant issues were initially resolved. The neighborhood committee staff, in their capacity as guardians, re applied for the Shanghai Elderly Card for Mr. Yang and contacted the Disabled Persons' Federation to replace it with a new disability card. The relevant assets finally returned to Mr. Yang's hands.

Pioneering medical and living reserve fund deposit mechanism

"This is the first case of guardianship loss for patients with mental disorders that we have handled. We believe that after changing guardians, there are still some measures that can be taken." Pu Liang said that in this case, Mr. Yang was in a difficult situation because of his guardianship loss, and appropriate measures should also be taken to supervise the new guardians. At this point, the prosecutor remembered that the notary office has a function called deposit notarization.

Recently, the Xuhui District Procuratorate, in collaboration with the Shanghai Mental Health Center, Xuhui Notary Office, and Residents Committee, jointly formulated and signed a work plan on the protection of property rights and interests related to Yang Laobo's support for the prosecution case, and pioneered a mechanism for the deposit of medical and living reserves for patients with mental disorders in the city.

According to the plan, after the neighborhood committee serves as the guardian, the large amount of funds under Mr. Yang's name will be entrusted to the Xuhui Notary Office for safekeeping. As Mr. Yang still needs to live in the Jingwei Center for treatment, in order to facilitate his daily life, the small amount of current assets are kept by the Jingwei Center and can be withdrawn by himself. However, a fund utilization report must be issued to the neighborhood committee as the guardian every financial year. "We hope to ensure that every pension and subsidy that Mr. Yang receives in the future can be used for himself through this method," said Pu Liang.

In addition, in order to protect more vulnerable groups like Mr. Yang who are in danger and achieve the best case handling and governance results, the Xuhui Procuratorate has also signed a working mechanism on jointly safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of patients with mental disorders with the Shanghai Mental Health Center, Xuhui District Civil Affairs Bureau, Xuhui District Judicial Bureau, Xuhui District Health Commission, and Xuhui District Disabled Persons Federation.

"Mr. Yang's experience is not an exception, and mental health centers across the country are generally facing this problem." Shaoyang admitted that recently, many other provinces and cities' health centers have come to inquire, hoping to learn some of the methods in this case. "We hope that the experience we explore can help more 'Mr. Yang'."