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• An elderly woman from Shanghai has left her £2.2million fortune to her pets
• She claims it’s because her children never visited her, even when she was ill 

January 30, 2024

A Chinese woman has opted to leave her £2.2 million fortune entirely to her pets, not leaving a penny behind for her children (stock image)

It’s no secret that dogs are man’s best friend and most people consider their pets to be beloved members of their family.

However, one owner in China has taken the sentiment to the extreme and has opted to leave her £2.2million fortune entirely to her pets, not leaving a penny behind for her children.

The elderly woman from Shanghai, who goes by the last name Liu, erased all mentions of her children from her will because she claims they neglected her in her old age.

She insisted that her pets provided companionship when she had nobody else and her offspring never bothered to visit her, even when she was ill.

However, a report by South China Morning Post, citing Zonglan News, said that a local veterinary clinic has instead been appointed as administrator of the inheritance because there were legal issues with leaving behind money to animals.

Liu told the outlet that only her cats and dogs have been there for her and she wants the money to be used only to care for her animals and their offspring when she dies.

Despite there being legal challenges surrounding this in China, Chen Kai, an official from the country’s Will Registration Centre headquarters in Beijing, explained there are ‘alternatives to solve this issue’.

He said: ‘Liu’s current will is one way, and we would have advised her to appoint a person she trusts to supervise the vet clinic to ensure the pets are properly cared for.’

This unique story has sparked debate about family dynamics and inheritance practices in China. 

However, this isn’t the first time pet owners have tried to bequeath their cash to furry friends.

New York property billionaire Leona Helmsley left £6 million to her toy Maltese terrier, Trouble.

Helmsley, who died in 2007, left part of her fortune to the dog – although a judge later reduced it to £1.5 million.

The will was contested by two of Mrs Helmsley’s grandchildren who had been excluded from it ‘for reasons known to them’.

They claimed their grandmother was not of sound mind when she made the will, two years before her death from heart failure.

Now a court has reduced Trouble’s trust fund to £1 million, awarding the grandchildren – Craig Panzirer, 40, and Meegan Panzirer Wesolko, 37 – £2 million and £1 million respectively.

Similarly, according to Guiness World Records, German Countess Karlotta Liebenstein left her £315 million fortune to her dog Gunther IV and his descendants when she died in 1992.

Fashion designer Alexander McQueen also left behind £50,000 per dog for his three English bull terriers.

• mailonline