Chinese woman leaves $2.8 million to her cats and dogs instead of children

A Chinese woman has left her fortune to her pets (Representational image)

A Chinese woman has decided to leave her fortune of $2.8 million to her pets instead of her children. According to local reports, the woman, surnamed Liu, is angry that her adult children never visited her and changed her will in favour of her pets.

A few years ago, the elderly woman had made a will in which she left 20 million yuan (Rs 23 crore approximately) to her adult children. However, she changed her mind when she realised her children never bothered to visit her even when she was sick, and nor did they keep in touch.

Angry at being ignored by her children, the Shanghai woman left her property, assets and money to her cats and dogs, claiming that the animals were there for her when no one else was.

Her new will stipulates that all her money must be used to care for her pets or any offsprings they may have. Since laws in China prevent Liu from leaving her money directly to animals, a local veterinary clinic has been appointed as the administrator of the inheritance.

“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,” said Chen Kai, an official from China’s Will Registration Centre headquarters in Beijing.

Another official said Liu has the option of changing her will if she reconciles her differences with her children. “We told Auntie Liu that if her children change their attitude towards her, she could always alter her will again,” the official said.