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2023-11-28

| Property Nominee Registration


 

【Case Background】

 

Our client, Mr. Wang, decided to register his property (Property A) under his daughter A-Ting's name due to tax issues. However, Mr. Wang continued to use and profit from Property A, paying for all related expenses like water, electricity, and gas. Unfortunately, after the transfer, A-Ting passed away unexpectedly, leaving Mr. Wang devastated. Despite knowing that Property A was not actually owned by A-Ting, her husband, A-Ming, proceeded with the inheritance procedures. Mr. Wang's attempts to communicate with A-Ming about returning Property A were unsuccessful, leading him to seek our legal assistance.

【Court Decision: Victory for the Plaintiff】

The court stated, “The so-called 'nominee registration' contract is one party agrees to register their property under another person's name, but continues to manage, use, and dispose of it. This contract, based on trust between the registrant and the nominee, should be treated like a mandate contract, as long as it doesn’t violate mandatory rules, prohibitions, or public order and good morals. It should thus be legally effective as an unnamed contract, with the relevant provisions of the Civil Code on mandate applicable by analogy.” In Taiwan, such nominee registration contracts, one party simply holds the title, but the actualretains control and benefits, are common.
 
However, these agreements often lack written contracts, leading to disputes between the registrant, nominee, or their heirs. Practically, it's believed that these contracts don’t necessarily need to be in writing and can be inferred through indirect evidence such as who pays the property taxes and related expenses, who holds the property title, and who actually uses and manages the property.
 
Ultimately, with our firm's assistance, Mr. Wang filed a civil lawsuit against A-Ming. Although A-Ming claimed ignorance about the nominee registration of Property A and processed the inheritance registration by law, Mr. Wang, with our support, provided evidence of his use and profits from Property A. By examining witnesses, the reality of the nominee registration for Property A was revealed, leading to a successful verdict for Mr. Wang, reclaiming Property A.

References：Taiwan High Court Civil Judgment No. 786 of 2014.

 

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