All Shall Be Well

Angie and Pat have been together for decades, and just hosted a mid-autumn festival dinner for Pat's biological family, who is less financially secure than Pat. The younger generation speak fondly of "Auntie Angie".

However, when Pat passes away in her sleep, Pat's family considers Angie to be just "a friend", ranking lower than family, overrides her wishes, and gradually pushes her out. Their lawyer friend points out all Pat's errors of omission. Refusing to sign a will (Pat is thinking of starting a new business in fashion retail, rather than acknowledging the possibility of death), executorship defaults to Pat's brother. Not leaving written funeral instructions means that the biological family takes charge. Not getting married abroad means that Angie has no moral standing, and not the little legal standing that such a paper could provide. Having the apartment only in Pat's name means Angie has no claim. The best Angie can do is to claim a dependency allowance from the estate.

As Angie loses battle after battle, it is her chosen family who provides emotional support.

This is allegedly based on real-life events, and shows the problems of not being prepared. Films with this theme showed up in North America a decade or two ago, but the problems mostly ended when same-sex marriage became legal. This is a reminder that the fight for rights still has to continue, but, before rights are established, care should be taken about legal issues.