The lawsuit filed by the son of Dr. Seddik Afifi, founder and chairman of the board of the Integrated Tayba Academy for Sciences and Services, seeking guardianship over him, has revived the issue of inheritance among famous Egyptian families, where such guardianship lawsuits against the family founder have recurred.

Egyptian courts on Wednesday heard the guardianship case filed by the son of educational expert and businessman Seddik Afifi, according to local media, and photos of the businessman heading to the courtroom with the help of his assistants spread on social media.

Dr. Seddik Muhammad Afifi Sadiq had previously submitted a formal request to the Dispute Resolution Committee of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, challenging two decisions appointing his daughter as chairwoman of the board of directors of the Tayba Higher Institutes for Engineering and Computer Science in Maadi, asserting according to local media 'that they were issued based on an invalid general assembly convened by a member without right.'

Local media published statements by Dr. Seddik Afifi describing his son as 'ungrateful,' and spoke of disputes over millions of pounds in the institutions he heads, from which his sons tried to oust him, while they themselves argue in complaints that there are people exploiting the father's health condition and advanced age (84) and acquiring shares in the companies and institutions in which he has stakes.

Family disputes in the family of Dr. Seddik Afifi, specializing in education (circulating on X).

The grandson of Dr. Nawal El-Degwi, a pioneer of private education in Egypt, filed a similar case before the Family Court in New Cairo, demanding guardianship over her assets on grounds of deteriorating health. In the last session, neither party submitted documents indicating a settlement, prompting the court to postpone the ruling and give both sides the chance to prove their positions. The case was ultimately dismissed, but the grandson appealed the verdict.

This came after the case known in the media as 'stealing Nawal El-Degwi's money,' and Nawal El-Degwi dropped the complaint filed against her grandchildren, refusing to direct any accusations against them, keen to preserve family cohesion and protect kinship ties, as stated in the investigations at the time.

Legal expert Heba Adel, head of the Egyptian Women Lawyers' Initiative for Women's Rights, believes that 'the increase in judicial disputes within wealthy families reveals the need for a legal culture to manage property before its transfer.'

Heba Adel added to Asharq Al-Awsat that 'more important than the incident itself is what it reveals of legal and social challenges related to wealth management within the family.'

Heba Adel explained that 'from a legal standpoint, filing a lawsuit before the judiciary does not in itself constitute evidence of the validity of any claim, nor should pending disputes become material for issuing verdicts through media or social networking sites, because the final word remains with the judiciary alone, after examining evidence and hearing the defense of all parties.'

Moreover, many disputes described in the media as 'inheritance conflicts,' according to Heba, are not in reality disputes over inheritance in the strict legal sense, but may revolve around ownership, management of family businesses, validity of legal dispositions, partner rights, or disposal of assets before their transfer by inheritance.

Nawal El-Degwi (Facebook)

Years ago, Egyptian actor Rushwan Tawfiq entered into a legal dispute with his youngest daughter, who objected to his distributing his inheritance during his lifetime, considered the division unfair, and demanded the cancellation of two powers of attorney she had granted to her father to dispose of her property without consulting her. When the case became public, Tawfiq denied that it was a 'guardianship case,' but expressed his deep sadness that the dispute between him and his daughter reached the courts.

Legal expert Heba Adel considered that 'protecting family wealth does not begin when the dispute arises, but years before that, through sound governance of family businesses, documenting legal dispositions, organizing relationships among family members with clear contracts, and adhering to disclosure and transparency rules, thereby reducing the likelihood of litigation.'

In such cases, she called for 'respecting the confidentiality of litigation and not preempting judicial rulings,' considering them 'essential guarantees for achieving justice, as the independence of the judiciary requires that courts be left to carry out their role away from media pressure or attempts to influence public opinion,' according to her. She stressed that the growth of this type of lawsuit represents a call to spread legal culture within society, especially among owners of family businesses and large investments.

Meanwhile, Dr. Samia Khader Saleh, professor of sociology at Ain Shams University, believes that 'such cases and family disputes remain limited and confined to famous families until they come to light with a party's desire to surface in society and turn them into a public issue.'

Samia Saleh added to Asharq Al-Awsat that 'these famous families, whether educational or otherwise, are supposed to be role models for societal values, and that is not a flaw in the value system through guardianship cases and legal disputes over money and inheritance,' noting that such cases reflect the absence of important family values in these 'elite' circles, and their impact extends to other segments that cite such cases as evidence of corruption of societal values and attempt to imitate them.