Ignored Parents with Cancer and Dementia... When '1.5 Billion Won Compensation' Appeared, Siblings Said "Let's Split Equally"

[Financial News] A story has been revealed about siblings who are in conflict over splitting a development compensation equally after not taking care of their parents until they passed away.

On the 29th, YTN Radio's 'Consultation Room of Lawyer Jo In-seop' introduced the concerns of the youngest daughter Ms. A among three siblings.

While Ms. A's brother and sister got married early and became independent, Ms. A did not marry and lived with her parents. Her father retired and looked into land in his hometown, and Ms. A contributed her savings to the land purchase fund with the hope of supporting her parents' retirement. Thanks to this, her parents were able to buy the land in joint names.

However, her father was soon diagnosed with cancer and passed away after two years of battling the illness. Then, her mother's health rapidly deteriorated. Ms. A lived alone with her mother, bearing all hospital and care expenses. Knowing her brother and sister were struggling financially, she couldn't bring herself to ask them for help.

One day, her mother was also diagnosed with dementia, and it became difficult to manage alone, so she asked her brother and sister for help for the first time. The response was only, "We are also in a difficult situation."

Eventually, her mother was admitted to a nursing home, and Ms. A covered all the hospital expenses. A year later, her mother also passed away.

Afterward, the land in their parents' joint names was acquired for urban development, and the compensation amounted to over 1.5 billion won. Only then did the siblings contact her, saying, "Let's split it into one-third each according to the law."

Ms. A said, "I was speechless at those words. I was the only one who stayed by my parents' side. My brother even received a gift of land from my father while he was alive because he was the eldest son. But now they want to split the compensation equally. It's so unfair. What should I do?" she asked.

Lawyer Jo Yoon-yong, who heard the story, said, "Ms. A has financially contributed to maintaining and increasing the inheritance by taking care of her elderly parents alone for a long time, bearing care expenses, and contributing to the land purchase fund," and "a contribution share can be recognized under civil law."

Regarding the land her brother received during their father's lifetime, "Civil law considers it as part of the inheritance received in advance. This is called 'special benefit,'" he explained, "The land received by the brother can be excluded from the inheritance calculation, and the inheritance share can be adjusted from the remaining assets."

He continued, "The remaining inheritance is the land in the joint names of the parents. The shares of the father and mother should be divided in half," and "Ms. A's special support for her mother is a contribution share to her mother's property, and the land inherited from the father by the brother is a special benefit to the father's property, so the specific inheritance shares cannot be processed by combining the shares of the father and mother. Each share must be strictly calculated," he emphasized.

He further advised, "The specific inheritance shares should be calculated by reflecting each contribution share, gift details, and the order of death," and "it's not simply about dividing one piece of land into thirds, but rather looking at each parent's share separately and reflecting the circumstances and contributions of the siblings to divide it fairly."


hsg@fnnews.com Han Seung-gon Reporter