Husband paid mortgage, wife paid bills — will the apartment be split in a divorce?

A dual-income couple who managed their finances separately for eight years are now facing a dispute over asset division ahead of their divorce. Each contributed 2 million won ($1,410) a month to shared expenses — but while the wife used her share for household costs, the husband put his toward paying off the mortgage on an apartment in his name. The apartment has since doubled in value, from 500 million won to around 1 billion won, and the husband is refusing to include it in the asset division, leaving the wife feeling wronged and seeking legal advice.

The wife's story was shared Thursday on YTN's legal advice program "Cho In-seop's Counseling Center," which examined the asset-division question facing the couple.

The wife, identified only as A, had covered the family's monthly living expenses on her own and said she felt deeply aggrieved when her husband flatly declared the apartment was his alone.

The couple had been strict about money even when they were dating.

They split every meal bill, and when the husband gave A a luxury handbag, she would give an equivalent gift in return. The same principle carried into their marriage: each would manage their own income, and they agreed to split only the minimum costs of their shared life equally.

The husband had owned the apartment in his name before the marriage and continued paying down the mortgage — 2 million won a month — after they wed.

A contributed a similar amount each month toward the family's living expenses. Most of it flowed out of her account: building management fees, utility bills, groceries, vehicle upkeep, holiday costs, gifts and condolence money for both families, and travel expenses.

In effect, A had been covering consumable spending while her husband was building his own asset.

The apartment, worth 500 million won at the time of their marriage, had risen to around 1 billion won eight years later. As the value climbed, the husband grew increasingly insistent that it was his house and his property.

When divorce talks began, he argued that because the apartment had always been in his name and he had paid off the loan with his own salary, it was not subject to division. He even invoked their early agreement to manage finances separately, insisting the apartment was simply not on the table.

The wife, however, sees it differently.

"Because I covered most of the family's living expenses, I believe my husband was able to set aside 2 million won from his salary every month to repay the loan," A said. "But he says the rise in the apartment's value was just thanks to the real estate market and that I had nothing to do with it. I want to know whether this apartment really belongs entirely to him, and whether eight years of paying the household bills counts for nothing in the asset division."

Attorney Bae Su-ji of Shinsegae Law said the answer was clear. "To state the conclusion first: the apartment in the husband's name is subject to asset division," she said.

The husband would likely argue the apartment is his "separate property" because he acquired it before the marriage, she explained, but if the wife contributed to paying down the mortgage and maintaining or increasing the property's value during the marriage, it becomes subject to division.

"Because the wife covered 2 million won in living expenses every month, the husband was able to take that full 2 million won from his income and put it toward the loan," Bae added. "Without her financial support, he would either have struggled to repay the loan on time or faced financial hardship. Her contribution to the household can be recognized as having actively helped maintain and grow the apartment as a shared asset."

But can the wife also claim a share of the price appreciation — the roughly 500 million won gain over eight years?

"If the wife contributed to keeping the apartment by covering living expenses so it did not have to be sold, then the appreciation in market value is also subject to asset division," Bae said.

Ultimately, the entire net asset — the apartment's current value of 1 billion won minus any remaining loan balance — would be subject to division.

However, Bae cautioned that securing evidence would be essential for the court to recognize the wife's contribution.

"To prove that you spent 2 million won each month on living expenses and personal costs, you need to carefully gather your bank account statements and credit card records in your own name," she said.

yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com