[Getty Images Bank]
[Getty Images Bank]

A woman who discovered her husband had been secretly playing online baccarat — despite promising to quit gambling — reached out for legal advice on how to protect real estate registered in his name.

The woman, identified only as A, shared her story Tuesday on YTN Radio's legal advice program "Jo In-seop's Counseling Office." She said her husband was generally warm and attentive to the family but had long had a fondness for gambling — to the point of seeking out casinos whenever they traveled abroad. When they married, he promised he would never gamble again.

Recently, however, A came across her husband's smartphone and discovered he had been playing online baccarat. He had already lost a significant amount of money.

When she confronted him, he admitted what he had done and promised once more that he would stop gambling.

A said she was worried he might relapse, and particularly feared he could secretly take on debt to fund his habit and end up losing their assets.

She was especially concerned about a piece of real estate his parents had recently given him, and said she wanted to find a way to prevent that property from being lost to gambling debts.

"I considered having a portion of the property transferred to my name, or having a collateral mortgage registered in my favor," she said, "but I'm hesitant to go ahead because his parents might find out."

She also asked whether a notarized gift contract with her husband would allow her to exercise a claim for ownership transfer if he later changed his mind and returned the property to his parents, or used it as collateral to take out a loan from a third party.

Attorney Park Su-min said that even a notarized gift contract between spouses does not, by itself, allow for an immediate transfer of title. "If the husband transfers the property to a third party or registers a collateral mortgage on it, the situation can become legally complicated," Park said.

To guard against that risk, Park advised registering a "provisional registration of ownership transfer claim," which secures the priority of the wife's rights in advance. "The contract should include a clause requiring the husband to cooperate in completing the provisional registration, and it is best to follow through and actually complete it while he is willing to cooperate," Park said.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com