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A handwritten will in which a father with dementia left his entire estate to his son-in-law has sparked an inheritance dispute among his three children.

The case was introduced Thursday on YTN Radio's legal advice program "Jo In-seop's Counseling Office," as told by A, the youngest of the three siblings.

A's father had built his wealth by running a construction company and investing in real estate. He was particularly close to his son, giving him 500 million won ($373,000) in business funding in 2011. In 2015, he divorced A's mother and handed over a commercial building as part of the property settlement.

In 2020, the father was diagnosed with dementia.

A's brother-in-law, who had been on good terms with the father, quit his job and moved into the father's home to care for him. A also took her father to the hospital every weekend for three years and covered part of his medical expenses.

The father died last year.

After the funeral, the brother-in-law produced a handwritten will stating that the father had left his entire estate to his son-in-law. A's older sister argued that her husband deserved the inheritance because he had quit his job and cared for their father for years.

The brother raised objections over the commercial building their father had transferred to their mother before his death, yet said nothing about the 500 million won in business funding he himself had received from the father years earlier.

"The siblings who got along fine until our father passed away have now fallen out over the inheritance," A said. A also asked whether a will written after the father's dementia diagnosis would carry legal force, and what would happen to the 500 million won the brother had received in advance and the commercial building the mother had received in the divorce settlement.

Attorney Lee Hyeon-ho said a dementia diagnosis does not automatically invalidate a will. "You need to secure medical records and cognitive function test results from the time the will was written, as well as the circumstances under which it was drafted, and verify whether it meets the formal requirements for a valid will under the law," Lee said.

Lee added that even if the will is found valid and the entire estate passes to the brother-in-law, the children can each file a claim for their reserved share. "Direct lineal descendants of the deceased are guaranteed a reserved share equal to half of their statutory inheritance portion," he said.

Lee also said the 500 million won the brother received 15 years ago could be factored into the reserved-share calculation.

"A gift made to a co-heir during the deceased's lifetime is recognized as a special benefit and included in the base estate for calculating the reserved share," Lee said. "Because it is adjusted for inflation to reflect the monetary value at the time the inheritance opens, it will be counted at a figure larger than the original 500 million won."

However, the commercial building the mother received as a property settlement in the divorce 11 years ago is unlikely to be included in the reserved-share calculation.

"A property settlement involves liquidating and distributing assets that a couple built together during the marriage," Lee said. "Because it cannot be considered a gift, it is not taken into account in inheritance or reserved-share calculations."

On the question of a contribution share, Lee said it is a system that recognizes co-heirs who provided special support to the deceased through long-term cohabitation and caregiving. "The brother-in-law is not a co-heir to begin with, so he cannot claim a contribution share, but A, as a co-heir, can assert one," he said.

However, Lee cautioned that a contribution share cannot exceed the value of the deceased's estate at the time the inheritance opens, minus the value of any bequests. "You need to decide whether to contest the validity of the will or pursue a reserved-share claim," he advised.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com