1. The Client's Crisis

When the decedent died in July 2022, the spouse, eldest son, eldest daughter, and the spouse and children of the already deceased second son (substituted heirs) remained as the heirs. The decedent left a villa, deposits, and stocks, but no agreement on division was reached among the heirs. The clients, as substituted heirs, wanted the villa divided in accordance with the deceased's wishes, but because the other heirs did not agree, they had no choice but to file a lawsuit.

2. Key Issues

The key issues to be resolved in this case were broadly twofold. First, whether the fact that the other party had received land as a gift from the decedent in 2003 and later acquired a commercial unit with expropriation compensation after the land was taken constituted a special benefit. Since the other party argued that the land had actually been transferred in trust to the decedent after the other party paid the purchase price, the key was to neutralize that argument. Second, we had to persuade the court that dividing the villa to the clients, the substituted heirs, was consistent with the decedent's intent.

3. JONJAE's Strategy

Attorney Yoon Ji-sang, the firm's representative lawyer, designed a strategy to prove the other party's special benefit while presenting the court with a division plan reflecting the decedent's wishes.

First, we directly refuted the other party's claim of 'title trust.' We pointed out that the other party admitted having paid only part of the purchase price, and we argued that it defies common experience to view the purchase price as having been paid at the level of the land's publicly assessed value at the time. Furthermore, we submitted as evidence the debt assumption agreement and mortgage change agreement concluded by the decedent at the time, demonstrating that the land was the decedent's property and that it constituted a gift to the other party.

In addition, ahead of the mediation date, we separately submitted a written opinion stating that the villa should be divided among the clients, the substituted heirs, in accordance with the decedent's wishes. The mediation committee member and the presiding judge, having reviewed the briefs and precedents submitted by Law Firm JONJAE, actively persuaded the other party, saying, "If you go to judgment, you will have nothing to take, so concede at a reasonable point."

4. Result and Recovery

Mediation was reached, and the villa and the obligation to return the deposit on the villa were divided among the clients, the substituted heirs. The stocks and deposits were divided to the eldest son, and the matter was concluded by having the eldest son settle the cash with the other heirs. The clients were able to receive an appropriate division of the inherited assets through mediation without going through litigation, achieving a result consistent with the decedent's wishes.

Lead Attorney: Yoon Ji-sang, Representative Attorney

This case has been partially de-identified, to the extent that it does not compromise the essence of the case, in order to protect confidentiality.