1. The Client's Crisis

The client was a woman who married her husband and raised four children. Her children grew up, and they were living an ordinary life.

But when she looked through the family register, there was one strange thing. Someone she had never given birth to was listed as her child.

This was the story. Decades ago, when her husband was working as a stationmaster, a subordinate employee died in a train accident. Whether out of sympathy or a sense of responsibility, her husband registered that employee's son under his own family register. The client later learned this through the neighborhood headman, and strongly demanded that the register be corrected, but her stubborn husband never listened.

After that, that person never once visited the client's home or contacted her. And so decades passed.

The issue surfaced after her husband passed away. Because he was listed as a child in the family register, that person filed a lawsuit seeking return of the reserved portion (the minimum inheritance share guaranteed by law). The amount exceeded KRW 100 million. He acknowledged that there was no biological relationship with the client, but while asserting a biological relationship with her husband, he tried to exercise inheritance rights.

The client believed that if this matter was not settled while she was still alive, the dispute would continue on to her children. That was why she came to Jonjae Law Firm.

2. The Key Issue

There was only one thing to confirm: whether there truly was a biological parent-child relationship between the client and the other party.

The family register listed them as mother and child, but the client had never given birth to the other party. Her husband had placed another person's child on the family register and recorded him as if he were the client's biological child. The court had to confirm that this registration was false in order to correct the family register, and only then could the other party's claim to inheritance rights be fundamentally blocked.

Since the other party had already filed a reserved portion lawsuit, there was not much time.

3. Jonjae's Assistance

Attorney Shin Yookyung, a partner, took over the case and immediately applied for a genetic test.

Through the court, a request was sent to a specialized forensic institution, and the client and the other party each appeared at the institution to provide samples. After analyzing more than 15 genetic loci, the test results showed that many alleles between the client and the other party did not match, and that no biological parent-child relationship existed.

In fact, the other party did not dispute the fact that there was no parent-child relationship with the client. He merely sought to exercise inheritance rights based on the family register entry. Once the genetic test results came out, the issue was effectively resolved.

At the hearing, Attorney Shin Yookyung argued, based on the expert report, that there was no biological parent-child relationship, and also explained to the court that once this judgment became final, the very premise of the reserved portion lawsuit filed by the other party would collapse. Aside from being listed as a child in the family register, there was no basis supporting the other party's status as an heir.

4. The Result

Based on the genetic test results, the court found that the client and the other party were not in a biological parent-child relationship. The court also recognized the client's legal interest in seeking confirmation to correct the family register, and rendered a judgment fully granting all of the client's claims.

This opened the way to correct a family register that had been incorrectly recorded for decades. Because the client resolved the matter personally during her lifetime, her children would no longer be drawn into an unnecessary inheritance dispute in the future.

A relationship incorrectly entered in the family register does not change on its own as time passes. Rather, it becomes a spark for unexpected disputes when inheritance or property issues arise. If you are wondering how to respond in a similar situation, the outcome may differ depending on the specific facts of the case, so we recommend consulting a professional.

Responsible Attorney: Attorney Shin Yookyung, Partner

To protect confidentiality, this case has been partially de-identified to the extent that it does not undermine the essence of the matter.