"Divorce Dismissed" Lived 40 Years with Married Man...
After Husband's Death, Legal Wife Appears Saying "Give Me the Property"
A woman expressed her frustration, claiming that the legal wife has belatedly asserted rights to the property after she lost her partner with whom she had lived for over 40 years.
On the 27th, YTN Radio's "Attorney Jo Inseop's Counseling Center" featured the story of Ms. A, who recently lost her husband.
About 40 years ago, Ms. A met Mr. B and became pregnant, leading them to live together. After giving birth to a son, when Ms. A tried to register the birth and their marriage, she belatedly discovered that Mr. B already had a legal wife. Moreover, the couple had three children together.
Upon learning the truth, Ms. A visited Mr. B’s wife and said, "I was deceived by Mr. B and even gave birth," promising, "If you raise my son, I will never appear again." However, Mr. B’s wife refused, and Ms. A, now a single mother, had to raise her son alone.
Several months later, Mr. B appeared and said he wanted to live together. He explained that he had filed for divorce against his wife but was rejected, and wished to live with Ms. A. Thus, the two lived as a couple.
They opened a store and worked hard to build a family. They purchased an apartment, land, and a building under Mr. B’s name. Over 40 years passed. During that time, Ms. A cared for Mr. B’s parents as his wife and handled all family events.
Mr. B wrote a will stating that he would leave half of his property to Ms. A and their son, saying, "Thanks to you," and passed away shortly after due to old age. Ms. A and her son completed the property title transfers for Mr. B’s real estate.
Suddenly, the legal wife and her children appeared, demanding to see the will, accusing Ms. A of seizing Mr. B’s property. When Ms. A refused, the legal wife’s side claimed "disqualification from inheritance due to hiding the will" and asserted ownership of Mr. B’s real estate.
Ms. A sought advice, saying, "The legal wife is accusing me of long-term adultery with my husband and has even filed a large compensation lawsuit. What should I do?"
Attorney Song Mijeong from Shinsegye Law Firm responded, "There is no legal relationship between Ms. A and Mr. B, so disqualification from inheritance does not apply to Ms. A. Even considering a common-law marriage, inheritance rights are only recognized for the legal spouse." She added, "However, the legal wife and her children are heirs and can claim a return of the statutory portion (yuryubun) of the real estate gifted to Ms. A and her son. Unless there are special circumstances, a court ruling to return the statutory portion is likely. The heirs of Mr. B are the legal wife, her three children, and Ms. A’s son, totaling five people."
Regarding Ms. A’s responsibility for adultery, she said, "It is true that Ms. A was one of the causes of the breakdown of the marriage between Mr. B and his legal wife, but the legal wife cannot hold Ms. A responsible." She continued, "There is a statute of limitations for tort damages: three years from the date the tort was discovered, and ten years from the date it occurred." She advised, "If you know about your spouse’s adultery, it is better to address it quickly unless you plan to completely overlook it."
Netizens who read the story responded with various comments such as, "She was deceived into living together. It’s unfortunate," "Still, she destroyed someone else’s family, so why be so confident," "The deceased husband is the biggest problem," "If he didn’t change the property to the live-in partner’s name, he probably never intended to," and "The legal wife also suffered raising three children for 40 years."
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