Bucheon Damages Attorney | A Case in Which a Client Sued for Damages by a Younger Sibling Was Assisted and the Claim Was Dismissed

The client, who worked in the freight trucking business, had lived with his mother his entire life.

When his mother was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, the client left his job and devoted himself entirely to caring for her.

His mother gave him the password to her bankbook, and the client reportedly withdrew the cancer diagnosis benefits and other funds held in her account to use for medical expenses and living costs.

After his mother passed away, however, the client's younger sibling abruptly filed a claim for damages.

The reasoning was as follows. Because the client had withdrawn cash from his mother's account without her consent, the mother held a claim for damages against the client, and that claim for damages had been inherited by the sibling, so the client should pay the corresponding amount.

The client maintained that this was unjust, and with the assistance of the Bucheon office of Daeryun, he needed to mount a defense against the lawsuit.

▣ Civil Act (Civil Code)

Article 1000 (Order of Inheritance)

(1) In matters of inheritance, the following persons become heirs, in the order set out below.

1. Lineal descendants of the decedent (children)

2. Lineal ascendants of the decedent (parents)

3. Siblings of the decedent

4. Collateral relatives of the decedent within the fourth degree of kinship (the children of the decedent's siblings (nieces and nephews), the siblings of the decedent's parents (uncles and aunts), or the children of the siblings of the decedent's parents (cousins))

Article 1004 (Grounds for Disqualification of an Heir)

A person who falls under any of the following subparagraphs is disqualified from becoming an heir.

1. A person who intentionally kills or attempts to kill a lineal ascendant, the decedent, the decedent's spouse, or a person of prior or equal rank in the order of inheritance

2. A person who intentionally inflicts bodily injury on a lineal ascendant, the decedent, or the decedent's spouse, thereby causing death

3. A person who, by fraud or duress, obstructs the decedent's making or revocation of a will concerning inheritance

4. A person who, by fraud or duress, induces the decedent to make a will concerning inheritance

5. A person who forges, alters, destroys, or conceals a will of the decedent concerning inheritance

The client's younger sibling claimed that the client had withdrawn money from the deceased mother's account without her consent, asserted that this constituted a tort, and sought damages on that basis.

In a claim for damages, however, the occurrence of the tort must be proven by the plaintiff. The plaintiff failed to objectively establish either that (1) the client had withdrawn money from the decedent's account ‘without permission’ or that (2) the client had used that money solely for his own benefit.

As noted above, while the plaintiff was unable to objectively substantiate his claims, the client clearly established that he had devotedly cared for his late mother, that he had received permission to withdraw the funds in the course of attending to her until the very end, and that he had used those funds to cover her funeral expenses.