[Chatting] My mother-in-law forced me to sign a prenuptial contract for "giving up the division of property"..."If you cheated on your husband, what's the effect?"

□ Broadcast date and time: November 22, 2024 (Fri)
□ Host: Attorney Jo In-seop

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information.

◇ Lawyer Cho In-seop (hereinafter referred to as Cho In-seop): When you look at a person's life, life is a drama. I don't know how many characters are in the drama and what will happen, but the ending will be a happy ending. <Attorney Cho In-seop's Counseling Office> Today is Real Theater Day, where your story is turned into a drama.

◆ Female: I'm a housewife of seven years of marriage. My husband really hates losing money. I made sure to take my share. I was like that when I was in a relationship, but why didn't I know then?

- dating days

◈ [Boyfriend at the time] Now... After watching a movie today... I ate... I drank tea and you paid for it, so I need to pay 30,000 won, right? Come on, take it!

◆ YA: Well... It's okay. You can buy it next time.

◈ BK: Sleeping... No, no, no, no, no, no, honey~ Something like that? Gon-ran-hae! You have to calculate it accurately! How are you going to back off and live in this rough world?

◆ YA: Okay~ I got it! I'll get 30,000 won. Oh! There's a bus to my house. I'll leave before you.

◈ B: Wait... Honey, I took you to your house last time. You have to take me home this time. I don't want to say goodbye like this, so take me home. All right!

◆ [Female] My husband made thorough calculations even after he got married. I acted like I would be in big trouble if I lost money. After giving birth to a child, this happened.

◈ M: Honey, didn't you say there's a friend meeting today? I'll keep an eye on him. You can come home in four and a half hours.

◆ Yeo: Okay. I'll be back on time. What's going on today?

◈ M: Well... Last time I went out for a friend meeting, I came home after 4 hours and 30 minutes. Anything should be fair, right?
◆ Female: This personality of her husband, I think, is the influence of her mother-in-law, who started out in a small stall and became the godmother of a restaurant entrepreneur. It reminds me of when I went to get married.

■ Woman (mother-in-law): Yes, if we like each other, we should get married soon. By the way, there's something I need to do before that. You don't know, but people like us write prenuptial contracts when they get married? You don't know, but it's already common in foreign countries. Now, if you want to get married, fill out a prenuptial agreement here. It also says that before you register your marriage, you will give up your claim for division of property when you divorce.

◈ M: Oh, mother!!! As expected, you're smart! You might end up getting divorced, so be prepared! I think I need to learn a lot.

■ [Mother-in-law] And... I'm alone because I had a bereavement when I was young. But you have both parents in your house, don't you? I think it would be fair to take care of only one person for your birthdays. That part is also in the prenuptial contract, so read it carefully.

◈ M: Wow~ Mother! I respect you!

◆ female: But... It's around the time we entered our third year of marriage. I found out that my husband cheated on me. I was just going to let it go because I also have a child. Frankly, because my husband emphasizes fairness, I thought about flirting with him as if I were to see him. But, when I think about my child, I can't. I really want to be a good mother. I couldn't stand it, so I decided to divorce. But when I decided to divorce, I was worried about the prenuptial contract. Should I give up my claim for property division according to the contract? Lawyer! Help me!

◇ Cho In-seop: "Jo In-seop's Counseling Office" Let's talk with the main character of today's story.

◆ Woman: Attorney, I wrote a prenuptial agreement before I got married. If you divorce, there are many provisions that don't divide your property. But now that I think about it, I think I was too naive. Prenuptial contract... Is that supposed to be there?

◇ Jo In-seop: A prenuptial contract refers to a contract prepared by prospective couples according to the general agreement on property, household sharing, and childcare before marriage registration. Except for the essential meaning of marriage, the ideology of gender equality, and acts contrary to social order, the content can be decided freely. Specifically, it will determine and include how to manage and dispose of legal rights, status, and property gained after marriage.

◆ [Female] I see. I think it's already common in foreign countries.

◇ Cho In-seop: Yes, the prenuptial contract is called 'prenup' in English, which is commonly written in the United States, Europe, Australia, etc., and mainly includes alimony, property division, and child rearing in case of divorce. In Japan, the Pre-Nub Association has been established since 2014 to activate prenuptial contracts and has been active since 2014.

◆ YA: Then... How about the prenuptial contract in our country? Can I write the same as foreign countries?

◇ Jo In-seop: Article 830 of our Civil Code adopts a separate marital system. Marital separation refers to the unique property that either couple has even before marriage and the property acquired in their name during marriage as the property of one of them. Accordingly, even if a couple cooperated to raise their property, if it is in the name of one party, it is recognized as that person's. However, the marital property agreement is recognized as an exception to the marital property agreement, and in Korea, the marital property agreement is viewed as a concept similar to the prenuptial contract.

◆ Yeo: Marital property agreement? I've never heard of it before. What's that?

◇ Jo In-seop: Marital property agreement refers to a marriage party's prior agreement on how to own and manage property during marriage before marriage is established. Marital property agreements are stipulated in Article 829 of the Civil Code.

◆ [Female] So, what I've written is a marital property agreement. Do I just need to fill out the marital property agreement?

◇ Jo In-seop: That may be the case between the couple, but in order to be recognized by a third party, it must be registered before the marriage registration is made pursuant to Article 829 (4) of the Civil Code. In addition, since marital property agreements can only be made for property during marriage, alimony and child rearing, or property before marriage or after divorce and registration have no legal effect.

◆ YA: Oh, I have to register? How do I register?

◇ Jo In-seop: The registration of the marital property agreement must be applied together by both parties, i.e., the conciliation party, before the marriage registration, and must be applied to the registration department or registry office of the husband-to-be. In addition, the application for registration of the marital property agreement must be accompanied by a marital property agreement, a certificate of seal of each contractor, a document proving that they have not registered their marriage, a document proving their address, and a document proving their resident registration number (Article 3 of the Registration Rules of the Marriage Property Agreement).

◆ Yeo: I think there may be cases where the marital property agreement needs to be changed after registration, can I change it if necessary? If it can be changed, what is the procedure?

◇ Cho In-seop: Yes, in principle, if the marital property agreement has been registered, it cannot be changed. However, Article 829 (2) of the Civil Code stipulates that if there is a justifiable reason, the registered agreement can be changed with the permission of the court, leaving the possibility of change exceptionally open. When applying for registration of a change in the marital property agreement, a copy of the trial that allowed the change of the agreement, the change of the property manager, or the division of the public property must be attached to the application (Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the Registration Rules of the Marriage Property Agreement). In addition, if one of the couples dies, the other may apply for the extinguishing registration of the marital property agreement (the proviso to Article 70 of the Non-Contentious Case Procedure Act). When applying for the registration of the extinction of a marital property agreement, a document proving the reason must be attached to the application (Article 5, Paragraph 1 of the Registration Rules of the Marriage Property Agreement).

◆ [Female] What about my case? Can't I claim the property division because I have a marital property agreement?

◇ Jo In-seop: As I mentioned earlier, marital property agreements can only be established for property relations during marriage. Accordingly, the Supreme Court said that marital property agreements such as giving up the right to claim property division, giving up custody, and giving up inheritance rights cannot be allowed, and even if a property division agreement is written during the negotiated divorce process, it has no legal effect if a divorce is made in court later. The sender got divorced due to her husband's affair, and the division of property is a right that arises only when a divorce is established. However, the marital property agreement prepared by the writer before marriage includes the fact that he will give up the pre-marriage property division before the rights have even arisen.Therefore, according to the Supreme Court's position, these marital property agreements are unfair and have no legal effect. Therefore, you can claim a property split.

◆ YA: Actually... My husband cheated on me and decided to divorce me. Alimony... You can get it, right?

◇ Jo In-seop: Yes, alimony is a compensation for damages to the spouse responsible for the divorce, that is, the spouse responsible for the divorce, on the grounds of mental distress caused by the divorce. Because it is clear that the husband of the sender is responsible for the infidelity divorce, he may also claim alimony separately from the husband in addition to the division of the property.

◆ Yeo: Yes, there were so many things I didn't know. I'll think about it by referring to what you said today.

◇ Cho In-seop: Yes, I hope it helps. a counseling center for lawyer Cho In-seop We've met today's storyteller.