[Chatting] 父 who helped me pay for my wedding...What if I ask for a stimulus check?

□ Broadcast date and time: December 16, 2024 (Monday)
□ Host: Attorney Cho In-seop
□ Starter: Attorney Son Eun-chae

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

□ Reporter: I'm a 45-year-old normal office worker. I have a wife and two elementary school children and live with my single mother. My father left home when I was 14 because of an affair. So I had to make money from the age of 14 by working several part-time jobs such as newspaper delivery, gas station, rice delivery, etc. When I was in my teens and 20s, I resented my father a lot. I dreamed of the future because I like drawing, but I couldn't because of my family's situation. I eventually joined a cement company and have been working until now. I heard that my father set up a house with a mistress and then gave birth to and raised a child. I don't regard my father as my father and have barely contacted him. Nevertheless, when I got married, I couldn't help contacting you. My father was very happy with my contact and added tens of millions of won to add to the lease fund. My mother told me to accept it, and I just took my father's money because it was actually financially difficult. Ten years have passed since then. One day, I received a bill for adjudication on the financial support from my father. My father is currently hospitalized. I broke up with my girlfriend and she's fighting the disease alone, but I'm wondering what to do with the support fee.

◆ Lawyer Cho In-seop (hereinafter referred to as Cho In-seop): This was the story of a lawyer Cho In-seop's counseling center in his 40s. This person's story is also awkward. I think it's going to feel like a combination.

◇ Lawyer Son Eun-chae (hereinafter referred to as Son Eun-chae): Yes. I can't pretend I don't know, and that doesn't mean I have a lot of money, but I can't continue to support it.

◆ [Jo In-seop] Yes, that's right. Last time, we mentioned the stimulus fee, but let's take a look at the concept of the stimulus fee again.

◇ Son Eun-chae: Article 974 of the Civil Code stipulates the obligation to support relatives. There is a duty of support between direct blood and its spouse, and in rare cases, there is a duty of support between parents, children, or relatives who live together even if they are not spouses. Article 975 stipulates that the obligation to support is responsible for fulfilling the obligation to support if the person receiving the support is unable to maintain his or her life on his or her own. As you can see here, you can't get support from your child unconditionally, but you consider yourself to see if you can live on your own, such as the age, health, income, and property status of the claimant, and also look at the level of general living expenses. In addition, the amount of support is determined only when there is economic leeway in consideration of the age, income, and family relationship of the child who is obligated to support. If adult children do not provide financial support for their parents, they can apply for adjustment of the support fee or request a trial of the support fee.

◆ Cho In-seop: Yes. Then I have a little question here. If you were a bad parent, would the support fee be recognized? For example, if a parent fails to fulfill his or her obligation to support his or her child by neglecting him or her when he or she becomes an adult, can the parent claim support from him or her?

◇ Son Eun-chae: Some countries have legally restricted parents' right to support in this case. If you look at foreign legislation, there are quite a few regulations that restrict or deny support claims at all when the claimant does not fulfill his or her obligations in the past or harms the current claimant. It's kind of like an inheritance disqualification that recognizes a kind of stimulus disqualification rule.

◆ [Jo In-seop] Yes, that's right. What about our country?

◇ Son Eun-chae: South Korea does not seem to have a legal basis for limiting the right to claim support at this time. However, the actual judgment seems to consider equity as much as possible. When determining the support fee, the basic legal principle is to compare the degree to which the support claimant needs support, in other words, the degree of self-reliance of the other party. There are cases in which the court actually considers factors such as parents abusing their children in the past or not supporting them at all. And it seems to be gradually changing in the direction of considering whether such a support right holder fulfills its moral obligations.

◆ Cho In-seop: Yes, then has there actually been a case of actually acknowledging less stimulus payments?

◇ Son Eun-chae: Yes, it was in 2006. Similar to the writer, the claimant abandoned his wife and two children and gave birth to a mistress and a child for 20 years. The claimant even gave away the land he had when the child he had with his mistress became an adult. However, in the meantime, the claimant's father, or grandfather, was able to grow up safely by supporting living expenses and school expenses. After that, the claimant became sick in his 70s and was hospitalized, and he claimed support for his children. At this time, the court considered that the obligation to support relatives under Article 974 of the Civil Code does not change depending on the fulfillment of the elderly parents' past parenting obligations for immature children or the moral obligations of the support right holder. However, the obligation was acknowledged, but the amount was set low.

◆ Cho In-seop: Yes, then is there a case of denying the obligation to support other than setting a small budget?

◇ Son Eun-chae: Yes, there was a case like that in 2012. In this case, the father also claimed support for his children. However, domestic violence in the past was so severe that he did not send his young children to school. When my child ran away from home when I was in middle school, I lived with my mother, and I had little contact with my father. When the father claimed the support fee, the child was paying more than 1 million won a month for the hospital expenses of his mother and parents-in-law, and he was raising two minor children. The court rejected the request for support because it did not have such financial leeway to support the claimant while maintaining its current life, but at the same time, it was judged that parents who abused their children in the past and did not fulfill their obligation to support them at all would be an abuse of rights and could not recognize their child's obligation to support.

◆ Cho In-seop: Yes, then if you do not properly fulfill your obligation to support your child as a parent, even if your child's adult child is charged with support, sometimes the support fee is not recognized at all, and sometimes it will be reduced. What will happen to you? In fact, my father didn't fulfill his obligation to support while you were growing up, but I think he gave me a lot of money when he got married.

◇ Son Eun-chae: Yes, that's right. Specifically, I think you should look at how much your father helped you after leaving the house, whether you don't have any, how economically difficult you are now, how much you earn, how much you are spending to support your original family, and whether you have a loan. As you said, when you got married, you contacted your father and received charter support, and although it's rare after that, you kept in touch and had an exchange. If the user is in a situation where he or she has some financial leeway, there is a high possibility that even a small amount of support will be recognized.

◆ [Jo In-seop] Yes, I see. Then, to summarize what we have consulted so far, parents and adult children have an obligation to support. Support fees can only be claimed if the person receiving support cannot live on his or her own. In Korea, even if they were bad parents, they do not legally restrict the right to claim support, but there are rare cases where support fees are recognized less. There have also been cases in the past where fathers have rejected claims for support for their children on the grounds of abuse. In the case of you, I summarized that considering the economic situation and the exchange with your father, the support fee is likely to be recognized in small amounts. So far, Sohn Eun-chae of Shinsegae Law Firm has been with lawyer.

◇ Son Eun-chae: Thank you.

◆ Cho In-seop: You can listen to the counseling center of Cho In-seop through YouTube. If you have any questions or suggestions, please comment.