In a case where the grandchildren of the deceased filed a lawsuit against the children of the deceased to demand the execution of the ownership transfer registration proceeding, claiming that a deathbed gift contract had been executed before the death of the deceased regarding real estate worth about KRW14 billion after the children of the deceased had inherited the real estate, we represented one of the children of the deceased.

The court ruled that it was highly unusual for the deceased to give the real estate solely to the plaintiffs through a deathbed gift contract while excluding the defendants and other descendants, and therefore, there must be special circumstances to justify the claim. The court further emphasized the need for caution in determining the authenticity of the deathbed gift contract.

In light of this, the court found that: 1) it was difficult to believe that the deceased had any sufficient motive to make such an agreement to give the real estate only to the plaintiffs, even at the risk of disputes with the other defendants, or that there was a close relationship between the deceased and the plaintiffs to justify such a gift; and 2) while the court acknowledged the consistency of the signature on the deathbed gift contract, it found numerous circumstances that raised doubts about whether the signature truly reflected the deceased’s intent. Based on these findings, the court dismissed the admissibility of the deathbed gift contract as evidence and denied all claims made by the plaintiffs.

We argued that, unlike a testamentary disposition, which requires various mechanisms to ensure the deceased's true intentions, a deathbed gift contract does not require any formalities, leaving room for posthumous fabrication. This, combined with the fact that such contracts are rarely used as a means of inheritance, was explained through an analysis of relevant laws and comparative legal frameworks. Furthermore, we provided a detailed account of the long-standing disputes surrounding the deceased's inheritance, demonstrating that it was implausible for the deceased to have given the real estate to the plaintiffs (his grandchildren). Through thorough legal research and active witness examination regarding the authenticity of the document, we logically disproved the circumstances surrounding the creation of the deathbed gift contract and strongly contested its evidentiary value.

As a result of our aggressive defense, the court rejected the admissibility of the deathbed gift contract as evidence, dismissed all of the plaintiffs' claims. This ruling is expected to benefit the client in related cases, such as the division of inherited property.

- Attorneys involved: Song Bong-Jun, Cho Woong-Kyu and Park Ju-Won