[Chatting] My father's hospital bills are on his own.How to claim to your disgusting siblings?

□ Broadcast date and time: November 5, 2024 (Tue)
□ Host: Attorney Cho In-seop
□ Cast: Attorney Yoo Hye-jin

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

□ Reporter: I'm the oldest of three siblings. When I was young, my father was conservative and strict. In particular, he was particularly strict with me, the eldest son, and I think he thought he should set an example for his younger siblings. When I was in school... Being rebellious, I often bumped into my father. When I was in middle school, I ran away from home after being beaten. It was my younger brothers who benefited from me. My father took all the energy out of dealing with me, so he treated my younger siblings well without touching them. But I feel that time is so meaningless. My hot-tempered father also weakened a lot as he got older. He also had diabetes complications. My mother, who has lived as a housewife all her life, also got dementia and went to a nursing home. Usually, I promised to do my best to become a younger brother and son. We decided to serve our parents together. But the promise was not kept. When my father was hospitalized, my younger brother sent me a little money for the hospital. Even if it's my eldest son's responsibility to give up 100 times to serve my parents, it's too burdensome for me to pay for the hospital alone. I even got into debt while paying for the hospital. However, I am disgusted by the younger brothers who clearly know my situation and pretend not to know it. My father died in the hospital a while ago. Can I get a part of the hospital bill from my brother and sister?

◇ Lawyer Cho In-seop (hereinafter referred to as Cho In-seop): The sender of <Attorney Cho In-seop's Counseling Office> is the eldest of three siblings and said he wants to receive hospital bills from his younger siblings. Because of money issues, conflicts often arise between brothers. In order to see if you can get your hospital bills back from other siblings, you should first look into the obligation to support your relatives. Please briefly explain the obligation to support.

◆ Lawyer Yoo Hye-jin (hereinafter referred to as Yoo Hye-jin): The obligation to support relatives is one of the important effects of kinship, and occurs between a certain range of relatives, when there are certain circumstances. In general, civil law support can be divided into the primary support obligation and the secondary support obligation.

◇ Cho In-seop: How are the first and second stimulus obligations specifically different?

◆ Yoo Hye-jin: The primary obligation to support is to support yourself, which means that you have to share even a piece of bread. Article 826 (1) of the Civil Code stipulates the obligation of mutual support between couples without primary support. Parents' obligation to raise their minor children is also the primary obligation to support them. On the other hand, the second obligation to support is recognized only when one can afford it, and the provisions on support under Article 974 of the Civil Code apply. Since these primary and secondary support obligations mean not only the degree of fulfillment of the obligation but also the ranking of fulfillment of the obligation, the secondary support obligation is subordinate to the primary support obligation.

◇ Cho In-seop: So you're the second fiduciary of your father, right?

◆ Yoo Hye-jin: Yes, your late father's primary carer is his spouse's mother, and his children, his younger brother, and his younger sister, are secondary carers. In addition, if the first and second support obligations exist at the same time, the first support obligation shall take precedence over the second support obligation unless there are special circumstances. However, considering the mother's age, diagnosis of dementia, and circumstances that appear to have no job or income, it can be said that there were special circumstances in which it was difficult for her mother to support her late father. Therefore, the children who are the father's second fiduciary duty, namely the sender, younger brother, and younger sister, are obligated to support their father.

◇ Cho In-seop: How is the degree and method of support determined?

◆ Yoo Hye-jin: The degree and method of support can be determined by agreement of the parties first, and if there is no agreement between the parties, the Family Court can determine it by request of the parties. However, even if there has been a party agreement or a court trial regarding support, the court may cancel or change the agreement or trial if there is a change in circumstances pursuant to Article 978 of the Civil Code. The degree of stimulus is, after all, a question of how much stimulus money is set. Therefore, the support fee will have to be determined in consideration of the relationship between the supporting right holder and the supporting obligation, the standard of living of the person to be supported, the self-reliance of the supporting obligation, and other circumstances.

◇ Cho In-seop: How to support... What do you have?

◆ Yoo Hye-jin: There are ways of supporting money, in-kind support, and actually cohabitation support that you live with and take care of, and that's the main issue on trial.

◇ Cho In-seop: What is the effect of the promise you made with your brother? Can it be legally enforced, seeing it as an agreement that sets the degree and method of support?

◆ Yoo Hye-jin: The facts are not clear, but it seems that the appointment was only between my brother and the sender. Therefore, if the mother or sister, who is the dependent party, is excluded, it would be unreasonable to regard it as an agreement between the parties. On the other hand, the sender and younger brother seem to have promised verbally several times to do all their duties as sons. It's a rule to keep verbal promises as well, but my brother refused to pay for the hospital, so it seems he didn't keep his promise in the end. In these cases, if the sender is to legally enforce the fulfillment of the promise, he or she needs evidence to prove the commitment. Even if you specifically set out how to support your father instead of your mother at the time of your appointment, it will be difficult to legally enforce it if your younger brother denies the contents without evidence such as documents.

◇ Cho In-seop: Since you already paid for the hospital, and your father has passed away, I think the hospital fee will be equivalent to the support fee of the past. Can I also claim past stimulus payments?

◆ Yoo Hye-jin: The Supreme Court believes that if there are several persons obligated to support pursuant to Articles 974 and 975 of the Civil Code, one of them who fulfills his/her obligation to support can claim reimbursement of the expenses to the extent that it is deemed that others share the past subsidies already spent on others (see Supreme Court Decision on June 2, 1994). If so, the sender has fulfilled his father's support obligations, so he can claim reimbursement of the previous support fees already spent on his younger brother or sister, to the extent that the younger brothers are deemed to have a significant share of the hospital expenses.

◇ Cho In-seop: How will the amount of hospital expenses that your sister and brother will pay be determined?

◆ Yoo Hye-jin: The Supreme Court believes that the court can determine the scope of sharing that is deemed appropriate by taking into account other circumstances, such as the age of the supporting right holder, the property situation of the supporting obligation, the mutual relationship between the supporting obligation and the relationship between the supporting obligation and the supporting right holder (see Supreme Court Decision on June 2, 1994). There is no separate standard for calculating certain support fees, so the court will decide by comprehensively considering all circumstances.

◇ Jo In-seop: Now, to summarize what we've done so far... The obligation to support can be divided into the first and second rounds under civil law. The primary support obligation can be said to be an essential obligation between couples and parents to support underage children, the secondary support obligation is recognized when the parties can afford it, and the subordinate support obligation. According to today's story, children who are secondary dependents are obligated to support their father because their mother has been diagnosed with dementia. The degree and method of support is determined by the agreement of the parties or determined by the court. And the promise of serving my brother and my parents... Without evidence to prove, it seems difficult to enforce the implementation. Because you have fulfilled your father's support obligations, you can charge your brother and sister a portion of the hospital bills they have already spent. It seems that the court will set the hospital fee for the younger brother and sister in consideration of various circumstances. You've been with lawyer Yoo Hye-jin.

◆ Thank you.

◇ Cho In-seop: You can listen to <Attorney Cho In-seop's Counseling Office> again on YouTube. If you have any questions or suggestions, please comment.