Stepmother withdrew large sums from unconscious father's accounts, son seeks legal advice

A man who discovered that his stepmother had withdrawn large sums from his father's bank accounts while the father lay unconscious is seeking legal advice on how to recover the money.

The story of a man identified as A, who is locked in an inheritance dispute with his stepmother following his father's death, was featured Monday on YTN Radio's legal advice program "Attorney Jo In-seop's Counseling Center."

A, the second of five siblings, said his father had lived alone for many years after losing his mother early, then remarried two years ago after meeting someone new. The siblings initially welcomed the remarriage, but the situation changed abruptly when their father's chronic illness suddenly worsened shortly afterward.

The father was admitted to the intensive care unit and spent roughly two months in a near-unconscious state before dying. The problem came to light after his death. A said he discovered that large amounts of money had been withdrawn from multiple accounts during the two months his father was in the ICU — far more than ordinary living expenses.

When the family asked what had happened, the stepmother reportedly told them without hesitation that her husband had authorized the money during his lifetime and that she had already spent it all.

A and his siblings find that explanation hard to accept. They point out that their father had been unable to communicate at the time and had always kept close track of his spending. A also noted that his youngest sibling has a disability requiring lifelong care, adding that their father had always said he wanted to set aside his assets for that sibling.

When the siblings conveyed those concerns to the stepmother, she reportedly grew angry and accused them of doubting their father's wishes. A said he wants to know whether the money withdrawn during his father's period of unconsciousness can be recovered, whether he can raise the issue during the inheritance process, and what criminal options may be available.

Attorney Woo Jin-seo said that a remarried spouse withdrawing money from a deceased person's account does not automatically establish legal authority to do so. Because financial transactions between spouses often lack written contracts, he said, courts must weigh multiple factors — including the deceased's typical money management habits, the scale of the withdrawals, the length of the marriage, the deceased's health at the time, and how the funds were used.

Woo added that in this case, recognizing an intent to make a gift would be difficult, given that the marriage was short, the withdrawals coincided with the ICU admission period, and the father had expressed a wish to leave his assets to his youngest child.

On the question of criminal liability, Woo said fraud charges could apply if deposits were withdrawn without lawful authority, noting that courts have previously recognized fraud in cases involving unauthorized withdrawals by a remarried spouse. He also advised that the family could seek to have the withdrawn amounts treated as part of the estate and demand their return, or argue that the withdrawals constitute a special benefit to be accounted for during the division of the inheritance.