Last Updated on 2023-05-05 , 10:50 am
While messy divorces might seem like they only happen in dramas and other television programmes, there’s no doubt that they can happen in real life as well.
Just like this recent case where a woman took her ex-husband’s family to court in an attempt to claim ownership over half of the family’s assets.
Yup, you didn’t read that wrongly. Half, and if the “maths isn’t mathing”, I’ll break it down for you in a bit.
In particular, the two assets that the woman tried to claim half of were the rights to the family’s Housing Development Board (HDB) and the profits of their shophouse.
Based on the court hearing, the woman, He Jinyan (Hanyu pinyin), and her husband, Ke Ruihe (Hanyu pinyin), began divorce procedures in May 2021.
However, during the process, Ms He claimed that her name was listed as a joint owner of the family’s HDB unit at Block 99 Bedok North Street 4.
She then suggested that Mr Ke purchase her half of the rights to the HDB unit from her.
Unit Was Bought by Ex-Husband’s Father, Ex-Husband Put Woman’s Name as Joint Owner Without Telling Siblings
Regarding the HDB unit, court documents showed that the unit was actually purchased by Mr Ke’s father for $30,000 in 1978.
(Which is a price that we could only dream of today when it comes to property prices.)
Since his family was running a convenience store at that point in time, the older Mr Ke had bought the unit for his family of seven to stay in it as it was more convenient for them.
After retiring in 1989, the older Mr Ke sold his business to Ke Ruilin, his oldest daughter.
He also moved in with the younger Mr Ke, who married Ms He a few years afterwards in 1996.
However, Mr Ke and Ms He purchased a condominium unit and moved out of the HDB unit after three years, leaving only the older Mr and Mrs Ke to stay in the flat.
In 2003, the older Mr Ke was diagnosed with cancer, which prompted him to list Mr Ke Ruihe as the sole owner of the Bedok HDB unit a year later.
After the older Mr Ke’s passing in 2012, his wife and a domestic helper continued to live in the unit.
However, Mr Ke Ruihe listed Ms He as a joint owner of the flat in 2013 without notifying any of his siblings.
Condensed Timeline of Events
And if you’re already confused about what’s going on, here’s a condensed timeline of events surrounding the HDB unit:
1978: The older Mr Ke bought the unit.
1989: The older Mr Ke retired, sold his business to his oldest daughter and moved in to live with Mr Ke Ruihe.
1996: Mr Ke Ruihe married Ms He.
1999: Mr Ke and Ms He move out to a condominium unit, leaving only Mr Ke’s parents to live in the HDB unit.
2004: The older Mr Ke lists his son as the sole owner of the house one year after being diagnosed with cancer.
2012: The older Mr Ke passes away, leaving his wife and a domestic helper to continue living in the unit.
2013: Mr Ke Ruihe lists Ms He as a joint owner of the house without telling anyone in his family.
Siblings Only Found Out About Joint Ownership Issue Due to Divorce Procedures
As for what Mr Ke’s four siblings have to say about the joint ownership issue, they claimed that they only found out that Ms He was listed as a joint owner due to the couple’s divorce procedures.
As the older Mrs Ke has dementia, Ms Ke Ruilin acted on her behalf and sued both Mr Ke Ruihe and Ms He over the ownership of the HDB unit.
In particular, she mentioned that the former couple were just the trustees and that the flat should belong to her mother.
She added that she and her siblings would receive beneficial ownership when their mother passes away and that her father did not intend to leave the flat to Mr Ke Ruihe.
Similarly, she pointed out that her brother did not intend to “gift” the flat to Ms He in any way.
Apart from that, she said that her mother needs to live in a familiar environment due to her dementia, meaning she should continue staying in the Bedok HDB flat.
Since the flat was the main asset that belonged to the older Mr Ke, it would not be possible for Ms He to disregard the Ke siblings’ right to inherit the unit.
On the other hand, Ms He rebutted by saying that Mr Ke never informed her that the unit belonged to his mother.
She then claimed that the flat was a gift from her former father-in-law to her former husband and that the latter gave her joint ownership of the unit as a gift too.
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Judge’s Remarks
During the court hearing, the judge determined that Mr Ke Ruihe had no intention of gifting half of the flat to Ms He.
In particular, it was noted that Ms He took no interest in the flat before the divorce and that the flat had always been taken care of by the Ke siblings.
Ultimately, Ms He’s application to receive half of the property was rejected.
However, regarding another property, a store at Golden Mile Complex, the judge deemed that it belonged to Mr Ke Ruihe.
As such, it should belong in the couple’s shared marital assets.
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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