When You Should Get Advice
- The day after our father died, my brother withdrew all the cash using his card
- The house had been transferred to my younger sibling using a division agreement stamped with my registered seal
- My sister, who looked after our mother, transferred tens of millions of won from her account while she was alive
- I moved money from our father's account to pay for the funeral, and my sibling says they will file a complaint
- The handwriting on the will does not look like our father's, and I want to file a complaint for forgery
Relevant Laws
Criminal Act (형법) Article 328 (Crimes between relatives and complaints)
If a person who obstructs the exercise of rights is a relative of the victim, prosecution requires a complaint, and in this case a complaint may also be filed against one's own or one's spouse's lineal ascendants. This also applies to theft, fraud, computer-related fraud, embezzlement, breach of trust and others (Articles 344, 354 and 361). The provisions amended on December 31, 2025 apply to crimes first committed on or after June 27, 2024 (Addenda Article 2).
Criminal Act Article 347-2 (Computer-related fraud), Article 355 (Embezzlement)
Obtaining a financial benefit by entering information without authority is punishable by imprisonment of up to 20 years or a fine of up to KRW 50 million, and embezzling another person's property in one's keeping is punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to KRW 15 million.
Criminal Act Articles 231 and 234 (Forgery of private documents; use of forged private documents)
Forging another person's document concerning rights or duties for the purpose of using it, or using a forged document, is punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to KRW 10 million. Causing a false entry in the registry through a false report also raises the crime of false entry in an authenticated original document (Article 228).
Statutes are summarized. The official Korean text is available at the Korea Law Information Center (law.go.kr).
Which Crimes Are Involved
Taking money out after the death using the deceased's debit card or mobile banking can be computer-related fraud, and withdrawing at a bank counter with the deceased's bankbook and seal can be fraud or forgery of a private document. If a child who managed a parent's account while the parent was alive used the money for themselves without permission, that is embezzlement.
Secretly using a sibling's registered seal to make an agreement on division of the estate amounts to forgery and use of a private document and misuse of a seal, and if the agreement was used for registration, false entry in an authenticated original document and its use are also considered. A person who forges a will concerning inheritance loses the right to be an heir, separately from criminal punishment (Civil Act (민법) Article 1004, item 5).
Even Family Members Can Be Punished
In the past, theft, fraud and embezzlement between close family members such as parents, children and spouses were exempt from punishment. After the Constitutional Court found this incompatible with the Constitution, the Criminal Act was amended on December 31, 2025, so now prosecution is possible between relatives if the victim files a complaint, and filing a complaint against a parent is also allowed. These provisions apply to crimes first committed on or after June 27, 2024, so first check the dates the money was taken.
The rules on crimes between relatives apply only to property crimes; there is no such exception for forging documents or misusing a seal. In a case where someone put the deceased's bankbook into an ATM and transferred money to another account, the Supreme Court treated the bank as the victim and did not apply the rules on crimes between relatives (Supreme Court Decision 2006도2704 of March 15, 2007).
Complaint Period and Procedure
For crimes that require a complaint, such as property crimes between relatives, the complaint must be filed within 6 months from the day you learned who the offender was (Criminal Procedure Act (형사소송법) Article 230). If the crime was committed while your parent was alive and your parent has since died, the spouse, lineal relatives or siblings can file a complaint, but not against the parent's expressed wishes (Article 225(2)).
The complaint is filed with the police. From October 2, 2026, after the police investigate and refer the case, a prosecutor at the Public Prosecution Service (공소청) decides whether to indict and, if needed, requests a supplementary investigation. Criminal proceedings do not get your money back, so civil proceedings such as a claim for return or division of the estate must be pursued alongside.
If a Complaint Has Been Filed Against You
If the money was spent for the deceased, such as on funeral or hospital costs, organize where it went using receipts and transfer records, and gather signs that the other heirs knew about it. Whether the amount stayed within your own inheritance share, and whether any money has already been settled or returned, also affect the outcome.
Before appearing at the police, make a table of where the money went by transaction date and check your statement against likely questions. Jisan Law responds with practice before questioning, attendance at the questioning and a written defense opinion, and looks at the civil settlement and the criminal proceedings together to decide on a direction.
Circumstances That Affect the Decision and Sentence
Factors that work against you
- · Large amounts taken repeatedly
- · Withdrawals while the deceased was unconscious or in intensive care
- · Fabricating an agreement or power of attorney and using it for registration or withdrawals
- · Hiding it from other heirs, or closing accounts to erase the traces
- · Refusing to settle or return the money even after the complaint
Factors that work in your favor
- · Receipts confirm that the money was spent for the deceased, such as on funeral or hospital costs
- · The amount was within your own inheritance share and the other heirs also knew
- · You returned the money before the investigation, or agreed to settle it in the division of the estate
- · There is evidence that the deceased clearly gave permission while alive
How We Handle an Inheritance Involving Criminal Issues
- 1
Organizing dates and amounts
We split the transaction records into before and after the death and set out in a table how the money was withdrawn and which accounts received it.
- 2
Confirming the applicable rules
Depending on whether the crime was on or after June 27, 2024, and whether it is a property crime or a document crime, we work out whether a complaint is needed and the deadline.
- 3
Preparing a complaint or a defense
For the complaining side, Jisan Law drafts the complaint and submits it with the evidence; for the side facing a complaint, we prepare records of how the money was used and the statement.
- 4
Handling questioning
Before police questioning we practice likely questions, and a lawyer attends the suspect's questioning and raises objections to improper questions on the spot. For the complaining side, we attend the complainant's questioning together.
- 5
Resolving it together with civil claims
We pursue a claim for return, division of the estate and a lawsuit to cancel registration alongside, and consider whether a settlement is possible.
Lawyers handling these cases
Hansol Kim Managing Partner
Former prosecutor at the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office, the Ansan Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office and the Hongseong Branch of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office
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Miso Kim Partner
Formerly at Daehwan Law Firm, in-house counsel on the legal team of Wemade Co., Ltd., and Oracle Law Firm
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Frequently asked questions
Is there no point filing a complaint over money taken before June 2024?
The amended provisions apply to crimes first committed on or after June 27, 2024, so earlier crimes must be assessed separately under the previous provisions and the effect of the Constitutional Court's decision. Even if criminal punishment is difficult, you can still claim the money back in a civil case or have it settled in the division of the estate.
I heard that the amendment included a special rule allowing complaints within 6 months. Does it still apply?
There was a special rule allowing complaints, for crimes committed between June 27, 2024 and the effective date of the amendment, for 6 months from December 31, 2025, the date the amended law took effect (Addenda Article 3). By calculation, that period ended at the end of June 2026, so now the general rule of 6 months from the day you learned who the offender was applies.
If we siblings settle, does the case end?
For property crimes between relatives that require a complaint, prosecution cannot proceed once the complaint is withdrawn. A complaint can be withdrawn only before the first-instance judgment is pronounced, and once withdrawn, it cannot be filed again (Criminal Procedure Act Article 232). For crimes that do not require a complaint, such as forging documents, the investigation can continue even after a settlement.