"My Son's Urn" Dispute Over Ownership Leads to Lawsuit Between Parents-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law

After their son died one year after marriage, the parents-in-law and daughter-in-law, who had jointly signed a contract to use a columbarium, ended up in a legal dispute over the ownership of the urn after conflicts over management issues. The parents-in-law claimed ownership on the grounds that they had fully paid the columbarium usage and maintenance fees, but the court did not recognize this and ruled in favor of the daughter-in-law.

According to a Yonhap News report on the 14th, the Civil Division 1 of the Western Branch of the Busan District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Se-hyun) announced that it dismissed the ownership confirmation claim lawsuit filed by the deceased A’s parents against A’s wife regarding the urn.

A married B in August 2020 but did not register the marriage, and died one year later. Three months after A’s death, in November 2021, B gave birth to a daughter.

Busan District Court Western Branch Exterior [Image Source=Yonhap News]

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A’s parents jointly signed a usage contract with their daughter-in-law B to enshrine A’s ashes at a columbarium facility in Gyeongnam. Conflicts arose five months after A’s death because B prevented A’s parents from opening the compartment door where the urn was stored or placing artificial flowers and photos without her permission. Consequently, A’s parents filed a lawsuit, claiming that B was restricting their free access to their son’s urn.

During the lawsuit, A’s parents argued that they had fully borne the columbarium usage and maintenance fees and were effectively the ritual hosts. However, the court did not accept this claim. According to current law, the remains or ashes of ancestors are inherited by the ritual host, and the court determined that the ritual host of A was not A’s parents but A’s daughter. The court judged that since B holds sole parental authority over A’s daughter, she also holds rights over the urn.

The court stated, "Since A’s ashes fundamentally belong to A’s daughter, the claim by A’s parents that they jointly possess the ashes is unfounded," adding, "If a minor cannot be a ritual host simply because of their age, it would cause inconsistency and confusion in the legal relationships concerning the status of ritual hosts and inheritance of ritual property." The court also noted, "The claim by A’s parents that they are joint contractors of the columbarium usage contract or that they fully paid the usage fees does not affect the conclusion of this case."

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