Brothers Turned Enemies in Property Dispute

More than a decade ago, while working as an apprentice attorney, I encountered a case involving brothers fighting over family property.

It was a dispute between two brothers over their father's estate. The younger brother was dissatisfied that their father's will allocated the first floor—which had a better storefront and larger usable area—to the older brother, while assigning the second floor to him. This led to a bitter falling out with both his older brother and their mother.

Consequently, when the older brother parked his car on the first-floor statutory open space, the younger brother sued in court to have the older brother's parking facilities removed. In anger, the older brother reported the younger brother to the Construction Management Office for illegally adding a shoe cabinet and fence in the stairwell.

This action provoked the younger brother's fury, prompting him to once again petition the court and the Construction Management Office to demolish the illegal rooftop extension on the top floor that was used as their mother's residence. Back and forth they went, resulting in over ten lawsuits.

I remember when the court conducted an on-site inspection that year. To help me understand the court's on-site inspection procedure, my supervising attorney asked me to accompany him to the scene.

Upon arrival, the two brothers were seen pointing fingers and blaming each other. Afterward, the group consisting of the judge, court clerk, and attorneys went up to the illegal rooftop extension. Their mother stood at the corner of the stairwell and loudly rebuked my supervising attorney:

"What a formidable lawyer you are, actually bringing the judge here to tear down my house!"

I vividly remember my supervising attorney, who had retired as a presiding judge of the High Court, replying to her: "I am not as formidable as you, for giving birth to children like these!"

At that moment, the mother's speechless and dumbfounded expression left a deep impression on me.

Upon completing my apprenticeship, I began a legal career spanning over a decade. When I occasionally inquired about the case of the brothers' property dispute, my supervising attorney sighed and said, "The older brother died in a car accident during the Lunar New Year. The younger brother knelt and wept bitterly at the mourning hall, regretting that their bond as brothers was spent entirely in lawsuits. Therefore, the younger brother withdrew all the lawsuits."

The outcome was deeply lamentable. Ever since, seeing estate disputes repeatedly witnessed in court—every time I see family members fiercely and harshly accusing one another inside the courtroom—I recall the expression of that elderly mother and sigh inwardly.

In fact, the legal provisions concerning inheritance are not difficult to understand and are quite fair. For instance, regarding the distribution of an estate, pursuant to Article 1144 of the Civil Code, the deceased's spouse and children share it equally, regardless of gender, whether adopted or biological, or birth order; all receive an equal share. If there are doubts about how a house should be allocated, it can also be sold for cash to be distributed. Furthermore, if the deceased made a will during their lifetime, the heirs naturally ought to respect the deceased's arrangements. After all, these inheritances fell out of the blue, not something earned through one's own efforts.

Regarding the deceased's arrangements during their lifetime, if the heirs have any grievances, sometimes taking a step back to talk things over—or if they do not know how to discuss it, calculating it according to the law—can pacify disputes and let the departed rest in peace, preventing the kind of grief where, like the younger brother in that case, one beats their chest in despair only after losing a loved one, leaving behind eternal regret.

※ Published in: 2004-02-24 / United Daily News / E6 / Fun