Case of acting as an administrator of inheritance property in the inheritance of a Korean national

Outline of the case

We acted as an administrator of the estate of a Korean national at the request of the Tokyo Family Court in a case of inheritance of a Korean national as a decedent. In addition to administering the property located in Japan, we submitted a report on Korean law related to the inheritance to the court.

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We have handled many inheritance and estate administration cases of Korean nationals at the request of the heirs of Korean nationals or at the request of the family court. In the inheritance of Korean nationals, even if the inheritance assets are located in Japan and all heirs are Japanese nationals, Korean law applies, and there are significant differences from Japan in terms of statutory inheritance shares and the scope of heirs (Article 36 of the Act on General Rules for Application of Laws. In addition, Korean laws related to inheritance have been amended many times, so it is necessary to research the Korean laws that were in effect at the time of the decedent’s death. Furthermore, in Korea, it has become very difficult to investigate family registers and resident registers due to legal revisions that emphasize the protection of personal information, so it is also necessary to ask a Korean lawyer or judicial scrivener to investigate the heirs. On the other hand, Korea is a country that adopts the principle of uniformity of inheritance, so regardless of whether the inherited property is movable property, real estate, bank deposits, or other liquid assets, Korean law applies to all of them. In addition, if the inherited property is located in Japan, Japan has jurisdiction over the inherited property, and the family court in Japan can be used to mediate the division of the estate or to renounce inheritance. We also provide advice on inheritance cases in which the decedent is a Korean national and Korean law is the governing law.