"Why Only Oppa Inherits Gangnam Apartment..." Inheritance Disputes Triggered by Soaring Housing Prices

Increase in Legal Consultations for Claims of Statutory Share Return Before and After Holidays
Lawsuits Up 4.6 Times in 10 Years... Expected to Rise Further Due to Soaring Housing Prices

Seoul viewed from Namsan on the 31st of last month is filled with apartments.

#Mr. A received an apartment worth 1 billion KRW as a gift from his father five years before his father passed away. Recently, while settling the father's estate, his younger sister Ms. B, who learned of this fact late, filed a lawsuit demanding the return of her rightful share of the inheritance from Mr. A.

As housing prices, including apartments, have surged, lawsuits among heirs over real estate inheritance have also sharply increased.

According to the Court Administration on the 8th, the number of lawsuits claiming the return of statutory reserved portions increased about 4.6 times from 295 cases in 2008 to 1,371 cases in 2018. Over the 10 years from 2008, the number of related lawsuits grew by an average of about 17% annually.

Real estate specialist lawyer Eom Jeong-sook said, "Legal consultations regarding statutory reserved portions (inheritance disputes) increase as holidays approach," adding, "Especially, even if the deceased left a will, statutory reserved portions are inheritance rights guaranteed by law, so there are many related legal consultations."

The term ‘statutory reserved portion (遺留分, yuryubun)’ refers to the legally designated share of inheritance property that must go to certain heirs such as direct descendants (children and grandchildren), spouses, direct ascendants (parents and grandparents), and siblings. Under the current Civil Act, statutory reserved portions are recognized so that spouses, children, and other heirs can each have a certain share of the parent's inheritance. The legally determined inheritance shares are in a ratio of 1.5 to 1 between spouses and children, and among children, the shares are equal at 1 to 1 regardless of whether they are the eldest son, second son, son, or daughter.

In cases like the above, even if a parent leaves all their property to one child, if the other child who did not receive any property files a lawsuit, they can reclaim a share equivalent to half of their inheritance portion. In other words, Ms. B can inherit half of the apartment's share, and since the statutory reserved portion can be exercised for half of the legal inheritance share, she can claim an inheritance worth one-quarter of the apartment, which is 250 million KRW.

Experts emphasize that in lawsuits related to statutory reserved portions, special attention should be paid to the fact that "property gifted during the lifetime is also included within the scope of the return of statutory reserved portions." Lawyer Eom explained, "In the case of real estate such as houses and land, even if the property was gifted in advance and disposed of before the commencement of inheritance, it is assumed that the property was held until the commencement of inheritance if it was not actually disposed of," adding that even if time has passed, lawsuits claiming the return of statutory reserved portions are possible.