"Even if a Waiver Letter Was Written, You Can Still Claim Statutory Share"
Legal Community: "Letters Written During Lifetime Are Not Valid"
"My father made me sign a renunciation of inheritance document, saying he would leave all his property only to my elder brother, the firstborn. However, after my father passed away, I learned that I also have a right to a statutory reserved portion (yuryubun) of the inheritance. In this case, is it possible to file a lawsuit to claim the return of the statutory reserved portion?"
The statutory reserved portion system refers to the minimum inheritance amount prescribed by law. When there are two siblings, the statutory reserved portion is half of the originally entitled inheritance amount. For example, if the total gifted property from the parents is 200 million KRW, the inheritance amount for each is 100 million KRW, and the statutory reserved portion is half of that, 50 million KRW each.
Even if a renunciation of inheritance document was signed while the parents were alive, the legal community holds the opinion that the statutory reserved portion can still be claimed. This is because renunciation of the statutory reserved portion must follow separate legal procedures and methods, such as reporting to the family court.
Attorney Eom Jeong-sook (Beopdo Comprehensive Law Office) stated, "Renunciation of inheritance, including the statutory reserved portion, is only possible within a certain period after the inheritance has commenced (after the father’s death). A renunciation document written during the lifetime of the decedent (parents) has no effect because the inheritance has not yet commenced."
In other words, since the statutory reserved portion and inheritance arise from the time of the decedent’s (parents’) death, a renunciation of inheritance document written while the father was alive is invalid.
Conversely, a renunciation document for the statutory reserved portion written after the decedent’s death is valid because it is at the point when the inheritance has commenced. However, if additional inherited property unknown at the time of signing the renunciation document is later discovered, the statutory reserved portion can still be claimed.
Attorney Eom explained, "A renunciation document for the statutory reserved portion written after the inheritance has commenced is an agreement concerning the range of inherited property recognized by the statutory reserved portion holder. If additional property not recognized by the statutory reserved portion holder is found, the right to the statutory reserved portion remains valid even if a renunciation document was signed."
If the heir who inherited all the property from the parents refuses to return the statutory reserved portion despite a claim, a lawsuit to claim the return of the statutory reserved portion can be filed.
A statutory reserved portion return claim lawsuit is a claim lawsuit where the remaining heirs assert their statutory reserved portion rights against the heir who received all the property according to the parents’ will.
The most important point to note when filing a statutory reserved portion claim lawsuit is to check the statute of limitations. The lawsuit must be filed within one year from the time the claimant becomes aware of the death of the parents and the fact that the property was gifted to another sibling. Otherwise, the right to claim the statutory reserved portion will be extinguished by the statute of limitations.
Attorney Eom said, "When it is unavoidable to write a renunciation document for the statutory reserved portion by agreement among siblings, it is advisable to specify that the agreement applies only to the range of property recognized by oneself (listing specific property items). This helps to handle disputes over property discovered later more favorably."
Meanwhile, according to the '2021 Statutory Reserved Portion Lawsuit Statistics' from the Beopdo Statutory Reserved Portion Lawsuit Center, which provides specialized legal consultations on statutory reserved portion lawsuits, cases where lawsuits were withdrawn through settlement were resolved quickly within 1 to 3 months. On the other hand, the longest lawsuit duration in cases of intense conflict was found to be 25 months.
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