"Why Are Families Like This?" Inheritance Disputes 'Surging'... Impact of Rising Asset Values and Awareness of Rights

Inheritance Property Division Trials and Claims for Return of Reserved Portions Increase Simultaneously

#. Mr. Jin-gyu Lee (pseudonym), a single man in his 30s and the eldest son in his family, is currently involved in a statutory portion return claim lawsuit at the civil court with his two younger sisters. Their parents left a piece of real estate and 300 million KRW in funds solely to Mr. Lee, which has caused dissatisfaction among the other sisters. According to civil law, direct descendants and spouses are entitled to half of the statutory inheritance share, while direct ascendants and siblings are entitled to one-third of the statutory inheritance share as their statutory portion rights. Therefore, the sisters who filed the lawsuit against their eldest brother can each claim at least one-sixth of the total inherited property.

Disputes over inherited property have led to a record high number of siblings and family members visiting the courts.

According to the Court Administration Office on the 23rd, the number of inheritance property division adjudication requests filed at family courts nationwide last year totaled 2,380 cases. The numbers have been increasing annually: ▲2016 - 1,233 cases ▲2017 - 1,403 cases ▲2018 - 1,710 cases ▲2019 - 1,887 cases.

The number of statutory portion return claim lawsuits filed at first-instance courts nationwide also reached a record high of 1,701 cases last year. Recent trends show a steady increase: ▲2016 - 1,096 cases ▲2017 - 1,233 cases ▲2018 - 1,372 cases ▲2019 - 1,512 cases. Although there was a decline to 1,444 cases in 2020, the number rebounded last year with an increase of 257 cases.

Inheritance property division adjudication involves dividing the remaining property of the deceased through court adjudication. Unlike lawsuits that proceed through trial dates and strict procedures, these cases are handled non-contentiously in family courts, giving the judges considerable discretion. Statutory portion return lawsuits are civil court cases that calculate the entire inherited property, including prior gifts and bequests, and claim the deficient statutory portion from other heirs.

The increase in family inheritance disputes is attributed to the "rise in individual rights awareness" and the "rapid increase in asset values." Attorney Ji-soo Choi, head of the Choi Ji-soo Law Office, stated, "Ultimately, many cases are due to dissatisfaction with the division agreement results," adding, "The fact that lawsuits proceed to statutory portion return claims shows a heightened awareness of one's property rights." Attorney Yong-gyu Oh of Dongin Law Firm also said, "It ultimately means people want to claim their share," and added, "There is still a tendency to concentrate property on the 'eldest' or 'son,' which often leads to related lawsuits."

Attorney Choi particularly noted, "With the rapid rise in real estate prices and asset values, it is difficult to give up greed and concentrate property on one sibling." After the massive spread of COVID-19, the liquidity in the market gradually increased, surpassing 3,600 trillion KRW in December last year, marking an all-time high.

Experts advise that parents should discuss with their children to make the inheritance property transparent and organize it in advance to minimize disputes. In reality, various methods of prior gifting are carried out to avoid tax issues, but since this process is not disclosed to all siblings, situations arise after the deceased’s passing where siblings investigate each other's accounts or engage in lawsuits. Attorney Oh explained, "Even if more property is inherited by a specific child, if the process is explained to siblings within their statutory portion rights, it does not lead to lawsuits. Writing a will in advance is also a good method."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.