Is It Possible to Claim Reserved Portion Rights for Gifted Property from 15 Years Ago?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] “After my father recently passed away, I found out that only my eldest brother received gifts during my father's lifetime. I heard that the statute of limitations for the reserved portion is up to 10 years. Can I file a claim for the return of the reserved portion for assets gifted 15 years ago while my father was still alive?”

Many reserved portion claimants worry about assets gifted by their parents during their lifetime. Unlike assets gifted just a few years before the father's death, it is not easy for heirs to determine the statute of limitations for reserved portions on assets gifted decades ago.

Attorney Eom Jeong-sook of Beopdo Comprehensive Law Office explained, “You just need to remember that the statute of limitations for the reserved portion does not start while the parent is still alive,” adding, “Even for lifetime gifts made decades ago, if it has been less than one year since the parent's death, you can file a claim for the return of the reserved portion.” In other words, even if the assets were gifted decades ago, if the parent was still alive during that period, the statute of limitations for the reserved portion does not apply. The right to the reserved portion arises at the time of the parent's death. There is no reserved portion right while the parent is alive.

The reserved portion system refers to the minimum inheritance amount defined by law. If there are only two siblings, the reserved portion is half of the inheritance amount they would originally receive. For example, if the total assets left by the father are 200 million KRW, each heir’s inheritance amount is 100 million KRW, and the reserved portion calculation is half of that, 50 million KRW each.

A reserved portion claim lawsuit is filed by heirs who claim their reserved portion rights against the heir who inherited all the assets according to the deceased’s will. Article 1117 of the Civil Act (Statute of Limitations) states, “The right to claim return shall be extinguished by prescription if the reserved portion claimant does not exercise the right within one year from the time they become aware of the commencement of inheritance and the gift or legacy to be returned. The same applies if 10 years have passed since the commencement of inheritance.”

Inheritance Commences at Parent’s Death... Reserved Portion Return Claim Can Be Filed Within 1 Year

The statute of limitations for the reserved portion depends on the death of the person passing on the assets. Attorney Eom said, “The commencement of inheritance means the time when the parent dies,” and advised, “Since inheritance rights and reserved portion rights arise only after inheritance commences, regardless of the timing of lifetime gifts, you can file a claim for the return of the reserved portion within one year from the commencement of inheritance.”

What if you found out about assets gifted 15 years ago one year after the parent’s death? Attorney Eom explained, “Even if one year has passed since the parent’s death, if the reserved portion claimant only then becomes aware of the lifetime gift, a short-term statute of limitations of one year applies within the 10-year period,” adding, “In this case, regardless of the gift date 15 years ago, the parent’s death date is the reference point for filing a reserved portion claim.”

Meanwhile, there are cases where the gift date in the past, not the parent’s death date, is important. Attorney Eom said, “In the case of third-party gifts to someone other than the first-order heirs (for example, if the father donated to a charity), the gift date is important,” and advised, “For third-party gifts, a claim for the return of the reserved portion is only possible for gifts made within one year before the parent’s death.”

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