Who is the first-priority heir? How will my father's assets be divided?

Hello. This is an inheritance-specialized attorney from Daeryun Law Firm.

First, I would like to express my deepest condolences for the loss of your father.

I will explain in order regarding the first-priority inheritance and the property division method you asked about.

According to the Civil Act, inheritance is conducted according to the legal inheritance order, and the lineal descendants and spouse of the deceased (decedent) are first-priority heirs.

That is, in your case, your mother (spouse), you, and your sister are all first-priority heirs.

The spouse alone does not become the sole first-priority heir, and when there are children, the spouse and children become joint heirs.

However, the inheritance shares are not equal.

The Civil Act recognizes a higher legal inheritance share for the spouse than for the children, considering the spouse's contribution and protection of the living community.

Specifically, the spouse has a ratio of one child's inheritance share plus 0.5.

Applying this to your situation, when the heirs are your mother and two children (you and your sister), each child has a ratio of 1, and your mother has a ratio of 1.5, and the entire property is divided after summing these.

However, this is an explanation premised on no will.

If your father left a valid will during his lifetime, in principle, the contents of the will apply preferentially.

In the actual inheritance process, depending on real estate, deposits, debts, insurance money, lifetime gifts, etc., problems much more complex than simple share calculations often arise.

To prevent disputes between family members and to proceed with smooth inheritance, it is desirable to receive expert help from the inheritance property listing stage and proceed with inheritance agreement and division procedures.

Whether you fall under first-priority inheritance, calculation of inheritance share, will/legal reserve issues, etc. can vary depending on the case, so we recommend receiving accurate legal review through consultation with an inheritance-specialized attorney for your specific situation.