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Who are the first-priority heirs? How will my father's property be divided?

My father recently passed away, and our family is discussing the inheritance matter. The heirs are my mother, myself, and my older sister. In this case, I would like to know exactly who the first-priority heirs are and on what basis my father's property will be divided. I would also like to know whether the method of inheritance differs depending on whether or not there is a will.

first-priority heirs

Answer to Related Inquiry

Author: 김국일

Hello. This is an attorney experienced in inheritance cases at Daeryun Law LLC.

First, I offer my deepest condolences on the loss of your father.

I will explain, in order, the first-priority heirs and the method of dividing the property that you asked about.

Under the Civil Act, inheritance takes place according to the statutory order of succession, and the lineal descendants and the spouse of the decedent (the deceased) are the first-priority heirs.

In other words, in your case, your mother (the spouse), you, and your older sister are all first-priority heirs.

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

However, the inheritance shares are not equal.

In consideration of the spouse's contribution and the protection of the living community, the Civil Act grants the spouse a larger statutory inheritance share than the children.

Specifically, the spouse receives a share equal to that of one child plus an additional 0.5.

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

However, this explanation is premised on there being no will.

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

In the actual inheritance process, depending on matters such as real estate, deposits, debts, insurance proceeds, and whether there were gifts during the decedent's lifetime, problems far more complex than a simple share calculation often arise.

In order to prevent disputes among family members and to carry out the inheritance smoothly, it is advisable to proceed with the inheritance consultation and division procedures with the help of an expert, starting from the stage of organizing the list of inherited property.

Whether one qualifies as a first-priority heir, the calculation of inheritance shares, and matters concerning wills and the legally reserved portion may vary from case to case, so for your specific situation you may wish to obtain an accurate legal review through a consultation with an attorney experienced in inheritance cases.