[Seoul Inheritance Attorney Favorable Judgment] Successful Recovery of the Legally Reserved Portion With the Help of Daeryun's Seoul Inheritance Attorney

The client in this case, who came to the Seoul inheritance attorney, was a grandchild of the deceased, and the client's parents had both passed away.

Although the deceased had spoken about his property several times during his lifetime, after the funeral the client received not a single won of inherited property.

This was because, before the deceased, who had dementia, passed away, the client's maternal uncle had changed all of the real estate registered in the deceased's name into the uncle's name.

However, the client was not well acquainted with the exact share of inheritance to which the client was entitled or with the legal procedures, and the client needed the assistance of a professional, such as an inheritance attorney, to help with a lawsuit claiming the legally reserved portion.

The client therefore came to Daeryun Law Firm's Seoul inheritance attorney.

• Legally reserved portion

A fixed portion of the inherited property that the person receiving the inheritance may not dispose of freely and that must, by law, be reserved for certain heirs

• Right to claim return of the legally reserved portion (Civil Act Article 1115 (1))

The right of a holder of the legally reserved portion to claim return of the property, to the extent of the shortfall, when a shortfall in that legally reserved portion arises due to a gift or testamentary gift by the decedent

• Holders of the legally reserved portion (Civil Act Article 1112, Article 1000 (3), Article 1118)

The decedent's lineal descendants, lineal ascendants, or spouse (siblings excluded)

A fetus and an heir by representation also hold the right to the legally reserved portion

• The legally reserved portion of each holder (Civil Act Article 1112)

※ Exclusion of siblings from payment of the legally reserved portion

On April 25, 2024, the Constitutional Court unanimously rendered a decision of unconstitutionality regarding Article 1112, subparagraph 4 of the Civil Act, which had included siblings among the heirs entitled to the legally reserved portion, and the provision lost its effect. The Constitutional Court determined that it was difficult to find a reasonable basis for granting the right to the legally reserved portion when a contribution to the formation of the inherited property or an expectation regarding the inherited property is scarcely recognized. (Previously, siblings were guaranteed 1/3, the same as parents.)

• Extinctive prescription of the right to claim return of the legally reserved portion (Civil Act Article 1117)

Within 1 year from the time the holder of the legally reserved portion becomes aware of the commencement of the inheritance and of the fact that a gift or testamentary gift subject to return was made

When 10 years have elapsed from the time the inheritance commenced