When the Estate Went to Just One Person

Whether you can claim a forced heirship share depends on 'when you learned'. In the first week, pin down the dates and documents.

• Write on a calendar the day you obtained the registry record, the day you saw the will, and the day a sibling told you about the gift, and keep those documents.
• Obtain registry certificates for real estate that was in your parent's name from the Internet Registry Office, and check the cause of transfer (gift, bequest or sale) and the date.
• If there is a will, check whether it is notarized or handwritten, and if handwritten, find out whether a court inspection has taken place.
• Honestly write down any money or property you yourself received from your parent during their lifetime. It will not be left out of the calculation.
• Organize what you know about the assets and debts remaining on the date of death.

• Letting the year slip by while trying to talk things out with your sibling
• Sending the sibling who received the gift a written statement or message saying you will not claim a forced heirship share
• Putting off a forced heirship share claim while arguing only that the will is invalid
• Claiming a forced heirship share as a sibling of the deceased (this right was abolished by the 2024 unconstitutionality ruling)

Only children, spouses and parents who become heirs have a forced heirship share (유류분). For children and spouses it is one half of the statutory share, and for parents one third. Grandchildren take over that share when their parent died first and they became heirs by representation (대습상속).

The calculation starts with the property on the date of death, plus gifts, minus debts. Under case law, gifts received by siblings are counted even if made long ago, and gifted property is revalued at its value around the time of death. If, after subtracting what you received and what you will inherit, there is still a shortfall, you can claim that amount. If plenty of the estate remains, there may be no shortfall even if the gifts were large.

If there are several recipients, you claim first from those who received property by will, and only if that is not enough, from those who received lifetime gifts. Within the same group, each returns in proportion to the value they received.

If the person died on or after March 17, 2026, the rule is that the forced heirship shortfall is returned in money, with interest from the date of the claim. If they died before then, the rule, as before, is return of the gifted property itself (as a share), but if it has already been sold, you receive money.

If the sibling who received the gift cared for the parent for a long time and specially supported them, and received the property in return, the portion matching that contribution may now be excluded from the calculation. Be prepared for the other side to make this argument.

Suppose the mother died first, and five years before his death the father gave the eldest son an apartment worth KRW 600 million and then died leaving nothing else. With three children, the base estate is KRW 600 million, each statutory share is one third, and the forced heirship share is half of that, one sixth, so the second son and the daughter can each claim KRW 100 million. Because the eldest son is a co-heir, the gift made five years earlier is included in the calculation.

In a real case, the apartment is appraised at its market value around the time of death, and gifts such as wedding money that the second son or daughter received, as well as any remaining debts, are taken into account, so the amounts change. That is why preparing a rough calculation table before filing a complaint also helps in negotiations.

First, send the person who received the gift a certified letter with proof of contents (내용증명) making clear that you are claiming return of your forced heirship share, and if no agreement is reached, file a civil lawsuit. If there are both a person who received property by will and a person who received lifetime gifts, you claim from the bequest recipient first.

In the lawsuit, orders to submit financial transaction information are used to find hidden cash gifts, and the value of real estate is set by appraisal. Many cases end in mediation during the lawsuit, and the first instance alone usually takes from 6 months to over a year. If there is a risk that the other side will dispose of property, apply for a provisional attachment or provisional injunction when you file.

If the validity of the will itself is doubtful, you can file a lawsuit to confirm the will is invalid, but the forced heirship share deadline keeps running in the meantime. Consider pursuing both claims together.

Jisan Law first calculates the forced heirship shortfall from the registry, the will and financial records, and tells you whether a claim is worthwhile. If it is, we state your claim and file suit before the time limit expires, and dispute the amount through appraisals and financial inquiries.

If it has been nearly a year since you learned of the gift, you should book a consultation today. You can send us a message through the chat on this page at any time, including weekends and public holidays.