When You Find a Handwritten Will at Home

When you find a will, first photograph the front and back, then put the original, still folded as it was, into an envelope and keep it safe. Tracing over faint writing, taping torn parts or adding notes can lead to claims of forgery or alteration.

If it is sealed in an envelope, do not open it. A sealed will is opened by the court in the presence of the heirs, their representatives or others (Civil Act (민법) Article 1092). If it has already been opened, write down how that happened and request a court inspection as it is.

Also keep any notes, notebooks or letters found in the same place as the will. They can serve as handwriting samples for comparison and as evidence of what the deceased was thinking around the time the will was written.

A person who keeps or finds a will must request a court inspection (검인) from the family court without delay after the testator's death. The competent court is the one for the place where the inheritance began, usually the family court with jurisdiction over the deceased's last address.

Submit the original will with the request, and attach the deceased's basic certificate (기본증명서), family relationship certificate (가족관계증명서) and certificate of removed family register (제적등본), along with documents showing the addresses of all the heirs. The court must notify the heirs of the date, so it is important to give their addresses accurately.

When requesting the inspection, it helps to note briefly how you came to keep or find the will. Other heirs often ask 'why has this only turned up now?', so when, where and by whom it was found can become an important fact later.

At the inspection hearing, the court checks the paper, writing instrument, handwriting, date and seal of the will and prepares a written record. It may ask the heirs present whether the handwriting and seal are the testator's, and their answers are recorded. The inspection goes ahead even if heirs do not attend.

The court inspection is only a procedure for confirming and preserving the condition of the will; it is not a trial that decides whether the will is valid. An inspection does not make a will valid, and the lack of one does not make it void.

If there are many heirs, or some addresses are unknown, notices of the date may be delayed and the inspection can take longer. Even someone who receives property under the will reduces disputes by waiting for the inspection record before registering property or withdrawing deposits, rather than rushing ahead.

A person who receives real estate under the will applies for registration with a certified copy of the inspection record attached. However, if another heir disputed at the inspection hearing that 'this is not the deceased's handwriting', the registry office often requires written consent from the other heirs or the application is blocked, and the matter frequently ends up in a lawsuit to confirm the will's validity. Requirements for deposits also vary by bank, so check in advance.

Check the will's requirements again from the start. See whether the full text, the year, month and day, the address and the name were handwritten and a seal affixed; if any of these is missing, its validity may be disputed. An heir whose share is reduced by the will can claim a forced heirship share (유류분), and keep in mind that the 1-year deadline from the day they saw the will is already running.

If the will names an executor, that person handles registration and the transfer of deposits; if not, the heirs become the executors. If disputes among the heirs make execution difficult, you can ask the family court to appoint an executor.

While waiting for the inspection, checking the requirements below one by one using your photos will make it easier to decide what to do next.

• Whether the entire text is handwritten (and whether any part is printed)
• Whether the year, month and day are all written
• Whether an address is written (and, even without the building and unit number, whether it can be identified as an address)
• Whether the name was handwritten
• Whether a seal or thumbprint was affixed
• If anything was corrected, whether it was rewritten and sealed at that spot

Jisan Law first checks the will's requirements and prepares the request for a court inspection and the attached documents. If registration is blocked after the inspection, or another heir disputes the will's validity, we continue with a lawsuit to confirm the will's validity or invalidity, and if a forced heirship share issue is involved, we also manage that deadline. If there are many heirs, or family members whose addresses you do not know, let us know at the consultation.