2-2 What if there is no will?

 

 If a person dies without a will, the law decides who gets what. (Civil Code Article900)

 

 1) The basic division system for Japanese inheritances designates:

 

     If a person dies: 1/2 of their estate goes to the spouse and 1/2 is shared by the children

 

     If the married couple have no children, the spouse gets 2/3 of the estate, and 1/3 goes to      the deceased’s parents (1/6 each).

 

    If the deceased has no children or parents, the surviving spouse gets 3/4 of the estate, and 1/4 is shared by the deceased's siblings.

 

    In cases where there are no children, parents, or siblings, the spouse gets all.

 

    If only children remain, they share the estate among themselves.

 

    If only siblings remain, they would share the estate among themselves.

 

    If the deceased has outlived their parents, spouse, children, grandchildren, and siblings, the estate would go to nieces or nephews.

 

    If the deceased was single with no relatives, his/her asset will go to the Japanese government.

 

2) To inherit the bank account's funds or update property records,

 

     All inheritors will have to agree to Isan Bunkatsu Kyogi, a plan that designates how the estate will be divided among the heirs and sign and affix their seals to the form.

 

    If agreement is not, or cannot be, settled among the coheirs regarding division of the estate, each of the coheirs may make an application to the family court for a division of the inherited property.(Article907(2)) 

 

    In the family court, both parties submit documentation and make their cases in an effort to reach an agreement. If they are still unable to come to an agreement, the case will move to a judge who will make a ruling regarding the division of the estate.

 

   Banks freeze accounts once they learn the holder dies. That means the family is not able to access the funds anymore.      

 

     However, each heir is entitled to a refund independently by applying to the bank for the inherited funds calculated according to the following formula for each account.  

    (Article 909-2)

 

     Refundable: Balance of funds at the start of inheritance ×1/3 × statutory share of heirs 

 

     The maximum refund from the same financial institution is JPY 1.5 million.