[Updated on January 28, 2021]
Under the Korean inheritance law, the inheritance comes to fruition immediately when a person is deceased. The Korean inheritance law, the part V of Civil Act, provides who shall become the inheritor and beneficiary of the property of a deceased person, i.e. estate.
The inheritor and beneficiary, however, shall not always take everything from the estate. There are separate rules and restrictions on the distribution of the estate in South Korea.
In this article, we will explain to you the basic rules and practices of inheritance in Korea.
Who Shall Become the Heirs and How to Distribute the Estate under the Korean Inheritance Law
The basic rule of the Korean inheritance law is that the property of the deceased is distributed according to his or her will. So, a person who is not categorized as an inheritor by law can become a beneficiary of the estate by the decedent’s will.
What if there is no valid will? The Korean inheritance law sets forth the rule of intestate succession. This rule of intestate succession names the beneficiary and the shares of each beneficiary for a distribution purpose.
According to the intestate succession rule, persons become beneficiaries in the following order.
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