In this blog post, we will examine what rights heirs can exercise through their reserved portion of the estate with regard to property disposed of without compensation after the commencement of inheritance.
Under the private property system, everyone is free to dispose of their property as they wish. This is one of the fundamental rights of property owners, who can dispose of their property in various ways, such as selling or donating it. However, when property is disposed of without compensation, such as through a donation, the results may be reversed regardless of the intentions of the disposer and the acquirer. This is a mechanism to protect the rights and interests of heirs that must be protected by law.
This is because when the gratuitous disposer dies, inheritance begins, and his heirs can exercise their right to return the reserved portion of the estate. At this point, the gratuitous disposer becomes the decedent, and his rights and obligations are transferred to his heirs. The heirs protect their inheritance by exercising their rights guaranteed by law, and this right to a reserved portion is an important legal mechanism for protecting the legitimate expectations of the heirs.
The reserved portion is the portion of the inheritance that the heirs would have received if the deceased had not made a gratuitous disposition. For example, if the deceased has only one child, the child is guaranteed only half of the benefits that could have been inherited. The benefits that the heirs could have inherited are calculated by adding the value of the property that the deceased had at the time of the opening of the inheritance to the value of the property that has already been transferred to the gratuitous acquirer. This is a necessary procedure for the fair distribution of the inherited property.
Heirs who have inherited benefits from the property that the deceased had at the time of the commencement of inheritance can only receive a portion of the benefits corresponding to the reserved portion. This is because they can only receive the amount of the reserved portion that exceeds the benefits they have already inherited. The value of the reserved portion is calculated in monetary terms, but it is not always returned in cash. If the gratuitously disposed property is not money but property other than money, such as goods or stocks, the disposed property itself is, in principle, subject to return. However, if it is impossible to return the property itself, the gratuitous acquirer must return it in cash. In addition, even if the property itself can be returned, it may be returned in cash by agreement between the beneficiary of the reserved portion and the gratuitous acquirer.
If the gratuitously disposed property is an object, how will the return of the reserved portion be made? If the amount of the reserved portion to be returned by the gratuitous acquirer is less than the value of the gratuitously disposed object, the reserved portion holder may receive from the gratuitous acquirer an amount equal to the ratio of the amount of the reserved portion to the value of the object. As a result, ownership of a single item is divided among multiple people, and each person’s share is called a share. The division of shares sometimes involves complicated legal procedures, which can lead to disputes among the heirs.
If the market value of the gratuitously disposed property changes, what market value should be used as the basis for calculating the shortfall in the reserved portion? In light of the purpose of the reserved portion, the market value at the time of the commencement of inheritance should be used as the basis. This is to reflect the fair value at the time of the commencement of inheritance. However, if the increase in the market value of the property was due to the efforts of the gratuitous acquirer, the market value at the time of the gratuitous acquisition should be used as the basis for calculation. When calculating the share to be returned based on the shortfall in the reserved portion determined in this manner, the market value at the time of the commencement of inheritance should be used as the basis, regardless of the cause of the increase in market value. This is a balanced approach that protects the rights of the heirs while recognizing the efforts of the gratuitous acquirer.
