[Inheritance Column 359: On-site Inheritance Procedures (Part 25-1)] When one of the heirs has passed away, the procedure becomes one step more complex (Part 1)

In inheritance procedures, there are things that only become clear after checking the family register.

This is the case where one of the people who was supposed to be an heir has already passed away.

As a family, you might feel, "If they have passed away, doesn't that mean they are not involved?"

However, in practice, when one of the heirs has passed away, the procedure can become one step more complex.

In this first part, we will organize the basic structure of why the death of an heir makes the procedure complex.

■ The first thing to check is "when did they pass away?"
When one of the heirs has passed away, the first thing to check is when that person passed away.

Did they pass away before the decedent?

Or did they pass away after the decedent?

Depending on this timing, the way of thinking can change.

For example, if a child of the decedent passed away first, that child's child, i.e., a grandchild, may become an heir in their place.

On the other hand, if a person who was an heir at the time the decedent passed away dies afterward, that person's own heirs may become involved.

If you proceed without organizing this, you will not know who needs to be explained to and from whom you need to obtain signatures and seals.

■ "Passed away" does not necessarily mean "unnecessary"
In the field of inheritance, we sometimes hear:

"My older brother has already passed away."

"My mother has already passed away, so she is not involved this time."

We sometimes hear these things.

However, in inheritance procedures, you cannot judge based solely on the fact that the person has passed away.

What is important is the order of death and whether that person has heirs.

If the deceased person has a spouse or children, those people may become involved.

In other words, "the person having passed away" and "being able to exclude them from the procedure" are separate issues.

If you make a mistake here, you may need to redo the inheritance division agreement or contact additional heirs.

■ As the number of heirs increases, so does the coordination
When one of the heirs has passed away, the scope of the family register investigation may expand.

This is because you may need family registers from birth to death for the deceased heir, as well as family registers to confirm that person's own heirs.

As a result, the number of people actually involved in the discussions may be greater than the heirs initially anticipated.

As the number of people increases, so does the coordination required, such as explanations, confirmation of intent, signing and sealing, and preparation of seal registration certificates.

In inheritance procedures, it is necessary to both confirm the legal heirs and obtain the cooperation of all of them.

■ Summary of Part 1
When one of the heirs has passed away, the first thing to confirm is the order of death.

Depending on whether they passed away before or after the decedent, the heirs involved may change.

It is not necessarily the case that they are 'not involved because they have passed away'.

Accurately confirming who is involved in the procedure is the gateway to proceeding with inheritance procedures.

In the next middle part, I will organize the stumbling blocks that are likely to occur on-site.

■ What Otaru Tsuchiya Administrative Scrivener Office can support
・Initial support for inheritance procedures such as collecting family registers
・Family register confirmation when an heir has passed away
・Heir investigation based on substitute inheritance and successive inheritance
・Creation of inheritance relationship explanation diagrams
・Support for creating inheritance division agreements
・Support for explanations and arrangement of procedures among heirs
・Coordination with judicial scriveners, tax accountants, lawyers, etc., as necessary