2023.10.26

2022 (Kyo) 14

Minshu Vol. 77, No. 7

(Civil Case)Decision on whether an heir for whom the will designated no share of the estate and who has exercised the right to claim the amount of the infringed statutory reserved share is required to bear any amount of the special contribution

Case of an appeal with permission against the decision to dismiss with prejudice on the merits an appeal against the ruling to dismiss without prejudice a petition for a disposition concerning a special contribution

Decision of the First Petty Bench, dismissed

Nagoya High Court, Decision of June 29, 2022

An heir for whom the will designated no share of the estate is not required to bear any amount of the special contribution, even if the heir has exercised the right to claim the amount of the infringed statutory reserved share.

Article 902, Article 1046, and Article 1050 of the Civil Code

The appeal is dismissed.
The costs of the appeal shall be borne by the appellant.

Concerning the reasons for the appeal stated by the counsels for the appeal, ISO Takenori and ISO Takehiro
1. In this case, the appellant, who is a relative of the deceased A, demands that the adverse party, who is one of the heirs of A, should pay a reasonable amount of the special contribution that should be borne by the adverse party pursuant to Article 1050 of the Civil Code.
2. According to the case records, the background of this case is as follows:
(1) A died in June 2020. A's heirs are two persons which are B and the adverse party, who are children of A. The appellant is the wife of B.
(2) While A was alive, A made a will to the effect that all the property owned by A should be inherited by B. The purport of the will was to designate all the estate as B's share and nothing as the adverse party's share.
(3) In March 2021, the adverse party expressed its intention to exercise the right to claim the amount of the infringed statutory reserved share against B.
3. The court of prior instance determined that when there are multiple heirs, since each heir should bear the amount of the special contribution in proportion to his/her share of the estate as calculated in accordance with Articles 900 through 902 of the Civil Code (hereinafter referred to as "Statutory Share, etc.") (Article 1050, paragraph (5) of the same Code), an heir for whom the will designated no share of the estate is not required to bear any amount of the special contribution, and this is not affected by the heir's exercise of the right to claim the amount of the infringed statutory reserved share, and that the petition in this case should be dismissed without prejudice.
The counsels argue that it is reasonable to consider that if an heir for whom the will designates no share of the estate has exercised the right to claim the amount of the infringed statutory reserved share, such heir is required to bear the amount of the special contribution in proportion to the heir's statutory reserved share, and therefore, the above determination of the court of prior instance contains an error in the interpretation and application of laws and regulations and is illegal.
4. It is considered that Article 1050, paragraph (5) of the Civil Code provides that, in the case of multiple heirs, the ratio to be borne by each heir with regard to the amount of the special contribution shall be calculated in proportion to their Statutory Share, etc. which is clear standards fixed based on the composition of heirs, the existence or nonexistence of a will, and the content thereof, for the purpose of preventing a complicated or prolonged dispute over the amount of the special contribution while considering fairness among heirs. In light of such purport of the same paragraph, the standard used for determining the above ratio to be borne should not be changed from the Statutory Share, etc. depending on the exercise of the right to claim the amount of the infringed statutory reserved share, which is a circumstance not stipulated in the same paragraph.
Accordingly, it is reasonable to consider that an heir for whom the will designates no share of the estate is not required to bear any amount of the special contribution even if the heir has exercised the right to claim the amount of the infringed statutory reserved share.
5. The determination by the court of prior instance to the same effect as above is justifiable and can be upheld. The counsels' arguments cannot be accepted.
Accordingly, the Court unanimously decides as set forth in the main text of the decision.

Justice YASUNAMI Ryosuke
Justice YAMAGUCHI Atsushi
Justice MIYAMA Takuya
Justice OKA Masaaki
Justice SAKAI Toru