• I want to consult a lawyer about inheritance in and around Yaizu, Makinohara, Yoshida-cho, and Omaezaki
• I found my late father's will, but I do not know what to do
• I want to know about the inspection procedure for wills

Are you facing any of these issues in Yaizu, Makinohara, Omaezaki, Fujieda, Shimada, Yoshida Town, or other nearby areas?
At Yaizu Sogo Law Office, we offer a free first-time legal consultation on inheritance and estate matters. Consulting us once does not obligate you to retain us. We are also available on weekday evenings and on Saturdays. Please feel free to contact us by phone or email.

You must never open a will on your own

In recent years, end-of-life planning (shukatsu) has increasingly become a topic of public conversation, and a growing number of people consult our firm about it. More and more people also leave wills as part of their end-of-life planning.

While sorting through the belongings of a person who has passed away, you may find a will. You may feel the urge to check what it says right away, but you must never open it on your own. This is because the law requires that a will be opened as part of a court procedure called "inspection" (kenshin) (Article 1004 of the Civil Code).

This rule exists to prevent alteration, forgery, or concealment of the will by the heirs. Opening a will anywhere other than the family court is, in principle, unlawful, so please take care.

(Inspection of a Will)
Article 1004　The custodian of a will must, without delay after acquiring knowledge of the commencement of succession, submit it to the family court and request its inspection.The same applies when there is no custodian of a will and an heir has found the will after that.
2　The provisions of the preceding paragraph do not apply to a will made by notarized deed.
3　A sealed will may not be opened at the family court unless the heirs or their agents are present.

If you open a will outside the court without undergoing "inspection," you are subject to a civil fine of up to 50,000 yen (Article 1005 of the Civil Code).

Opening the will on your own does not immediately invalidate its contents; however, other heirs may suspect you of having forged the will, which could make the inheritance dispute far more complicated and prolonged. For this reason, you must follow the rules set by law.

Even if you have already opened the will, promptly consulting the family court and filing the petition may allow you to avoid serious disadvantages. Do not assume it is "too late" — consult a lawyer as soon as possible.

The remainder of this article explains the inspection procedure for wills in detail.

About the Inspection Procedure

As described above, the inspection of a will is the procedure of opening the will at the family court.

The court notifies each heir that the will exists and of the date, time, and place of its opening, and then the will is opened with the heirs and other parties concerned assembled.

The inspection procedure is intended to check whether the formal aspects of the will are in order and whether it properly satisfies the requirements of a will. In other words, the court checks such matters as whether the document is properly drawn up and whether the date and signature are properly provided; it is not a procedure for deciding or contesting the validity of the will, much less a procedure for the heirs to dispute the contents of the will among themselves.

Inspection is required for a holograph will (a will written by the testator's own hand) and a secret will, but not for a notarized will. A notarized will is prepared and stored in a strictly controlled manner by a notary, so there is no risk of forgery or the like.

Note that even for a holograph will, inspection is not required if you use the system of depositing the will with the Legal Affairs Bureau (the Holograph Will Custody System). If you would like to know more about this system, please see the article "I want to know about the application for custody of a holograph will."

Recently, this custody system of the Legal Affairs Bureau has been spreading, and it offers major advantages such as:

• No inspection required
• Prevention of loss and alteration

and these are significant benefits.

An increasing number of people consider using this system from the stage of preparing a will during their lifetime.

Flow of the Inspection Procedure

Summary

The above is the explanation of the inspection procedure.

When a will is found, many people are at a loss as to how to deal with it. If you open it on impulse, various disadvantages may arise, so first of all, do not open it and have the court carry out the inspection procedure.

The subsequent inheritance procedures can change greatly depending on the contents of the will after it is opened. Involving an expert at an early stage reliably prevents unnecessary disputes.

Consulting a lawyer may resolve your concerns, so please feel free to make use of the legal consultation service of the Yaizu Sogo Law Office.

Frequently Asked Questions

For Your Inheritance Concerns, Consult Yaizu Sogo Law Office

Yaizu Sogo Law Office handles a wide range of inheritance-related matters, including the drafting and execution of wills, renunciation of inheritance, division of estate, and claims for reduction of the statutory reserved share (iryubun).

Inheritance disputes are so notorious for the intense emotional conflict they stir up among heirs — hence their nickname, the "inheritance war" — that disputes can drag on for a long time. This is why consulting a lawyer offers significant benefits.

If you are facing an inheritance issue, please feel free to consult us. The first consultation on inheritance matters is free of charge.

At Yaizu Sogo Law Office, consultations are available not only during weekday daytime hours but also on weekday evenings and on Saturdays. Please call or email us first to make an appointment for a legal consultation.

Are You Troubled by an Inheritance Issue?

• Creating a Will for End-of-Life Planning
• Disputes over How to Divide an Estate (Estate Division)
• Claiming Your Reserved Share of an Estate (Claim for Infringement of Legally Reserved Portion)
• A Family Member Passed Away Leaving Debts Behind (Renunciation of Inheritance)
• Dissatisfied with the Contents of a Will
• Dividing an Inheritance
• What You Need to Know About Filing for Custody of a Holographic Will
• Wills That Bequeath Property Exceeding the Statutory Share of Inheritance to a Specific Heir
• Finding Out Which Court Handles Inheritance Division Mediation
• About the Process of Creating a Notarized Will
• I found a will, but is it all right to open it? (Inspection of a will)
• The Validity of a Will When the Intended Recipient (Legatee) Dies First
• I want to know about the cost of preparing a notarized will
• Can an Estate Division Different from the Will Be Made?
• I want to know what can be specified in a will
• Requirements for a Self-Written Will (Holographic Will)
• I want to correct an error in a handwritten will I made previously
• About the Executor of a Will
• How Life Insurance Proceeds Are Treated in an Inheritance Division Agreement Where the Beneficiary Is Designated as an Heir
• If I renounce my inheritance, who will manage the family grave?
• Want the State to take over inherited land (the Inherited Land National Attribution System)
• Do You Inherit Debts Even After Years of No Contact with Your Parents?

See all articles on inheritance