• I want to consult a lawyer about end-of-life planning and inheritance in and around Yaizu・Makinohara・Yoshida-cho・Omaezaki
• I want to know how much it costs to prepare a notarized will
• I want to be told the formula for calculating the cost of preparing a notarized will

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.

About the Fees Paid to the Notary Office

In recent years, end-of-life planning (shukatsu) has increasingly become a topic of public discussion, and a growing number of people consult our office about it. More and more people are also leaving notarized wills as part of this planning.

The fees・travel expenses・daily allowances and other costs required to have a notarized will prepared at a notary office are prescribed in a government ordinance established by the state called the "Notary Fee Ordinance."

Accordingly, the fees paid to a notary office are fixed at uniform rates nationwide.

In other words, "the cost will not vary greatly no matter which notary office you use."

The differences lie in factors such as the value of the assets・whether or not a site visit is required・and the number of pages of the deed.

１　Fees

⑴ Notarized Will Preparation Fee

A fee is charged according to the value of the assets being bequeathed, as follows.

Value of the Assets Bequeathed	Fee
Up to 1,000,000 yen	5,000 yen
Over 1,000,000 yen up to 2,000,000 yen	7,000 yen
Over 2,000,000 yen up to 5,000,000 yen	11,000 yen
Over 5,000,000 yen up to 10,000,000 yen	17,000 yen
Over 10,000,000 yen up to 30,000,000 yen	23,000 yen
Over 30,000,000 yen up to 50,000,000 yen	29,000 yen
Over 50,000,000 yen up to 100,000,000 yen	43,000 yen

This fee is calculated for each person who receives the assets.

For example, if you prepare a will leaving 50 million yen to your wife and 30 million yen to your eldest daughter, a fee of 29,000 yen applies to the wife's portion and 23,000 yen to the eldest daughter's portion, for a total of 52,000 yen.

Practical Cautions

• The fee is calculated based on the "amount acquired by each legatee," not on the "total value of the estate"
• Real estate・bank deposits・stocks and other assets are all combined and valued together
• If the assessed value is wrong, additional charges may be demanded later

⑵ Testamentary Fee

If the total value of the assets being bequeathed is 100 million yen or less, a separate fee of 11,000 yen applies.

On the other hand, if the assets exceed 100 million yen, further amounts are added under a surcharge system.

For those with substantial assets, it is safest to obtain a cost estimate from the notary office in advance.

⑶ Fee for Designating a Successor to Family Rites

If you leave a will designating a specific person as the successor to family rites, a separate fee of 11,000 yen applies.

Practical Tips

Designations such as "I want my eldest son to inherit the family grave" or "I want my spouse to take care of the Buddhist altar" tend to become sources of disputes after one's passing, so the importance of making this designation in advance is extremely high.

⑷ Site-Visit Fee

When the testator cannot appear at the notary office, the notary may travel to the hospital or home where the testator is to prepare the will.

In this case, as a site-visit fee, an amount equal to one-half of the regular fee is added.

Please note that, in addition to the site-visit fee, the notary's travel expenses (daily allowance and transportation costs) described later will also be incurred.

２　Paper Costs (Certified Copy Fees)

A notarized will is prepared in three parts: ① the original, ② the counterpart, and ③ the transcript, and paper costs are charged according to the number of pages prepared.

The cost is 250 yen per page (however, for ① the original it applies only when it exceeds 4 pages)

It is calculated as described above, but in most cases it comes to only a few thousand yen.

３　Travel Expenses

As described earlier, when the notary travels to a hospital or private home, a daily allowance and transportation costs (actual expenses) are incurred.

The daily allowance is normally 20,000 yen (however, it is 10,000 yen for visits of 4 hours or less), but for people who are hospitalized, bedridden, or staying in a care facility, the additional cost including travel expenses is often around 30,000 to 50,000 yen.

Specific Example

For example, if we calculate the cost of preparing a will—with no notary site visit—that ① leaves 50 million yen to the wife, ② leaves 30 million yen to the eldest daughter, and ③ designates the wife as the successor to family rites, the result is 74,000 yen plus paper costs, as shown below.

On top of this, lawyer fees are charged separately if you have a lawyer prepare the notarized will, and witness daily allowance fees are charged separately if you ask our office to arrange the witnesses.

１　Fees

⑴ Notarized Will Preparation Fee	29,000 yen (wife's portion) + 23,000 yen (eldest daughter's portion) = 52,000 yen
⑵ Testamentary Fee	11,000 yen (the total value of the assets is 80 million yen, which is 100 million yen or less)
⑶ Fee for Designating a Successor to Family Rites	11,000 yen
⑷ Total of the Above	74,000 yen

２　Paper Costs

A few thousand yen, depending on the number of pages of the will

３　Travel Expenses

None

Key Point

The above 74,000 yen plus a few thousand yen is the "pure out-of-pocket cost paid to the notary office."

In addition to this,

• "Lawyer fees" if preparation is entrusted to a lawyer
• "Witness daily allowances" if witnesses are arranged through our office

will be added.

Why Are Lawyer Fees Necessary?

Some people ask, "If a will can be prepared at the notary office alone, isn't a lawyer unnecessary?" In practice, however, in the overwhelming majority of cases, "involving a lawyer even at a cost works out cheaper in the end."

This is because, while leaving a will as part of end-of-life planning is important both to reduce the burden on your family and to enrich your own life ahead, leaving a notarized will with insufficient content can instead give rise to problems such as the following:

• A lawsuit is filed later over infringement of the statutory inheritance share
• Invalid provisions are mixed in and the will has to be redone
• Insufficient asset descriptions bring inheritance registration and bank account closures to a standstill

Such problems occur frequently in wills prepared without a lawyer's involvement.

For this reason, even if you contact the notary office yourself saying "I want to prepare a will," the reality is that you are often first encouraged to consult a lawyer.

Summary

The above covers the fees paid to the notary office when preparing a notarized will; please use it as a reference.

A growing number of people view the cost of a notarized will as "insurance that spends tens of thousands of yen to prevent future inheritance disputes worth millions to tens of millions of yen."

We recommend considering not only the cost but also the perspectives of "peace of mind・reliability・prevention of future disputes."

If you have any concerns about how to proceed with preparing a will, please feel free to consult the Yaizu Sogo Law Office first.

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