Dealing with the death of a Japanese spouse

[Gareth]

A foreign friend’s Japanese spouse is terminally ill. Does anyone have any practical advice about paperwork to help the process go smoother when the terrible day happens? The mortgage insurance will kick in, the mortgage will be written off and the estate will pass to my friend. Is a will needed in this case? Thank you in advance.

[RetireJapan]

Hopefully visa status is not going to be a problem. Also the estate will be handled according to Japanese law, ie children/parents/siblings might get legal share of the inheritance.

[captainspoke]

... Also the estate will be handled according to Japanese law, ie children/parents/siblings might get legal share of the inheritance.

Isn't that the way it happens if there is no will?

https://souzoku-pro.info/columns/isanbunkatsu/10/ Scroll down for a list of 55 cases, scroll farther for illustrations of each. (And that's a pretty old link, so survey it with that in mind.)

[RetireJapan]

Isn't that the way it happens if there is no will?

Well, the question was 'does there need to be a will', so...

A will can reduce the legal shares, but not eliminate them completely.

[Gareth]

Hopefully visa status is not going to be a problem.

No issues there, is already a Permanent Resident.

Also the estate will be handled according to Japanese law, ie children/parents/siblings might get legal share of the inheritance.

Exactly. The "might" part is the part I'm hoping to try to get some information on. There is no animosity between parties and who receives what has been decided but not in will form. Will the court accept this, or will they decide who gets what, and then everyone has to give money etc to each other possibly incurring gift tax?

[Gareth]

https://souzoku-pro.info/columns/isanbunkatsu/10/ Scroll down for a list of 55 cases, scroll farther for illustrations of each. (And that's a pretty old link, so survey it with that in mind.)

Thank you for the link. That's a lot of information but quite useful.

Are these situations the law and what must be followed in the case of no will, or only when there is a dispute?

[RetireJapan]

I believe Japan has two systems: the normal one, where there is no will, and the legal minimal one, where there is a will (the minimum shares are about half what the normal ones are). Basically guarantees family can't be written out of the will.

It is also possible to decline inheritances. Not sure where gift tax would come into the settling of an inheritance, so that's probably okay. Best to talk to an accountant or lawyer though.