Forced Heirship Apportionment Calculator | How Multiple Recipients Share the Burden
When there are multiple recipients (of a bequest or lifetime gift) facing a forced heirship claim, this free simulator applies Article 1047 of Japan's Civil Code to work out exactly how much each one owes.
When a forced heirship claim involves multiple recipients — people who received a bequest or a lifetime gift — how much can be claimed from each one is governed by the order of liability set out in Article 1047 of Japan's Civil Code. (1) If there's both a bequest and lifetime gifts, the bequest is drawn on first. (2) If there are multiple bequests, or multiple gifts made at the same time, the burden is split in proportion to the value each recipient received. (3) If there are multiple gifts made at different times, the most recent one (closest to the date of death) is drawn on first.
Simulate each recipient's share from the claim amount and the list of recipients
How the burden divides among several respondents
Where a claim for infringement of the reserved portion runs against several legatees and donees, **who owes what is settled by the order laid down in article 1047 of the Japanese Civil Code.** A legacy bears the burden before a lifetime gift; where several legacies, or several gifts of the same date, stand together, the burden is apportioned in proportion to value; and where several gifts stand at different dates, the later ones — those nearer the opening of the succession — bear it first. From the amount claimed and the list of respondents, this tool works each person’s share out along those three rules.
**Where the parties have agreed otherwise — a stipulation on how the burden falls, for instance — the real figures depart from this calculation.** Real claims also raise knottier questions, such as who takes up the burden when a respondent cannot pay. Whether gifts count as of the same date is judged here simply by whether the number of years back from the opening of the succession matches, so a case where the sequence is finely balanced has to be settled on the contracts and the register. For exact figures and the manner of claiming, consult a lawyer.
How to use the apportionment calculator
- Enter the amount claimed Give the total infringement in yen. The figure from the reserved portion simulator can be entered directly.
- Add the respondents Add the legatees and donees one at a time. With only one respondent, that person bears the whole of the claim.
- Enter each type and value Say whether it is a legacy or a lifetime gift, and give the value of the property. A list of legacies only, or of gifts only, computes just as well.
- Enter the date of each gift For gifts, give the number of years back from the opening of the succession. The smaller the number, the more recent the gift, and the sooner it bears.
- Read the burdens You get each respondent’s burden and the total. A warning appears where the total falls short of the claim, so check that nothing has been left out.
Tips for getting more out of it
- Paste the forced heirship claim amount you calculated with the forced heirship claim simulator straight into the claim amount field here to work out each recipient's share in one pass.
- This also works if there's only one type of recipient — bequests only, or gifts only. With just a single recipient, that recipient simply owes the full claim amount.
- Enter the "timing" of a lifetime gift as the number of years before the inheritance began. A smaller number means the gift is treated as more recent (closer to the date of death).
- If the combined value received by the recipients falls short of the claim amount, a warning appears alongside the apportioned totals — check whether you've left out a recipient.
Where the calculator helps
When legacies and lifetime gifts are mixed
Who must be approached first is fixed by rule. Getting the order wrong can send the claim back to the beginning.
When several legatees stand together
Respondents of equal rank share in proportion to value. You can confirm that the claim does not fall on one of them alone.
When old and recent gifts sit side by side
Recent gifts bear first, so how many years ago a gift was made changes the outcome. Try different years and watch the effect.
When you want the figures settled before sending formal notice
The notice has to state, person by person, how much is claimed from each. This is the groundwork for that.
When you want to check the infringement itself
For the total that can be claimed, see the reserved portion simulator; for the base estate behind it, the base estate calculator.
Terms about the order of the claim
- Legatee
- Someone who takes property under a will. In a claim for the reserved portion, a legatee bears the burden before anyone who took a lifetime gift.
- Donee
- Someone who took property by lifetime gift. Where the legacies do not suffice, donees bear it, the more recent gifts first.
- Order of the claim
- The sequence in which several respondents bear the burden. Article 1047 sets it: legacies first, equals apportioned by value, gifts from the most recent.
- Apportionment by value
- Where several respondents stand at equal rank, dividing the burden in proportion to the value of what each received.
- Gifts of the same date
- Several gifts treated as made at the same time. These take no sequence between them and are apportioned by value instead. This tool judges it simply by a matching number of years back from the opening of the succession.
- Value of the property
- The value of what was given by legacy or gift. It caps the burden and forms the basis of the proportion in an apportionment.
- Insolvency
- A respondent’s inability to pay. How the burden shifts in that case lies outside this tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
Side Note — Why "bequests first, then the newest gifts" became the rule
The order set out in Article 1047 reflects an attempt to respect the intentions of both the person who made the will and the person who made the gifts. A bequest represents the will-maker's final decision at the time of death, while a lifetime gift reflects an earlier decision. Drawing on the more recent, final decision — the bequest — first is a way of honoring the will-maker's intent as much as possible.
The same thinking explains why, among multiple lifetime gifts, "the newest one is drawn on first." The longer ago a gift was made, the more likely the recipient has already folded that property into their life plans. Older gifts are assumed to have a bigger impact on the recipient's life, so the rule draws on the newer, less-settled gift first — a nod to the recipient's legal stability.
And when there are multiple bequests, or multiple gifts made at the same time, splitting the burden "in proportion to value" avoids piling the whole burden onto just one person, instead sharing it fairly according to how much each person actually received. Together, these three rules balance protecting the claimant's reserved portion against preserving the legal stability of the people who received a bequest or gift.