Beyond Heirs: Can Non-Inheriting Relatives in Japan Now Claim Compensation for Special Contributions to the Deceased?

Japanese Attorney at Law - Bengoshi L.L.

• 9 min read

Japanese inheritance law has long included a system known as kiyobun (寄与分), or "contributory portion," which allows an heir who made significant personal or financial contributions to the maintenance or increase of a deceased person's assets to receive an enhanced share of the estate. However, this mechanism was exclusively available to statutory heirs. This often left a significant gap: close relatives who were not legal heirs, yet provided substantial, often unpaid, care or labor for the deceased, typically had no direct means to be compensated from the estate, leading to outcomes that many perceived as unfair.

Recognizing this, a pivotal reform within the Japanese Civil Code, effective from July 1, 2019, introduced a new system: the "Special Contributory Payment" (特別寄与料 - tokubetsu kiyoryō) under Article 1050. This groundbreaking provision allows certain non-inheriting relatives who made "special contributions" to the deceased to claim monetary compensation from the deceased's heirs.

The Previous Landscape: Limited Recourse for Non-Heir Contributors

Before the introduction of Article 1050, non-heirs who dedicated themselves to caring for a deceased relative or supporting their family business faced limited and often inadequate legal avenues for recognition:

  • Exclusion from Kiyobun: The kiyobun system (Civil Code Art. 904-2) was, by definition, only applicable to those who were legal heirs. A devoted daughter-in-law, for example, who provided years of nursing care to her parent-in-law, could not personally claim kiyobun.
  • Indirect Recognition (Often Insufficient): In some Family Court cases, the contributions of a non-heir (typically the spouse of an heir) were sometimes considered indirectly, as if they were assisting the heir in their contribution. The kiyobun amount might then be awarded to the heir, who might or might not share it appropriately with the actual contributor. This was problematic if the related heir predeceased the deceased, or if the relationship between the heir and the contributor soured.
  • Tokubetsu Enkosha (Persons with Special Connections): In rare situations where the deceased died with no statutory heirs at all (no spouse, children, parents, or siblings), a person who had a particularly close relationship with the deceased and was supported by them or provided exceptional care could petition the Family Court to receive a portion of the escheated estate (Civil Code Art. 958-3). This was irrelevant if legal heirs existed.
  • General Civil Claims: Non-heirs could theoretically pursue claims based on general civil law principles, such as:
    • Quasi-contract (e.g., for services rendered, if an implied agreement for payment could be argued).
    • Unjust enrichment (if the heirs were demonstrably enriched by the unpaid services).
    • Management of another's affairs without mandate (jimu kanri - 事務管理) for reimbursement of expenses.
      However, these claims were often very difficult to prove in a family context where services are frequently presumed to be gratuitous or based on affection, and quantification of the "benefit" or "enrichment" was challenging.

This often resulted in individuals who had made substantial personal sacrifices receiving no formal recognition or compensation from the estate, while statutory heirs who may have contributed little or nothing still inherited their full shares.

The New System: Special Contributory Payments (Civil Code Art. 1050)

Article 1050 of the Civil Code now provides a direct statutory basis for certain non-inheriting relatives to seek financial recognition for their significant contributions.

Who Can Claim? The "Special Contributor" (特別寄与者 - tokubetsu kiyosha)

Eligibility to claim a Special Contributory Payment is specific:

  1. Must be a "Relative" (親族 - shinzoku) of the Deceased: Under Japanese Civil Code Article 725, "relatives" are defined as:
    • Blood relatives within six degrees of consanguinity (e.g., children, parents, siblings, nieces/nephews, cousins, etc.).
    • A spouse (however, a legal spouse is always a statutory heir and would claim kiyobun under Art. 904-2, not this special payment).
    • Relatives by affinity (through marriage) within three degrees of consanguinity (e.g., a child's spouse (son/daughter-in-law), a spouse's parents (parents-in-law), a spouse's siblings (siblings-in-law)).
  2. Must Not Be an Heir or Disqualified: The claimant cannot be:
    • A statutory heir themselves (who would use the kiyobun system).
    • A person who has formally renounced their inheritance.
    • A person legally disqualified from inheritance (e.g., due to criminal acts against the deceased) or formally disinherited by the deceased through a will.

Common Examples of Eligible Claimants:
The system is often envisaged as benefiting individuals like:

  • A daughter-in-law or son-in-law who provided extensive care to a parent-in-law.
  • A sibling of the deceased who was not an heir (e.g., if the deceased had children) but provided significant support.
  • The spouse of a predeceased child who continued to care for the deceased grandparent-in-law.

Important Exclusion: Common-Law (Unregistered) Spouses:
A significant point is that individuals in a common-law marriage (nai'en no haigūsha) or other unregistered domestic partnerships are not considered "relatives" for the purposes of Article 725. Therefore, they cannot make a claim under this Article 1050 system, even if they provided decades of devoted care. Their recourse, however limited, remains under general civil law principles.

What Kind of Contribution Qualifies?

Article 1050, Paragraph 1 specifies the nature of the qualifying contribution:

  • It must be the "gratuitous provision of nursing care or other labor" (無償で療養看護その他の労務の提供 - mushō de ryōyō kango sono ta no rōmu no teikyō) to the deceased.
  • "Gratuitous" (無償 - mushō): The services must have been rendered without receiving fair or adequate financial remuneration from the deceased during their lifetime. The receipt of minor sums, such as pocket money, occasional gifts, or reimbursement for actual out-of-pocket expenses, would not necessarily disqualify a claim if these amounts were clearly disproportionate to the actual value of the services provided.
  • Types of Labor:
    • Nursing Care (療養看護 - ryōyō kango): This encompasses a wide range of personal care for an ailing or infirm deceased, such as assistance with daily activities (bathing, feeding, mobility), managing medications, providing companionship, and supporting medical needs.
    • Other Labor (その他の労務の提供 - sono ta no rōmu no teikyō): This can include significant, unpaid work in the deceased's family business, farm, or other income-generating activities where the contributor's labor directly benefited the deceased's finances.
  • Exclusion of Purely Financial Contributions: Unlike the kiyobun system for heirs, which can recognize financial contributions (e.g., paying the deceased's debts, providing capital), the Special Contributory Payment system under Article 1050 is specifically for the provision of labor or personal services. If a non-heir relative provided purely financial support, their claim would typically be for loan repayment or under other general civil law principles, not Article 1050.
  • Causal Link to Estate Maintenance or Increase: The provided labor or care must have resulted in the maintenance or increase of the deceased's property. This causal link is key. For example, providing extensive nursing care might have saved the deceased significant expenses they would otherwise have incurred for professional caregivers, thereby maintaining their assets. Working in a family business without pay would have directly contributed to its income or asset base.
  • "Special" Degree of Contribution: The contribution must be "special" (特別の寄与 - tokubetsu no kiyo). For kiyobun claims by heirs, "special" generally means a contribution that goes substantially beyond what would ordinarily be expected due to the family relationship and legal duties of support. For non-heir relatives under Article 1050, the baseline expectation of contribution is typically much lower or non-existent. Thus, "special" here signifies a contribution that is significant in its duration, intensity, nature, and the degree of personal sacrifice involved, resulting in a clear benefit to the deceased's estate.

The Claim: A Monetary Payment (Tokubetsu Kiyoryō)

If the conditions are met, the special contributor is entitled to claim a sum of money – the tokubetsu kiyoryō – from the statutory heirs of the deceased. The claim is not directly against the estate assets themselves but is a personal obligation of the heirs.

Determining the Amount of the Special Contributory Payment

The amount of the tokubetsu kiyoryō is determined through a two-step process (Article 1050, Paragraphs 2 and 3):

  1. Agreement Between Parties: Ideally, the special contributor and the deceased's heirs will discuss the matter and reach a mutual agreement on a suitable amount.
  2. Family Court Petition: If an agreement cannot be reached, or if discussions are not possible, the special contributor can file a petition with the Family Court requesting a determination of the amount.
    The Family Court, when determining the amount, is mandated to consider:
    • The time, method, and degree (extent/intensity) of the contribution.
    • The amount/value of the inherited property.
    • All other relevant circumstances (e.g., the specific needs of the deceased, the nature of the relationship, any sacrifices made by the contributor, any minor benefits the contributor may have received).
      This broad discretion allows the court to tailor the award to the specifics of each case. The assessment process is expected to be similar to how kiyobun amounts for heirs are determined, involving factual inquiries and often some form of quantification. For example:
    • For nursing care, courts might look at the duration and intensity of care, the deceased's level of dependency (e.g., official care necessity level - 要介護度, yōkaigodo), and potentially reference average costs for professional caregivers in the region, then apply a discretionary percentage to reflect the non-professional, familial nature of the care and its often gratuitous intent.
    • For labor in a family business, factors might include the number of hours worked, the nature of the tasks, the prevailing wages for similar work, and any undocumented benefits received by the contributor (like living expenses, if cohabiting).

Limitations on the Claimable Amount

There are important caps on the amount of tokubetsu kiyoryō that can be awarded (Article 1050, Paragraph 4):

  • The total special contributory payment cannot exceed the value of the property the deceased owned at the time of death minus the total value of any bequests (遺贈 - izō) made in the deceased's will. This means that testamentary gifts made by the deceased take precedence over special contributory payment claims.
  • Although not explicitly stated as a deduction in Article 1050(4), it's widely understood that Family Courts, when considering "all other circumstances," will implicitly account for the deceased's debts. The payment effectively comes from the net value of the estate that would otherwise be available to the heirs after satisfying bequests and estate liabilities. A contributor cannot claim from an insolvent estate or to the detriment of creditors or legatees.

Who Pays? Burden Among Multiple Heirs

If there are multiple heirs, they are jointly responsible for paying the determined tokubetsu kiyoryō (Article 1050, Paragraph 5).

  • The heirs bear this burden in proportion to their respective statutory inheritance shares.
  • If the deceased's will validly designates specific inheritance shares for these heirs concerning the residual estate (after any bequests), then those designated shares would likely determine their proportional liability for the tokubetsu kiyoryō.
  • An heir's obligation to contribute to the tokubetsu kiyoryō is not extinguished even if their own "concrete inheritance share" (gutaiteki sōzoku bun – their actual take-home share after accounting for any special benefits they received or kiyobun they are entitled to) is small or zero. Their liability stems from their status as a legal heir to the overall estate from which the payment is effectively sourced.

Strict Time Limits for Making a Claim

A critical aspect of this new system is the short and strict time limits for the special contributor to make their claim (Article 1050, Paragraph 2, proviso):

  • The claim (either by agreement or by petitioning the Family Court) must be made within six months from the date the special contributor became aware of both the commencement of inheritance (i.e., the death of the person they contributed to) AND the identity of the statutory heir(s) who are liable to pay.
  • Regardless of when they become aware, the claim must be made within one year from the date of the commencement of inheritance.
  • The earlier of these two deadlines applies. The six-month period is generally treated as a statute of limitations (which can potentially be interrupted or its completion waived under certain circumstances), while the one-year period is an absolute period of exclusion (joseki kikan), after which the right is definitively lost.

These short deadlines are intended to ensure the prompt resolution of such claims so that the final division of the estate among the heirs is not unduly delayed or complicated.

Court Procedure

  • Claims for tokubetsu kiyoryō that cannot be resolved by agreement are handled by the Family Court in the jurisdiction where the inheritance commenced.
  • The contributor can file a petition against all heirs or only some of them (though the burden is ultimately shared proportionally).
  • The proceedings can involve mediation or a formal adjudication (審判 - shinpan) by a judge.
  • The Family Court has discretion on whether to consolidate a tokubetsu kiyoryō case with any ongoing estate division proceedings among the heirs, considering the specifics of the matter to avoid undue complexity or delay.

Conclusion

The introduction of the Special Contributory Payment system under Civil Code Article 1050 marks a significant and welcome advancement in Japanese inheritance law. It provides a direct legal avenue for certain non-inheriting relatives—who previously often went unrecognized despite profound personal sacrifices—to receive fair monetary compensation for their substantial contributions to the well-being of a deceased family member or the preservation of their assets. While the eligibility criteria are specific (requiring a qualifying familial relationship and gratuitous labor resulting in estate benefit) and the time limits for claiming are notably short, this reform addresses a long-standing issue of fairness. Both potential claimants and heirs involved in Japanese estates should be aware of this important new provision and its implications for the final distribution of inherited property.