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If someone deceived my father into making a will, do they still qualify to inherit?

Attorney specializing in inheritance, I lied to my father that my younger sibling, who had been out of contact with him, had died. So my father, believing that my sibling had died, wrote a will accordingly. If I induced him to make a will through such deception, do I still qualify to inherit?

attorney specializing in inheritance

validity of a will

Answer

Published: 2023-05-23

Author : Kuk Il KIM

Hello. I am an attorney specializing in inheritance at Daeryun Law LLC.

First, as you described, if you deceived your father into believing that his out-of-contact child had died and thereby induced him to make a will, this legally constitutes an act of fraud or duress.

Under the Civil Act, a person who, through fraud or duress, caused the decedent to make a will concerning the inheritance becomes a person disqualified from inheritance.

In other words, this means that you may be unable to inherit under your father's will.

In this case, the will is not validly made, and if an inheritance was received under that will, the will's effect becomes void retroactively.

To put it simply, that inheritance share disappears, and the remaining heirs, excluding the person disqualified from inheritance, inherit in equal shares.

In such situations, it is important to find a more specific course of action through a legal consultation with an attorney specializing in inheritance.

It is necessary to ascertain the exact facts of the case, secure sufficient related evidence, and carry out the inheritance procedure clearly.

You may wish to promptly seek help from an attorney specializing in inheritance who has extensive experience with such cases.