When a Filipino Parent in Japan Dies and the Heirs Are in the Philippines

A Filipino national who lived in Japan for a long time has died, leaving deposits and real estate in Japan. The children or spouse who are the heirs are in the Philippines—in this combination, the first thing to establish is not the documents. It is who becomes an heir.

Under Philippine law, the scope of heirs differs from that under the Japanese Civil Code. If you prepare an agreement intending to divide the estate under the Japanese Civil Code, people who should participate will be omitted.

Key Points of This Article

• If the decedent was a Filipino national, the governing law is Philippine law. Since Article 16 of the Philippine Civil Code provides that succession is governed by the national law of the decedent, renvoi to Japanese law does not arise.
• The conclusion does not change even if the person lived in Japan for several decades.
• Under Philippine law, an extramarital child (illegitimate child) also becomes an heir. If the heirs are narrowed on the premise of the Japanese Civil Code, omissions will occur.
• On the other hand, under the Philippine Civil Code, siblings do not become heirs.
• If the decedent was Muslim, Muslim personal law, rather than the Philippine Civil Code, applies, so separate confirmation is necessary.

1. The Governing Law Is Philippine Law

Article 36 of Japan’s Act on General Rules for Application of Laws provides that succession is governed by the national law of the decedent. If the decedent was a Filipino national, Philippine law must be examined.

Article 16 of the Philippine Civil Code provides that, in matters of succession, the national law of the decedent applies regardless of whether the property is movable or immovable. Because Philippine law again points to Philippine law, renvoi back to Japanese law does not arise.

The length of time the decedent lived in Japan does not change this conclusion. Both real estate in Japan and deposits in Japan will be determined under Philippine law.

2. The Scope of Heirs Differs from the Japanese Civil Code

Article 887 of the Philippine Civil Code lists the heirs who cannot be deprived of their inheritance even by a will (compulsory heirs):

• Legitimate children and their descendants
• In the absence of legitimate children, legitimate parents and other ascendants
• The surviving spouse
• Acknowledged illegitimate children and illegitimate children by legal fiction
• Other illegitimate children

It is important to note that this does not establish an order of priority. Children and the spouse are both heirs. Parents and ascendants become heirs only when there are no children.

Main Differences from the Japanese Civil Code

In inheritance matters involving Filipinos in Japan, the existence of extramarital children is a practical issue. If the heirs are narrowed based on the sense of the Japanese Civil Code, an agreement will be created that omits people who should participate. An agreement is invalid if even one heir is missing.

The content of Philippine law may be amended. In actual application, the provisions in effect at that time must be confirmed.

3. A Different Law Applies to Muslims

The Philippines is a country where the laws applicable to personal status differ depending on the religion practiced. The Philippine Civil Code generally applies, but if the decedent was Muslim, Muslim personal law applies.

The rules on succession under Muslim personal law differ substantially from those under the Philippine Civil Code. The decedent’s faith is an issue that must be confirmed.

4. Philippine Law Must Be Demonstrated to Japanese Offices

Since Philippine law is the governing law, the following must be explained to Japanese Legal Affairs Bureaus and financial institutions:

• What scope of heirs and inheritance shares Philippine law provides
• Which provisions support that conclusion

In practice, the provisions and their Japanese translations are submitted.

For an inheritance by a Japanese national, submitting the family register is sufficient. In the case of a Filipino decedent, however, the additional task of “proving the content of that country’s law” is required.

5. Confirming the Heirs

The decedent has no Japanese family register. The Philippines also has no system equivalent to a family register, so the inheritance relationship is proved by combining individual certificates issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

• Birth Certificate
• Marriage Certificate
• Death Certificate
• Certificate of No Marriage Record (CENOMAR)

Confirming whether there are extramarital children requires individually tracing the birth certificates. It is not possible to show all heirs in a single document.

Materials Obtainable in Japan

There are also materials on the Japanese side.

• Certificate of Removal from the Residence Record: Foreign nationals are also recorded in the Basic Resident Registration system, which states household composition, status of residence, and nationality
• Alien Registration Card Record: A record from the alien registration system operated through July 2012, currently kept by the Immigration Services Agency
• Certificate of Matters Stated in the Death Notification filed in Japan

Many consultations reach an impasse when attempting to build the case using only documents from the Philippines, but there are quite a few cases that can be explained by combining them with materials from Japan.

The Certificate of Registered Information on Legal Heirs Cannot Be Used

The Legal Affairs Bureau’s system for certifying information on legal heirs is a system that proves the inheritance relationship through Japanese family registers. It cannot be used when the decedent was a foreign national and had no Japanese family register. If there are five financial institutions, a complete set of supporting documents must be submitted to all five.

6. Signatures of Heirs in the Philippines

If an heir lives in the Philippines and is a Filipino national, they cannot register a seal and cannot use the signature certificate of the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines. They sign before a Notary Public in the Philippines and obtain authentication. In the Philippines, attorneys serve as notaries public.

If an heir is a Japanese national living in the Philippines, they obtain a signature certificate at the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines.

Because the required documents differ for each heir, the procedure cannot be completed until everyone’s documents are assembled.

7. Renunciation of Inheritance

Whether a renunciation of inheritance can be declared before a Japanese Family Court is an issue determined by whether Philippine law, the governing law, has a system corresponding to renunciation of inheritance. In cases involving debts, confirmation is necessary at an early stage.

8. Japanese Inheritance Tax

Property located in Japan is subject to Japanese inheritance tax regardless of the nationalities or addresses of the decedent and heirs. The basic deduction is 30 million yen + 6 million yen × the number of statutory heirs.

How to count the “number of statutory heirs” when Philippine law applies may become an issue. A tax accountant’s judgment is necessary when filing.

9. Estimated Timeframe

The overall guideline is six months to one year.

The deadline for filing the inheritance tax return is 10 months. There is little leeway to complete the above processes within that period.

Our Office’s Support

Gyoseishoshi Arch Office, based in Osaka, has been involved for more than 15 years in procedures including applications for statuses of residence for foreign nationals in Japan. We can provide support in Japanese, Chinese, and English.

• Confirming the governing law and preparing materials showing the content of Philippine law
• Researching Japanese-side materials such as the certificate of removal from the residence record and alien registration card record
• Arranging the acquisition of PSA certificates and Japanese translations
• Confirming the scope of heirs and preparing an inheritance relationship chart
• Preparing the estate division agreement
• Preparing a complete set of supporting documents for each financial institution and supporting cancellation and withdrawal procedures
• Coordinating with judicial scriveners when inheritance registration is necessary and with tax accountants when an inheritance tax return is necessary

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Does Philippine law apply even though the decedent lived in Japan? A. Since Article 16 of the Philippine Civil Code provides that succession is governed by the national law of the decedent, renvoi back to Japanese law does not arise. The length of residence does not change the conclusion.

Q. We do not know whether there are extramarital children. A. The PSA birth certificates must be checked individually. An agreement omitting an heir will be invalid, so confirmation is necessary.

Q. Is it not possible to divide the estate under the Japanese Civil Code? A. The heirs can agree on the division itself, but the premise of who the heirs are is governed by Philippine law.

Q. What if the decedent had been naturalized as a Japanese national? A. If the decedent was a Japanese national at death, Japanese law is the national law and a Japanese family register also exists. Materials from the Philippines may be necessary to show family relationships before naturalization.

Q. The heirs are divided between the Philippines and Japan. A. The procedure can proceed even if the heirs live in different places. Heirs in Japan participate in the same agreement with seal certificates, while heirs in the Philippines participate with notarization by a notary public.

Inquiries

For a consultation, please prepare the decedent’s nationality, date of death, time of arrival in Japan and residence status, and faith; the number, relationship, nationality, and place of residence of the heirs; and the types of property in Japan. We can respond in Japanese or Chinese.

Related Articles

• When a parent who lived in the Philippines dies leaving property in Japan
• When a Japanese parent dies and a Filipino heir is in the Philippines
• Confirming heirs when the decedent was a foreign national with no Japanese family register
• Whether the Certificate of Registered Information on Legal Heirs can be used for people living overseas