What can a post-death affairs mandate contract entrust?

In short: a post-death affairs mandate contract is a contract that entrusts, in your lifetime and to a trusted counterpart, the affairs that arise after you die (funeral and interment, administrative procedures, cancelling utilities and various contracts, sorting your belongings, and so on). Its basis is the mandate provisions (Article 643 of the Civil Code). A mandate in principle ends on the death of the mandator (Article 653, item 1 of the Civil Code), but this provision is a default rule, and a special agreement not to terminate the mandate even after the mandator's death is held valid (Supreme Court judgment of 22 September 1992). A post-death affairs mandate contract handles "affairs after death"; a voluntary guardianship contract handles "property management and personal protection during life after judgement capacity declines"; a will handles "succession of property." Each is a separate mechanism. This article is general information organising the scope of what can be entrusted, the differences from a will and a voluntary guardianship, the drafting and cost deposit, and the division of roles; it does not judge the appropriateness of any individual contract's content.

What exactly can you entrust under a post-death affairs mandate contract?

A post-death affairs mandate contract commits in advance, to a mandatary, the factual acts and procedures that become necessary after the mandator dies. It is used so that a person with few relatives (an "ohitorisama," a person living alone) can decide in advance "who will arrange the funeral" and "who will do the municipal procedures."

Examples of the affairs you can entrust are as follows (how far you entrust is set individually in the contract).

Field	Examples of affairs that can be entrusted
Funeral and memorial	Arranging the funeral, cremation, interment and burial; contacting the family temple or cemetery
Administrative procedures	Becoming the person who files the death notification; returning the health-insurance card and pension items; liaising on public-benefit procedures
Settling contracts	Cancelling and settling electricity, gas, water, telecommunications, the lease and various contracts
Winding up	Settling hospital and facility fees; sorting belongings; organising digital information (SNS, etc.)

On the other hand, how the inherited property is divided (succession) cannot be decided in a post-death affairs mandate contract. Succession of property is the field of a will. Within the scope of administrative-scrivener work, Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office supports preparing the post-death affairs mandate contract, accepting the mandate, and organising the entrusted affairs. Because the range of persons who may file the death notification is set in the Family Register Act, we confirm this before the contract.

How do a will, a voluntary guardianship, and a post-death affairs mandate differ?

They are similar terms, but they differ in when they take effect and what they cover. It is common to prepare by combining the three.

Mechanism	When it takes effect	Mainly covers	Form
Voluntary guardianship contract	When judgement capacity declines and a supervisor of the voluntary guardian is appointed (during life)	Agency for affairs of daily life, medical care and property management	Notarial deed (Act on Voluntary Guardianship Contracts, Article 3)
Will	On death	Succession of property (who inherits or receives what)	Holographic, notarial, etc. (the forms of the Civil Code)
Post-death affairs mandate contract	After death	Post-death affairs such as funeral, administrative procedures, cancelling contracts	Writing (often a notarial deed)

A voluntary guardianship contract is a contract in which the mandator entrusts affairs in a situation where judgement capacity has become insufficient due to a mental disability and grants agency, and it must be made by notarial deed (Act on Voluntary Guardianship Contracts, Article 2, item 1 and Article 3). A will sets the succession of property, and its drafting and correction have forms under the Civil Code; for the basics of drafting, see Can you make a holographic will yourself?. A post-death affairs mandate contract carries the "post-death affairs" not covered by these. Voluntary guardianship for a decline in judgement capacity during life, a will for the succession of property, and a post-death affairs mandate for post-death procedures — the roles divide.

How do you draft the contract, and how do you handle the cost deposit safely?

A post-death affairs mandate contract is formed by the parties' agreement as a mandate contract under Article 643 of the Civil Code. However, because it is a contract under which the mandatary performs affairs after the mandator's death, it is important to make clear (1) a special agreement not to terminate the contract even after the mandator dies, (2) a specific list of the scope of affairs entrusted, and (3) the method of bearing and settling costs.

Article 653, item 1 of the Civil Code makes the mandator's death a ground for the mandate's termination, but this provision is a default rule, and because the parties may agree otherwise, a special agreement not to terminate even on the mandator's death is held valid (Supreme Court judgment of 22 September 1992). In practice, to make the contract's existence and content clear, it is often made by notarial deed, and it may be arranged at a notary's office together with a voluntary guardianship contract or a will.

As for costs, a method of depositing money in advance to meet the funeral costs and various settlements ("yotaku," a deposit) is sometimes used. Managing the deposit separately from the mandatary's own property and setting the use and the reporting method for settlement in the contract makes it easier to avoid later trouble. It is important to decide the money's management and safeguarding mechanism specifically in the contract.

Can inheritance, registration, and tax be covered by this contract?

A post-death affairs mandate contract handles "post-death affairs" and does not cover inheritance itself, registration, or tax. These are each the field of a different qualified professional.

What you want to do	Responsible party
The mandate contract for post-death affairs such as funeral, administrative procedures and cancelling contracts — drafting and accepting	Administrative scrivener
A will setting the succession of property; preparing inheritance-related documents	Administrative scrivener (organising will-related materials) / notary (notarial will)
Acting as agent for the inheritance registration (change of real-estate title); preparing the registration application	Judicial scrivener or attorney
The inheritance-tax return and the deceased's quasi-final income-tax return	Tax accountant
A dispute over the division of the estate among heirs; a claim to the legally reserved portion	Attorney

Have a question about your situation?

Tell us about your residency, permit or administrative procedure enquiry.

Chat on LINEContact us

Even if you have entrusted the funeral and cancellation procedures in a post-death affairs mandate contract, dividing the inherited property and changing real-estate title are separate procedures. The inheritance registration is the field of a judicial scrivener or attorney, and tax the field of a tax accountant — a post-death affairs mandate contract's mandatary cannot do them as a matter of course. For the order and deadlines of the whole inheritance procedure, see A checklist of what to do when an inheritance arises and A summary of inheritance-procedure deadlines.

Who should you ask for lifetime preparation and post-death procedures?

Lifetime preparation and post-death procedures span several qualified professionals. The roles are as follows.

• Drafting and accepting the post-death affairs mandate contract and the voluntary guardianship contract; organising will-related materials → Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office (administrative scrivener)
• The voluntary guardianship contract, the notarial will, and making documents into notarial deeds → the notary (notary's office)
• Acting as agent for the inheritance registration; preparing the registration application → judicial scrivener or attorney
• The inheritance-tax return and the quasi-final income-tax return → tax accountant
• A dispute among heirs, the legally reserved portion, and individual legal advice → attorney
• Appraisal, sale, or leasing of inherited real estate → licensed real estate broker (Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.)

Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd., a separate business from Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office, handles the appraisal, sale or leasing of inherited real estate under a separate contract as an independent business. The inheritance registration is the field of a judicial scrivener or attorney, tax of a tax accountant, and disputes of an attorney; each field is on the premise that you contract separately with each counter or qualified professional as an independent business, and our office receives no referral fee. For the flow of engagement, see Engagement Flow; for fees, see Fee Schedule; for the whole picture of inheritance work, see Inheritance, Wills and Trusts Services; and for the sale and management of inherited real estate, see The complete guide to inherited real estate (Yotsuba Real Estate). For how to sort out who to consult about procedures after a funeral, Who do you consult about procedures after a funeral? is also helpful.

FAQ

Q. If I have a post-death affairs mandate contract, do I not need a will?
A. No. A post-death affairs mandate contract handles "post-death affairs" such as the funeral, administrative procedures and cancelling contracts, and it cannot decide how the inherited property is succeeded. If you want to set the succession of property, a separate will is needed. Because the two cover different things, you combine them according to your purpose.

Q. When the mandator dies, doesn't the mandate contract simply end?
A. Article 653, item 1 of the Civil Code makes the mandator's death a ground for the mandate's termination, but this provision is a default rule and the parties may agree otherwise. A special agreement not to terminate even on the mandator's death is held valid (Supreme Court judgment of 22 September 1992), and with this special agreement the mandatary can perform the post-death affairs.

Q. Must the contract be a notarial deed?
A. The post-death affairs mandate contract itself is not required by law to be a notarial deed. However, to make the contract's existence and content clear and to avoid later disputes, it is often made by notarial deed, and it may be arranged at a notary's office together with a voluntary guardianship contract (which requires a notarial deed under Article 3 of the Act on Voluntary Guardianship Contracts) or a will.

Q. Will the money I deposit (the deposit) be used properly?
A. It is important to manage the deposit separately from the mandatary's own property and to set the method of use, settlement and reporting in the contract. Deciding the mechanism for managing and safeguarding the money specifically in the contract makes it easier to avoid later trouble. The individual design is made by a qualified professional after a meeting.

Sources (Primary Information)

• e-Gov Law Search, "Civil Code" (Act No. 89 of 1896), Article 643 (mandate) and Article 653, item 1 (ground for termination of a mandate = death of the mandator or mandatary) (accessed 2026-08-27)
• Supreme Court, Third Petty Bench, judgment of 22 September 1992 (validity of a mandate contract including an agreement not to terminate the mandate even after the mandator's death) (accessed 2026-08-27)
• e-Gov Law Search, "Act on Voluntary Guardianship Contracts" (Act No. 150 of 1999), Article 2, item 1 (definition) and Article 3 (a voluntary guardianship contract must be made by notarial deed) (accessed 2026-08-27)
• Ministry of Justice, guidance on the "adult guardianship system and voluntary guardianship system" (accessed 2026-08-27)
• Japan Federation of Administrative Scriveners Associations, guidance on "the work of administrative scriveners (wills and inheritance, voluntary guardianship and post-death affairs, etc.)" (accessed 2026-08-27)

This article is general information and does not guarantee the appropriateness of any individual contract's content, the scope of affairs that can be entrusted, the method of managing the deposit, or whether you can become the person who files the death notification. Acting as agent for the inheritance registration and preparing the registration application are handled by a judicial scrivener or attorney; the inheritance-tax return and the quasi-final income-tax return by a tax accountant; a dispute among heirs, the legally reserved portion, and individual legal advice by an attorney; and the appraisal or brokerage of inherited real estate by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate broker) — each as an independent business, under separate contracts. Making a notarial deed is done by the notary (notary's office). Our office receives no referral fee. Individual judgements are made by a qualified professional after a meeting. Written by Joji Uramatsu, administrative scrivener and licensed real estate broker.