Renouncing a Japanese inheritance from abroad: how heirs in Taiwan or China file, and when the three-month period starts

In short: an heir living abroad can file a renunciation or qualified acceptance of a Japanese inheritance with the family court (by post is possible). The period of deliberation is three months "from the time the heir learns that an inheritance has commenced for them" (Civil Code Article 915(1)), and the filing goes to the family court with jurisdiction over the decedent's last domicile.

Information checked: 27 October 2026. This article, for heirs living in Taiwan, mainland China and elsewhere, for families in Japan who have an heir abroad, and for local professionals, focuses narrowly on the steps to renounce or qualifiedly accept a Japanese inheritance from abroad, and on when the three-month period of deliberation starts. For the basics of renunciation and qualified acceptance, see the basics of renunciation and qualified acceptance; for the whole picture of an inheritance involving overseas or foreign nationality, see inheritance involving overseas or foreign nationality; for the starting point and extension of the period, see the starting point and extension of the deliberation period. The provisions were reconciled with e-Gov.

Can I renounce a Japanese inheritance even while living abroad?

You can. Renunciation is a procedure filed with the family court concerning the inheritance of the decedent (the person who died), not something that depends on where the heir lives. Civil Code Article 938 provides that "a person who intends to renounce an inheritance must file that intention with the family court." A person who has renounced is deemed, with respect to that inheritance, never to have been an heir from the outset (Civil Code Article 939). So on renunciation the right to inherit moves to the next-order heirs (for example, if all the children renounce, to the parents; if there are no parents either, to the siblings).

If you want to receive part of the estate while guarding against the risk of insolvency, qualified acceptance is another option. Civil Code Article 922 provides that an heir may accept an inheritance reserving that the decedent's debts and legacies are to be paid only to the extent of the property obtained by inheritance, and where there are several heirs, qualified acceptance can be done only by all the co-heirs jointly (Civil Code Article 923). To make a qualified acceptance, within the period of deliberation you prepare an inventory of the estate, submit it to the family court, and file the qualified acceptance (Civil Code Article 924).

The filing goes to the family court with jurisdiction over the place where the inheritance commenced. Family Affairs Procedure Act Article 201(1) provides that adjudication cases concerning the acceptance and renunciation of inheritance belong to the jurisdiction of "the family court that has jurisdiction over the place where the inheritance commenced," and an inheritance commences at the domicile of the decedent (Civil Code Articles 882 and 883). That is, you file with the family court with jurisdiction over the decedent's last domicile. An heir abroad can file by posting the application and the attached documents (because correspondence will be by mail, it is safest to move early, allowing for international-post times).

Option	Content	Main basis
Simple acceptance	Succeed to all rights and obligations (debts)	Civil Code Article 920
Qualified acceptance	Pay debts only to the extent of property obtained; all heirs file jointly and submit an inventory	Civil Code Articles 922, 923, 924
Renunciation	Deemed never to have been an heir; passes to the next order	Civil Code Articles 938, 939

When does the three-month deliberation period start? Can it be extended?

The start date is "the time the heir learns that an inheritance has commenced for them." Civil Code Article 915(1) provides that an heir must, within three months from the time they learn that an inheritance has commenced for them, make a simple acceptance, a qualified acceptance or a renunciation. It is important that this is counted not from the day of death but from "the time you learn you have become an heir." For someone living abroad to whom news of the death arrives late, or a next-order heir who became an heir because the prior-order heirs renounced, the starting point is the time they learn of that fact.

If you cannot decide within the period, you can apply to extend it. The proviso to Civil Code Article 915(1) provides that this period "may be extended by the family court on the application of an interested party or a public prosecutor." In overseas-inheritance cases where investigating foreign assets and debts, or obtaining family registers and notarial deeds, takes time, consider applying to the family court within the period of deliberation to extend it. An heir may also investigate the estate before making an acceptance or renunciation (Civil Code Article 915(2)).

Item	Content
Deliberation period	Three months from the time you learn an inheritance has commenced for you (Civil Code Article 915(1))
How the start is counted	Not the day of death, but "the time you learn you have become an heir"
Extension	Apply to the family court within the period to extend it (proviso of the same paragraph)
Investigating the estate	May be done before acceptance or renunciation (paragraph 2)

Because views may differ on the starting point, confirm an individual start date and the feasibility of an extension with the family court with jurisdiction and a qualified professional before filing.

Who collects the documents needed for filing (Taiwan family registers, overseas-mission certificates)?

What is commonly required is a family register (removed register or re-prepared original register) showing the decedent's death, the decedent's removed resident record or register of attached matters, and the family register of the applicant (the person renouncing). The range of registers required varies by relationship (spouse, child, parent, sibling), and for the second order onward the decedent's registers from birth to death may be required. The cost is a revenue stamp of 800 yen per applicant plus postage stamps for correspondence, and the stamp amount differs by court (referenced 27 October 2026, courts' "Filing of renunciation of inheritance").

What is specific to overseas inheritance is the identity documents made abroad. An heir with no domicile or seal registration in Japan sometimes uses a signature certificate from an overseas mission (a Japanese embassy or consulate-general) in place of a seal certificate. If the heir is a foreign national or on a foreign register, documents of status by country — a Taiwanese family register (removed register), a mainland-Chinese notarial deed with consular authentication, and so on — must be assembled. As Japan has no embassy or consulate in Taiwan, in practice the certification is handled by the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association (Taipei and Kaohsiung). The flow of a relationship notarial deed and consular authentication for a mainland-Chinese heir is covered in the relationship notarial deed and consular authentication for a mainland-Chinese heir. Which document is required for which procedure, and whether a signature certificate suffices, differ by court and case and are unverified in this article.

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What an administrative scrivener (our office) can help with is fixing the heirs (collecting registers and arranging the relationships), collecting overseas documents such as Taiwan family registers and Chinese notarial deeds, and preparing the inventory of the estate submitted to the family court for a qualified acceptance. The preparation and filing of the application itself are divided by role as set out in the next section.

Document / task	Main responsibility
Collecting the decedent's and heirs' registers; fixing the heirs	Administrative scrivener (our office)
Collecting overseas documents such as Taiwan registers and Chinese notarial deeds	Administrative scrivener (our office)
Preparing the inventory for a qualified acceptance	Administrative scrivener (our office)
Overseas-mission signature certificate; each country's status documents	Obtained by the person at the overseas mission / local authority
Preparing and filing the application with the family court	By the person, or as a court-submitted document by a judicial scrivener

Who handles the family-court filing, disputes, tax and registration?

Renunciation and qualified acceptance divide by task. The filing with the family court is done by the heir themselves, or the preparation of the court-submitted document is entrusted to a judicial scrivener. Where there is a dispute over the estate division or the validity of a renunciation, the negotiation, mediation and representation are for an attorney; the valuation and filing for inheritance tax are the field of a tax accountant; and the registration of inherited real estate is for a judicial scrivener. An administrative scrivener (our office) handles fixing the heirs, collecting overseas documents and preparing the inventory.

Who to engage	Scope
四葉行政書士事務所 (Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office)	Fixing the heirs; collecting registers and overseas documents; preparing the inventory for a qualified acceptance
The person / judicial scrivener	Filing the renunciation or qualified acceptance with the family court (preparing the court-submitted document)
Attorney	Negotiation, mediation and representation where there is a dispute over the division or the validity of a renunciation
Tax accountant	Valuation and filing for inheritance tax
Judicial scrivener	Change of title to inherited real estate (inheritance registration)

四葉行政書士事務所, 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 and 四葉不動産株式会社 are each a separate, independent business. You contract with each field's provider separately as an independent business, and each provider bills and receives payment directly. Our office receives no referral fee.

See inheritance-procedure support, the engagement process and the fee schedule. The sale of inherited real estate is handled by the separate business at inherited real-estate consultation, which you also contract with separately.

FAQ

Q. Can I renounce a Japanese inheritance even while living abroad?
A. You can. Renunciation is done by filing with the family court with jurisdiction over the decedent's last domicile (Civil Code Article 938; Family Affairs Procedure Act Article 201(1)), and an heir abroad can file by posting the application and attached documents. On renunciation you are deemed never to have been an heir from the outset, and the right passes to the next-order heirs (Civil Code Article 939).

Q. From when are the three months of the deliberation period counted?
A. From "the time you learn that an inheritance has commenced for you" (Civil Code Article 915(1)). Not the day of death, but the time you learn you have become an heir, is the starting point. For someone to whom news of the death arrives late abroad, or a next-order heir who became one because of a prior-order renunciation, it is counted from the time they learn of that fact. You can apply to the family court within the period to extend it (proviso of the same paragraph).

Q. Who collects the needed Taiwan family registers and Chinese notarial deeds?
A. An administrative scrivener (our office) can collect the registers needed to fix the heirs, collect overseas documents such as Taiwan registers and Chinese notarial deeds, and prepare the inventory submitted for a qualified acceptance. The overseas-mission signature certificate and each country's status documents are obtained by the heir themselves at the overseas mission / local authority. Which documents are required differs by court and case and is unverified, so confirm with the family court with jurisdiction.

Q. Can qualified acceptance be done if all the heirs are abroad?
A. Qualified acceptance can be done only by all the heirs jointly (Civil Code Article 923), submitting an inventory to the family court within the deliberation period (Civil Code Article 924). Even with everyone abroad, it is possible to assemble the overseas documents and signature certificates and file jointly by post. Because keeping everyone in step and managing the three-month deadline is the key, fix the heirs early and consider an extension if needed.

Sources (Primary Information)

• e-Gov: Civil Code (1896 Act No. 89): Articles 882 and 883 (time and place of commencement of inheritance — the decedent's domicile), Article 915 (deliberation period — three months from the time one learns an inheritance has commenced for them; the proviso to paragraph 1 — extension by the family court; paragraph 2 — investigation of the estate), Article 920 (simple acceptance), Article 922 (qualified acceptance), Article 923 (joint filing by all co-heirs), Article 924 (submission of the inventory and filing), Article 938 (filing of renunciation), Article 939 (effect of renunciation). Final amendment date unverified.
• e-Gov: Family Affairs Procedure Act (2011 Act No. 52): Article 201(1) (jurisdiction over adjudication cases on acceptance and renunciation of inheritance — the family court with jurisdiction over the place where the inheritance commenced). Final amendment date unverified.
• Courts, "Filing of renunciation of inheritance" (www.courts.go.jp, referenced 27 October 2026): the filing destination — the family court of the decedent's last domicile; the filing period; the application and required documents; the cost (an 800-yen revenue stamp plus postage stamps). The range of registers by relationship, the detail of filing by post from abroad, and whether a signature certificate suffices differ by court and case, and individual requirements are unverified in this article.

Checked 27 October 2026. The provisions were reconciled with e-Gov. The individual start date of the deliberation period, the feasibility of an extension, the specific need for an overseas-mission signature certificate or Taiwanese and Chinese status documents, and the final amendment dates of each law are unverified. Reconfirm with the family court with jurisdiction and a qualified professional before proceeding.

This is general information and does not guarantee whether a renunciation or qualified acceptance will be accepted, whether a measure within the deliberation period is possible, or a procedural outcome. Individual judgements are made by a qualified professional after reviewing the materials. Written by Joji Uramatsu, administrative scrivener and licensed real-estate transaction specialist.