If a parent leaves more debt than assets, Korean law lets heirs renounce the inheritance or accept it with qualification, paying debts only up to what they inherit. The deadline is in Civil Act Article 1019(1): within three months of learning that the inheritance has opened. Do nothing in that time and you are deemed to have accepted outright (Art. 1026 item 2). If, without gross negligence, you only later learn the debts exceed the assets, you can still accept with qualification within three months of learning that (Art. 1019(3)). Enter the date you learned and the calculator gives the filing deadline.
1. File with the family court within three months of learning — for renunciation (Art. 1041) or qualified acceptance (Art. 1030).
2. Miss the deadline or dispose of estate property and you’ve accepted outright (Art. 1026).
3. Learned of excess debt later? Three months from then — qualified acceptance only (Art. 1019(3)). Learned on 21 October 2026: by 21 January 2027.
Calculator
Updates as you type. The first day isn’t counted; three calendar months end the day before the corresponding day; only Saturdays and Sundays are moved, so check other public holidays yourself. The family court can extend the period on application.
The provisions
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Art. 1019(1) | An heir may accept outright, accept with qualification or renounce within three months of learning the inheritance has opened; the family court may extend the period at the request of an interested party or prosecutor | From when you knew, not the death |
| Art. 1019(2) | Before accepting or renouncing, the heir may investigate the estate | — |
| Art. 1019(3) | An heir who, without gross negligence, didn’t learn in time that debts exceed assets and accepted outright may accept with qualification within three months of learning it | Renunciation not available |
| Art. 1019(4) | A minor heir who accepted outright may accept with qualification within three months of learning of excess debt after reaching majority | Added 13 Dec 2022 |
| Art. 1026 | Deemed outright acceptance: (1) disposing of estate property; (2) no qualified acceptance or renunciation in time; (3) hiding, wasting or deliberately omitting property after doing so | — |
Both are done by filing with the family court. Renunciation is filed within the Article 1019(1) period (Art. 1041) and takes effect retroactively from the opening of the inheritance (Art. 1042). Qualified acceptance is filed in time with an inventory of the estate (Art. 1030(1)). For an heir with limited capacity, the period runs from when the parent or guardian knew (Art. 1020).
Three sums — our example
| Date you learned (our example) | Deadline | Worth noting (our sum) |
|---|---|---|
| Wed 21 October 2026 | Thu 21 January 2027 | Three months from 22 October → day before 22 January |
| Sat 14 November 2026 | Mon 15 February 2027 | 14 February is a Sunday → the next day |
| Mon 30 November 2026 | Tue 2 March 2027 | From 1 December → 28 February (Sun) → 1 March is Independence Movement Day → 2 March |
As in the third case, if the next day is a public holiday the deadline moves again (Art. 161). The calculator moves only Saturdays and Sundays, so it shows 1 March here — step past the holiday yourself. Period counting in general is in legal period calculator.
Renunciation or qualified acceptance — the difference
- Renunciation — you are treated as never having been an heir (Art. 1042), and your share goes to the other co-heirs in proportion (Art. 1043). If everyone in a rank renounces, the next rank inherits, so they need to look at it too (our gloss).
- Qualified acceptance — you remain an heir but pay debts and legacies only up to what you inherit (Art. 1028); co-heirs do so each up to their share (Art. 1029).
Where a renunciation makes the next heir inherit and that heir accepts, the earlier heir’s concealment under Art. 1026 item 3 isn’t treated as acceptance (Art. 1027). Pension payments to survivors are in death lump sum.
Checklist
- ☐ Note the date you learned — of the death, and of the debts
- ☐ Don’t dispose of estate property before filing (Art. 1026 item 1)
- ☐ Search assets and debts and list them (Art. 1019(2))
- ☐ Can’t finish in three months? Ask the family court for an extension
- ☐ Renouncing? Tell the next-rank heirs
Questions that remain
Is paying funeral costs from the estate a disposal?
Article 1026 item 1 says only “disposal”; where the line falls is for case law, which we didn’t cover.
Do I lose a life insurance payout if I renounce?
That depends on whether the payout is estate property or the beneficiary’s own, which the Civil Act articles we read don’t say.
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — Civil Act Arts. 1019–1030, 1041–1043 — source (current text, effective 17 March 2026, Act No. 21454; checked 21 October 2026). Three-month period and extension, investigation, special qualified acceptance (paras. 3, 4), limited capacity, deemed acceptance, effect and filing of qualified acceptance, renunciation and its effect.
- Not read. Case law (what counts as disposal; nature of insurance payouts); court filing practice.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- The competent family court — filings and extensions.
- Korea Legal Aid Corporation — advice on inherited debt.
Written on 21 October 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
