What does this inherited-asset allocation calculator do?
Dividing an estate by percentages is different from assigning a home, deposits, shares, a business interest, vehicles, debts, and common expenses to named heirs. When one heir receives an indivisible home while others receive liquid assets, an equalization payment may be needed to bring each heir back to the agreed target share.
This calculator uses target shares and values that you have already confirmed. It calculates each heir’s target amount, net assigned value, payment or receipt, cash requirement, liquidity gap, and value after entered allocation costs. It also compares an all-sale cash scenario and lower, base, and upper valuation cases.
Balance the proposal
Compare each heir’s net assigned value with the target and create a payer-to-recipient transfer table.
Test liquidity
Add equalization and heir-specific allocation costs, then compare the cash requirement with money actually available.
Compare alternatives
Compare the in-kind proposal with an all-sale cash pool after entered debts, common expenses, and sale costs.
Korea-based 2026 legal boundary
This is a Korean-law planning estimate, not legal or tax advice. It does not identify heirs, determine statutory shares, validate a will or agreement, value property, classify equalization for tax, or predict a Korean Family Court decision. Use KRW values and facts confirmed for the actual estate.
Agreement does not eliminate the need to confirm shares
Korean Civil Act Article 1013 permits co-heirs to divide the estate by agreement outside the will-based method or prohibition in Article 1012 and applies Article 269 by reference. The calculator does not establish who must participate, whether valid consent exists, or whether a court would choose a particular division method.
Statutory shares, special benefits, and contribution shares are separate
Article 1009 addresses statutory shares. Article 1008 addresses special benefits from lifetime gifts or legacies, while Article 1008-2 addresses contribution shares for qualifying care or contributions to the estate. These issues can change the target, so the tool asks you to enter a share already reviewed for the case instead of inventing one.
Redistribution after registration can require gift-tax review
Inheritance and Gift Tax Act Article 4(3) can treat property received above an originally fixed share after registration or a similar act as a gift from the heir whose share decreased. The filing-deadline exception and qualifying reasons listed in Enforcement Decree Article 3-2 can matter. The checkbox produces a review warning only; it never decides taxability. For a domestic estate, Article 67 generally sets the inheritance-tax return at six months from the last day of the month containing the inheritance commencement date; the specified overseas-residence case uses nine months.
Civil Act Article 1015 gives estate division retroactive effect to the opening of inheritance but protects third-party rights. Mortgages, leases, seizures, creditor rights, and other interests do not disappear because a spreadsheet reallocates an item.
Inputs and evidence to prepare
Inputs, meanings, and evidence for the inherited-asset allocation calculator| Input | Meaning | Evidence to check |
|---|
| Target share | The share of net estate value intended for the heir | Family status, will, statutory-share, special-benefit, contribution-share, and agreement review |
| Available cash | Cash genuinely available for equalization and allocation costs | Bank balances, confirmed credit, payment timing, and instalment terms |
| Allocation costs | Heir-specific registration, tax, legal, and valuation quotations | Written quotations from relevant Korean professionals |
| Asset value | Property, deposit, security, business, vehicle, or other value as of one date | Appraisal, balance certificate, transaction record, and tax valuation material |
| Deduction item | Inherited debt, funeral expense, or common estate cost and the proposed bearer | Creditor balance, receipts, and the heirs’ internal cost-sharing proposal |
| All-sale cost | Entered disposal, brokerage, tax, legal, and clean-up quotations | Sale-price scenarios and itemized written quotations |
| Valuation sensitivity | A common lower and upper percentage applied to positive assets | Multiple appraisals, comparable sales, or business valuation ranges |
You may enter 2 to 10 heirs and 1 to 20 estate items. Each positive asset goes to the heir receiving it, while each debt or common cost goes to the heir proposed to bear it. This design keeps the sum of heir-level net assigned values equal to the total net estate.
Formulas and KRW rounding
1. Net estate
Gross assets = sum of all positive asset values.
Total deductions = inherited debts + funeral expenses + common costs.
Net estate = gross assets - total deductions.
2. Target amount
Normalized share = entered share / total entered shares.
Target amount = distributable net estate x normalized share.
Whole-KRW remainders go by largest fractional remainder, then input order.
3. Equalization
Net assigned value = assigned assets - assigned deductions.
Difference = net assigned value - target amount.
A positive difference pays; a negative difference receives.
4. Liquidity and sale case
Cash required = payment + heir-specific allocation costs.
Liquidity gap = max(cash required - available cash, 0).
Sale cash pool = max(net estate - all-sale cost, 0).
Equalization is an internal transfer, so it is not deducted from the estate twice. Total payments equal total receipts. If the net estate is positive, the value after equalization equals the target before heir-specific allocation costs. Those external costs are then deducted to show the in-kind value after costs.
Step-by-step workflow
- Enter target shares reviewed against the family record, will, statutory-share rules, special benefits, contribution shares, and the proposed agreement.
- Enter cash genuinely available to each heir and written estimates for registration, tax, legal, and valuation costs connected with the in-kind proposal.
- Add every positive asset and every inherited debt, funeral expense, or common estate cost using a consistent valuation date.
- Assign assets to recipients and deductions to proposed bearers. Mark a home or business interest as indivisible when that fact is important to the discussion.
- Enter the all-sale cost and a valuation range. Check whether shares were already fixed by registration or a similar action.
- Print the heir table, item table, transfer table, sensitivity range, and warnings. Reconcile them with evidence before money or title moves.
Worked example: KRW 1 billion of assets
The synthetic example uses target shares of 40%, 30%, and 30%. Heir A receives a KRW 600,000,000 apartment and bears KRW 100,000,000 of inherited debt. Heir B receives a KRW 200,000,000 deposit and bears KRW 10,000,000 of funeral and common costs. Heir C receives KRW 100,000,000 of listed shares and a KRW 100,000,000 business interest.
Target, net assigned value, equalization, and after-cost value in the worked example| Heir | Target | Net assigned | Pays | Receives | In-kind after costs |
|---|
| A | KRW 356,000,000 | KRW 500,000,000 | KRW 144,000,000 | KRW 0 | KRW 351,000,000 |
| B | KRW 267,000,000 | KRW 190,000,000 | KRW 0 | KRW 77,000,000 | KRW 265,000,000 |
| C | KRW 267,000,000 | KRW 200,000,000 | KRW 0 | KRW 67,000,000 | KRW 265,000,000 |
Gross assets are KRW 1,000,000,000, deductions are KRW 110,000,000, and the net estate is KRW 890,000,000. The transfer table therefore sends KRW 77,000,000 from A to B and KRW 67,000,000 from A to C. With KRW 5,000,000 of A’s allocation costs, A needs KRW 149,000,000 of cash. If only KRW 100,000,000 is available, the liquidity gap is KRW 49,000,000.
Entering KRW 40,000,000 of all-sale costs produces a sale cash pool of KRW 850,000,000. The share-based sale receipts are KRW 340,000,000 for A and KRW 255,000,000 each for B and C. This is a cost comparison, not a conclusion that one path is legally or personally preferable.
Interpreting the valuation range
Lower, base, and upper valuation results for the worked example| Scenario | Gross assets | Net estate | A pays |
|---|
| Lower -10% | KRW 900,000,000 | KRW 790,000,000 | KRW 124,000,000 |
| Base | KRW 1,000,000,000 | KRW 890,000,000 | KRW 144,000,000 |
| Upper +10% | KRW 1,100,000,000 | KRW 990,000,000 | KRW 164,000,000 |
A uniform 10% asset movement changes A’s payment by KRW 40,000,000 across the range. This is a stress test, not a prediction that a home, listed shares, and a private business move by the same percentage. If the range changes payer and recipient roles, rerun the proposal with item-specific appraisals.
Practical use cases
One heir keeps the family home
Assign the home and related internal debt burden, then test whether the recipient can fund equalization. A gap may support discussion of a different cash assignment, payment timing, or security, but the tool does not approve those terms.
A business interest passes to an operating heir
Mark the interest as indivisible and compare appraisal ranges. Control value, transfer restrictions, tax relief, business risk, and working-capital needs remain outside the model and require separate corporate, tax, and succession review.
Heirs allocate debt internally
A deduction assignment is an internal planning assumption. It does not by itself release an external debtor or bind a creditor. Confirm assumption, novation, collateral, and creditor consent before treating the internal table as an external liability map.
The family compares in-kind division with a sale
The sale case uses entered valuation and costs. It does not model a forced-sale discount, time to sell, occupancy value, capital gains, acquisition tax, inheritance tax, or emotional and control value. Add those considerations outside the arithmetic table.
Frequently asked questions
Does this calculate Korean statutory inheritance shares?
No. Confirm heir rank, spouse weighting, representation, a will, special benefits, contribution shares, and any agreed adjustment first. This tool only allocates values against the target shares you enter.
Is the displayed equalization payment legally binding?
No. It is the arithmetic difference between entered net assigned value and target value. Liability, due date, interest, security, tax classification, enforceability, and agreement validity need separate documents and advice.
Does assigning a debt change liability to the creditor?
Not necessarily. The assignment is an internal burden assumption for this comparison. Creditor consent, debt assumption, collateral, and Korean succession-debt rules remain outside the calculator.
Why are allocation costs separate from equalization?
Equalization balances net estate value among heirs. Registration, tax, legal, and appraisal costs are external payments. The tool therefore adds them to cash required and subtracts them only when showing the in-kind value after costs.
Can I use this after inheritance shares were registered?
You can compare arithmetic, but a later redistribution can require gift-tax and third-party-right review. Check Article 4(3), the inheritance-tax filing deadline, qualifying exceptions, and the actual title history with Korean professionals before acting.
Why is no transfer table created when the net estate is non-positive?
Debt-response choices may take priority over balancing a positive estate. Promptly review Korean limited acceptance, renunciation, inherited-estate bankruptcy, and their deadlines instead of using a zero-target equalization table.
Tips and cautions
- Use one valuation date for assets, secured balances, and other deductions.
- Do not count a funeral expense twice if it has already reduced a deposit balance.
- Separate an internal debt-sharing proposal from liability owed to an external creditor.
- Check gift, inheritance, acquisition, and capital-gains tax before transferring money or title.
- Review minors, guardianship, conflicts of interest, missing heirs, and any special-representative requirement.
- Document due dates, instalments, interest, default terms, security, and title-transfer order.
- Use aliases in a planning printout if needed, but exact parties and legal descriptions in signed documents.
Official sources and verification date
The National Law Information Center OPEN API was checked on August 27, 2026. The current Civil Act record was Law ID 001706, MST 284415, effective March 17, 2026. Articles 269, 1008, 1008-2, 1009, 1012, 1013, and 1015 were reviewed.
The current Inheritance and Gift Tax Act record was Law ID 001561, MST 276123, with the current search record effective January 2, 2026; Articles 4(3) and 67 were reviewed. The Enforcement Decree record was Law ID 003814, MST 283637, effective February 27, 2026; Article 3-2 was reviewed.
Rules can change, and an earlier inheritance opening, registration, or redistribution date may require the law then in force. Recheck live law, appraisal, title, and tax quotations before relying on the plan.
Balance the numbers, then verify the documents and funding
Enter the reviewed target shares, item values, assignments, and quotations. Print the transfer and sensitivity tables, then ask the co-heirs and Korean legal, registration, valuation, and tax professionals to confirm the proposal before signing or paying.