Maybe you bought a vacation home in Hokkaido, got a great deal through Akiya Hub on a minka in Tochigi, or you worked in Tokyo and kept your condo as an investment when you repatriated. However it started, eventually you’re going to leave behind a house in Japan for heirs in your homeland.
In the midst of grief, family may be tempted to ignore the complications of Mom’s house and property in Japan, and to pretend it doesn’t exist. That’s not a wise choice. Your homeland heirs have obligations on your entire estate, including property abroad.
But you can make it easier for them. Give them all the information they need to handle things without the frustration of language, time zones, and a foreign bureaucracy that doesn’t work the way they expect.
Here’s what they need to know:
- Location of the property and its access codes or keys
- Location of city hall where the property is registered
- Who to contact
- Property manager
- Executor (lawyer, judicial scrivener, or your Japanese tax accountant)
- Personal contacts
- Mortgage information & insurance details
- Additional assets in Japan
- Cars and other vehicles
- Bank accounts & digital money
- Liabilities in Japan
- Utilities, service contracts
- Loans or debts
- Login details related to Japan accounts
- Location of your Japan-enabled phone
The Ending Note workbook has sections for all this (and more) to guide you through sharing the necessary details. The Ending Note Bundle is an invaluable support for you and your heirs.
In addition to your Ending Note, give heirs the Family Guide, which provides step-by-step, action-oriented details and a Japanese glossary. While it is written for a family whose loved one lived and died in Japan, the information that property owners’ heirs need is also there.
Here’s what family need to do:
- Request that your professional contact(s) coordinate the local parts of the process and bilingual communication.
- Start the inheritance process with your executor within three months of your death.
- Pay inheritance taxes within ten months.
- Re-register the property in the heir’s name within three years.
Will your heirs need to come to Japan?
Not necessarily. If everything goes smoothly and your executor has permission to handle procedures on their behalf, a trip to Japan may not be required. However if your Japan home contains items that need to be sorted through, or if Japan’s inheritance rules change then heirs may need to come to Japan.
And they might enjoy visiting “that house Mom had in Japan” one last time.