Hyoung Seok Kim, Life Insurance and Succession (2023), The Korean Journal of Civil Law, Vol.103(2023), pp.85-116.
<Abstract>
This article analyzes the issues that arise from the use of life insurance as a will-substitute and presents the following conclusions: 1. Endowing a claim based on life insurance is not a disposition upon death, but a donation inter vivas at the moment of the policyholder's death. The policyholder alone should determine the causa donandi, and the heir cannot hinder the benefit accrued to the beneficiary. 2. Based on the above explanation, the rules on forced heirship apply to life insurance as well. When calculating the forced share, the benefit that the policyholder could have realized at the time of their death should be considered, specifically its redemption price, rather than the benefit conferred upon the beneficiary. 3. The life insurance benefit is an object of collation among coheirs, and its sum is considered. 4. When an insolvency proceeding is underway at the time of the policyholder's death, the beneficiary cannot assert the benefit against the proceeding's administrator. In the event of an insolvent policyholder dying without an insolvency proceeding open, creditors should rely on the actio Pauliana, either inside or outside of the procedure. This remedy targets the life insurance as a donation inter vivas at the moment of the policyholder's death, and its object is the accrued insurance benefit itself.
<Keywords>
life insurance, donation inter vivas, disposition upon death, forced heirship, collation, insolvency
Hyoung Seok Kim, Life Insurance and Succession (2023), The Korean Journal of Civil Law, Vol.103(2023), pp.85-116.
<Abstract>
This article analyzes the issues that arise from the use of life insurance as a will-substitute and presents the following conclusions: 1. Endowing a claim based on life insurance is not a disposition upon death, but a donation inter vivas at the moment of the policyholder's death. The policyholder alone should determine the causa donandi, and the heir cannot hinder the benefit accrued to the beneficiary. 2. Based on the above explanation, the rules on forced heirship apply to life insurance as well. When calculating the forced share, the benefit that the policyholder could have realized at the time of their death should be considered, specifically its redemption price, rather than the benefit conferred upon the beneficiary. 3. The life insurance benefit is an object of collation among coheirs, and its sum is considered. 4. When an insolvency proceeding is underway at the time of the policyholder's death, the beneficiary cannot assert the benefit against the proceeding's administrator. In the event of an insolvent policyholder dying without an insolvency proceeding open, creditors should rely on the actio Pauliana, either inside or outside of the procedure. This remedy targets the life insurance as a donation inter vivas at the moment of the policyholder's death, and its object is the accrued insurance benefit itself.
<Keywords>
life insurance, donation inter vivas, disposition upon death, forced heirship, collation, insolvency