Tax·Inheritance
We look at tax and inheritance together. We protect rightful claims and see that valuable assets pass intact to the people they are meant for.
Tax and inheritance are difficult to treat separately. How an estate is divided changes the tax due, and what was argued during an audit sets the terms of the dispute that follows. At MAST, attorneys and CPAs work as one team, carrying a matter in a single flow from audit attendance and written submissions through tax appeals and tax administrative litigation.
Inheritance is a critical matter where a momentary decision can alter the course of assets accumulated over decades. Because complex family emotions and property issues are intertwined, the preemptive involvement of a specialist who knows the statutory deadlines and procedures precisely is essential.
At MAST, inheritance matters are handled from start to finish by family law specialists certified by the Korean Bar Association. Renunciation of inheritance and qualified acceptance stop a parent's debt from passing down. Where assets have been concentrated in one sibling, we compel the return of the legal reserve of inheritance—the minimum share the law guarantees. Where a parent's cognitive capacity has declined through dementia or similar conditions, we act in advance through the adult guardianship system to keep that parent's assets from flowing out. We present the solution best suited to the nature of the dispute and protect our clients' rightful claims.
Beyond resolving disputes, MAST provides advance inheritance planning and business succession advisory that keep disputes from arising in the first place. Through wills, will-substitute trusts, lifetime share transfers, and agreements among family members, we make asset management more efficient, remove the grounds for dispute in advance, and build the legal foundation that keeps a business steady into the next generation.
Key Services
Tax Audit Response·Tax Appeals
From the pre-assessment stage through litigation, we determine at which stage a challenge is best mounted and respond accordingly. Attorneys and CPAs build the facts and the tax analysis together.
- + Attendance at and written responses to inheritance, gift, and capital gains tax audits
- + Response to source-of-funds investigations and rebuttal of the presumption of gift
- + Requests for pre-assessment review
- + Objections, requests for examination, and requests for adjudication before the Tax Tribunal
- + Tax administrative litigation, including suits to revoke assessment dispositions
Estate Division·Contributory Portion Disputes
We coordinate asset conflicts among co-heirs and establish, on legal grounds, the rightful share of those who have specially supported the deceased or contributed to preserving the estate.
- + Coordination of estate division agreements and petitions for adjudication on the division of inherited property
- + Petitions for adjudication determining contributory portions
- + Coordination of disputes over lifetime advance gifts and special benefits
Legal Reserve Claims·Will Validity Disputes
Where assets have been concentrated in particular heirs, we recover the minimum share the law guarantees, and we rigorously verify the legality and validity of wills.
- + Lawsuits claiming the return of the legal reserve of inheritance
- + Legal advice on will drafting, notarization procedures, and review of the validity of wills
- + Lawsuits confirming the invalidity of a will on grounds such as loss of testamentary capacity
- + Lawsuits claiming the recovery of inheritance
Inherited Debt Defense·Asset Management
We build a preemptive legal line of defense to stop parental debt from passing down and to keep the assets of family members with diminished cognitive capacity from flowing out.
- + Applications for renunciation of inheritance and qualified acceptance
- + Petitions for adult guardianship to prevent the misappropriation of assets of parents whose cognitive capacity has declined through dementia or similar conditions
- + Petitions for the appointment of an administrator of the inherited property to preserve assets where the heirs are unclear or absent
- + Blocking arbitrary disposal immediately upon commencement of inheritance through provisional injunctions prohibiting disposal or provisional attachments over real estate, deposits, and shares
Business Succession Planning·Advisory
We design comprehensive succession strategies spanning law and taxation, so that the family business endures and the transition between generations is free of dispute.
- + Strategies for the phased transfer of management control through lifetime share transfers and gifts
- + Dispute prevention through shareholders' agreements and management control covenants among family members
- + Designing stable asset transfer structures using will-substitute trusts and family trusts
- + Advice on legal structures that minimize inheritance and gift tax burdens (in collaboration with tax accountants and CPAs)
- + Response to minority shareholder rights disputes and management control disputes arising in the course of succession