特留分扣減權之消滅期間及其起算點⎯⎯最高法院111年度台上字第521號判決評析

The Extinctive Period of the Deduction of Statutory Reserved Portion and when It Begins: Comment on No. 521 Civil Judgement (2022) of Supreme Court

本件最高法院判決，先說明遺贈或遺囑指定遺產分割方法僅具債權效力，遺囑內容履行完畢前，共同繼承人之遺產公同共有關係尚未解消，不生侵害特留分之情事。再指出「違反」特留分者，固為立遺囑人，「侵害」特留分者，則係受遺贈人或受益之繼承人，二者主體並不相同，進而認為所謂繼承人知悉特留分權因遺贈，或因遺囑指定分割方法而受侵害，當指特留分權因遺囑內容之履行（即不動產移轉登記、動產交付時），因而受有損害而言，非謂自知悉遺囑內容時起算，蓋遺囑內容如未被履行，即無現實特留分權被侵害而受有損害可言，自無從為特留分扣減權之行使，亦無從據以起算其期間之始日。前後論述，貫徹扣減權為物權形成權之本質，論理一貫，邏輯清晰，其見解殊值贊同。

This Judgement first indicates that the Appointment of the Approach of Division of Estates only has the effect of obligation, which means before the will is fully fulfilled, the inheritance will still remain the joint owned property of all the heirs. Thus, the legitimate portion cannot be infringed by then. The Judgement then points out that while the one who “violates”the legitimate portion is the testator, the one who “infringes”it is the devisee or the beneficiary via succession. As a result, the extinctive period of deduction of statutory reserved portion begins by the moment the statutory reserved portion is infringed due to the fulfillment of the will, rather than the moment the heir knows the content of the will, for as long as the will is not fulfilled, the statutory reserved portion technically cannot be infringed. This decision made by the Supreme Court is worthy of approval for it sticks to the idea that deduction of statutory reserved portion is a right of formation with real right’s effect and states its argument with clear logic.