미국의 상속포기 제도

A Disclaimer of Inheritance in America

This paper aims to have a comprehensive understanding about the disclaimer(renunciation) of inheritance in the United States. In a inheritance sphere, a disclaimer is of great significance in terms of protecting disclaimant’s interests by reflecting her intent. And, it is also an issue of decision who is entitled to inherit the decedent’s estate. So, a disclaimer is important not only to the decedent’s family members(his/her descendants, ancestors, relatives) who can be an heir or the donee/devisee by will, but also to the concerned persons(creditors of the decedent, heir, donee or devisee) who have interests in the estate and its distribution. It is meaningful to compare and study foreign legislative cases for a persuasive and rational interpretation of our laws in the operation of disclaimer system. However, little is known about the disclaimer of succession in the Anglo-American system and its regulations. In America, an inheritance is under the jurisdiction of state law, not federal jurisdiction. So, a disclaimer is handled by each state through case law and its statutes. And, the uniform acts by Uniform Law Commission have been enacted to suggest directions for the unification of laws. It is a vast task to observe and compare how each state regulates a disclaimer or renunciation of inheritance. This paper gives a brief introduction on the concepts, requirements and effects of disclaimer of succession in American law, focusing on the provisions of the Uniform Probate Code(UPC), which has incorporated the Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act(UDPIA) in 2002.