Entry into inheritance through court, inheritance rights

Inheritance rights are one of the types of civil rights. Consequently, this right is protected by law and regulated by a number of articles. In cases where it is impossible or difficult to exercise your right to receive an inheritance through a notary’s office, the judicial authorities will come to the rescue.

The need to protect or realize inheritance rights does not arise very rarely. This is one of the most common family disputes.

Inaccessibility or inaccessibility of documents confirming the right to inheritance. Relatives' dissatisfaction with their shares. Incorrect execution of documents by the testator. Violations of the six-month deadline for entering into inheritance. This is not a complete list of problems faced by heirs.

In this article we will try to cover as many of the most common difficult situations as possible. And also tell you how to act constructively in order to prevent undesirable consequences or eliminate them.

Basis for registration of inheritance through court

What circumstances when receiving an inheritance most often make going to court inevitable? Mainly the following:

The heirs (or heir) actually entered into an inheritance, but did not formalize it before the expiration of the legal period, and now want to legally confirm their rights to the inherited property
Heirs cannot peacefully divide inherited property among themselves
There are grounds for recognizing some heirs as unworthy
The deadline for entering into an inheritance was missed for a good reason, and the current heir seeks to “return the departed train”
The terms of the will are disputed, or the will itself turns out to be invalid
An heir who has the right to receive an inheritance by law has difficulty proving this right (for example, he does not have documents confirming his family relationship)
It turned out that the property rights of the testator were not registered at the time of his death

This, of course, is not an exhaustive list of reasons for going to court on inheritance issues. In practice, there are as many families as there are so many problems. But, nevertheless, the above cases are common enough to be considered typical. Therefore, we will dwell on them in more detail.

Grounds for inheritance in court

The inheritance mass to be divided often turns out to be less than the requests of legal successors who want to challenge the material wealth of other candidates. Clarification of the relationship between the applicants, the general rules of inheritance and missed deadlines lead to the need to enter into inheritance through the court. The presence of compelling valid reasons and their well-reasoned evidence is a prerequisite for applying to the justice authority.

Missing a deadline

To register inherited property, candidates are given six months, counted from the date of death of the testator. The judicial authority may restore the deadline if the heir misses it, provided (clause 1 of Article 1155 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation):

ignorance about the opening of an inheritance case and the death of the testator;
valid reasons for failure to timely submit a statement of intent to the notary's office.

Courts include long-term illness, performance of government duties, or serving a sentence in prison as valid reasons. A prerequisite for entering into an inheritance by court decision is an application within six months after the reasons for the omission have been eliminated.

The difficulty lies in the presence of co-heirs who entered into their rights in a timely manner and managed to dispose of the received share. Recognition of the inheritance through the court for a “latecomer” will require a redistribution of valuables with return or compensation to the person who has again claimed rights.

Actual acceptance of inheritance

In addition to the standard procedure with registration in a notary’s office, you can become the owner of property upon acquiring property rights (Article 1153 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), confirmed by a number of actions:

ensuring the safety of received objects;
payment of current maintenance costs;
acceptance of funds from debtors;
settlement with creditors for the debt of the testator;
entry into management rights.

Establishing the fact legally requires registration of inheritance through the court. Otherwise, the heir does not have the right to perform legally significant actions with the property and avoid possible incidents when contested by other claimants.

Sample statement of claim for restoration of the period for entering into inheritance

: Statement of claim for restoration of the period for entering into inheritance (19.6 KiB, 350 hits)

Contesting a will

The will of the testator is subject to execution, subject to the rules of drafting. Entry into the inheritance by the court of other candidates is possible if the will is declared invalid or void (Article 1131 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) if there are grounds:

compilation under threats of physical harm, through blackmail or through the use of violence;
written by a citizen who has completely or partially lost his legal capacity;
inconsistency of form or lack of notarization.

To establish the fact of a violation, the judicial authority appoints a handwriting examination, hears testimony from witnesses, and attaches medical reports.

Removal of unworthy heirs

The reason for the redistribution of the inheritance between candidates is the recognition of one or more legal successors as unworthy, deprived of the right to inherit through the court. Judges recognize the following as unworthy behavior serving as a reason for removal (Article 1117 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation):

committing actions leading to death or causing physical and psychological harm to the health of the testator and co-heirs;
intentional acts that unreasonably increase the applicant’s share in the total inheritance;
concealment of the facts of the death of the testator and the existence of other candidates for inheritance;
expression of an unfounded protest against the will of the deceased regarding the procedure for dividing property assets;
failure to fulfill the obligation to support the deceased;
deprivation of parental rights when inheriting children's property by surviving parents.

Stakeholders must present arguments regarding inappropriate behavior. If the claim is satisfied, unworthy persons will be removed from the inheritance through the court, and the inheritance mass will be subject to redistribution among the remaining candidates.

Existence of a dispute between heirs

Entry into inheritance is possible on the basis of a will, if there is one, and by law in the absence of a last will, expressed in writing and certified by a notary. The treatment depends on the status of the applicants and the form of inheritance for registration of inheritance through the court. If the right to acquire is exercised through a will, then, regardless of the will of the testator, the following may file a claim for inheritance in court:

Persons entitled to a compulsory share (clause 1 of Article 1149 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), including:
disabled parents or spouses (the rules also apply to pre-retirees - men over 60 years of age and women over 55 years of age);
dependents, regardless of the presence of family ties while being supported during the last year of the testator’s life.

Spouses when determining the marital share. Property values are subject to division after division in half and transfer of half to the surviving spouse (Article 1142 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

If the inheritance process occurs according to law, then the heirs of one line have the right to claim equal shares. Deviation from the principles of equality and inheritance through the courts in unequal parts is possible taking into account a number of factors:

cohabitation and housekeeping;
degree of participation in the life of the deceased;
detection of illegal actions.

Appeal to the judicial authority is provided to establish the degree of relationship in inheritance by law and lack of documentary evidence. Recognizing the testator as deceased is also the basis for opening an inheritance case and dividing property values between the applicants.

Actual acceptance of inheritance

In principle, this method of entering into inheritance rights is as legal as the standard submission of a statement of readiness to enter into an inheritance to a notary and the following steps: collecting documents, paying a fee and obtaining a state certificate of inheritance. The heir actually assumes the rights and obligations associated with the inherited property. That is:

Pays the debt obligations of the testator
Accepts payments from his debtors
Manages and uses inherited property
Ensures its safety
Pays for his maintenance

ATTENTION! It is necessary to enter into inheritance rights in fact within the same period that is allotted for notarization of inheritance rights - 6 months from the date of death of the testator.

But the actual entry into an inheritance does not negate the need to legally formalize it. This is done through the court. The statement of claim must be accompanied by documents confirming the actual ownership and use of the inherited property. These are:

Paid utility bills
Receipts for receipt or payment of debt amounts
Receipts for the purchase of car parts or materials for home or apartment repairs
Contracts with repair workers
Certificates from the housing authority about living in inherited living space
And any other receipts, checks, agreements, receipts and certificates confirming that the heir fulfills all obligations and enjoys all the rights of the legal owner of the property.

ATTENTION! It is important to competently draw up a statement of claim and present as much evidence as possible. In this case, the judicial procedure will become a simple formality that does not require much hassle. A sample statement of claim can be found on the Internet or seek initial legal advice. On the Prav.io portal, a lawyer will help you draw up a claim.

But if there are other heirs of this line who are dissatisfied with the actual entry of one of the heirs into possession of a certain share of the inheritance, they can challenge the court decision. For example, demand a reduction in the share of the actual heir or his removal from inheritance altogether. In this case, you may need more serious legal assistance from an experienced lawyer who will help protect your rights in court. This is already a paid service, but it is sometimes almost impossible to win without legal support.

Dispute between heirs

The inheritance is either divided into equal shares between heirs of the same order (if there is no will), or distributed according to the will. Quite often, this state of affairs does not suit relatives, who may feel that they were treated unfairly. They have the right to go to court and prove the validity of their claims.

When dividing the inheritance according to the law, the court can take into account not only the rights of representatives of a certain line (family ties), but also other circumstances. For example, living in the same territory with the testator, joint farming with him, the degree of assistance provided (if we are talking about an elderly testator). And, of course, the presence or absence of illegal actions against the testator or testator.

When inheriting under a will, the court provides shares to those categories of heirs who have the right to a part of the inheritance, even if they are not mentioned in the will. Specifically, minors and/or disabled heirs of the first stage. Elderly parents, small children, and a disabled spouse have the right to a mandatory share of the inheritance. It is less than they would have received in the absence of a will, but still, it is impossible to completely “disinherit” such relatives, regardless of the will of the testator.

Unworthy heirs

If one of the heirs of the queue, in the opinion of its other representatives, gives reason to consider him unworthy of receiving the inheritance, they can go to court to prove his unworthy behavior.

Unworthy behavior of an heir means:

Actions aimed at hastening the death of the testator or other heirs
Actions aimed at increasing one’s share to the detriment of the shares of the remaining heirs of the current order, or of the persons specified in the will
Malicious and deliberate concealment of the facts of the existence of certain objects of inheritance or the existence of other legal heirs
Obstruction of the execution of the will of the testator as recorded in the will (for example, concealment or forgery of the will)
Failure to fulfill obligations to the testator during his life (for example, deprivation of parental rights to a child, evasion of paying him alimony, refusal to support elderly disabled parents)

If one or more of the above facts occurred, this may serve as a legal basis for filing a claim to declare the heir unworthy and exclude him from dividing the inheritance. The statement of claim is written according to the general rules for claims. The sample can be found and downloaded on the Internet.

ATTENTION! An unfounded statement about the unworthy behavior of a particular heir is unlikely to convince the court. Evidence required. If, for example, there was deception or threats to the testator in order to induce him to write a certain will, this can be proven by the testimony of disinterested witnesses, letters, and audio/video recordings. Documents on deprivation of parental rights or writs of execution indicating non-payment of alimony will prove evasion of the obligations to support the testator. And so on. The court will decide to recognize the heir as unworthy and remove him from inheritance only if there is convincing documentary evidence and/or testimony.

Cost of the procedure

The cost of filing a claim consists of the amount of court and notary fees, as well as the costs of legal support of the process.

The fee for a standard claim is 300 rubles for individuals, and costs for lawyers can vary from 4,000 to 90,000 rubles, depending on the complexity of the process, the estimated value of the property of the deceased and the region of the appeal to the court.

The notary fee is calculated as a percentage of the value of the property and is:

0.3%, but not more than 100 thousand rubles – for heirs of the 1st stage, as well as brothers and sisters of the deceased;
0.6%, but not more than 1 million rubles - for all others.

It is important to take into account that if there are several recognized heirs, each of them pays the fee calculated according to their share independently (clause 1 of Article 333.25 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Late application for inheritance

Under normal life circumstances, the heirs usually have the six-month period specified by law to complete all the documents and receive a certificate of inheritance. But there are exceptions. If the heir can prove to the court the valid circumstances that prevented him from taking the necessary steps to enter into the inheritance on time, the court may revise the deadline. That is, increase it.

A specific list of valid reasons is not defined by law. In each case, the court makes an individual decision on whether the reason can be considered valid.

Perhaps, the heir being in the hospital, on a business trip abroad, or on a remote expedition can be considered undeniably valid reasons. But the list does not end there. A “late” heir must provide documentary evidence of the reason for his absence.

Whether the court will accept them as a valid reason depends on many factors. If he does not accept, the heir will have to come to terms with the loss of the inheritance. It will not be possible to receive an inheritance in any other way if the deadline is missed (unless the relatives in good faith transfer to the “latecomer” the part of the inheritance due to him on a voluntary basis).

There is one more mandatory condition. The claim must be filed no later than six months after the expiration of the six-month period. Simply put, if more than a year has passed since the death of the testator, nothing can be done.

ATTENTION! The practical complexity of such cases is aggravated if there are other heirs who did everything on time and have already inherited according to the law. If the court finds the reason for the violation of the deadline by one of the heirs to be valid, the procedure for distributing the inheritance should be reviewed. And other heirs may have already disposed of their shares - sold, donated, exchanged, or even died themselves and transferred the inherited property to their heirs. In practice, it is usually very difficult to return or compensate for part of already distributed shares. If the relationship between the heirs is not so close and trusting as to reach an amicable agreement, you cannot do without the help of an experienced, qualified lawyer.

Challenging or invalidating a will

The will of the testator, expressed by him in the form of a will, is the law. But it will be executed only if the will itself does not contradict legal requirements. We have already talked about the special case of the “obligatory share”, which is received by disabled and minor heirs of the first stage, regardless of the will of the testator. There are other reasons to challenge the legality of a will.

Written form (we are not talking about handwriting a will, but about fixing it on paper, as opposed to an oral expression of will). Mandatory notarization. Full legal capacity of the testator. Voluntary writing of a will without coercion, physical or psychological violence. These are all non-negotiable legal requirements. If at least one of them is violated, the will can be challenged in court.

If the court finds the will invalid, its provisions will be canceled and inheritance will occur according to the law, in the order of succession of heirs.

Expert opinion

Drawing up a claim in cases related to inheritance is complex in itself. But it is even more difficult to find and attach evidence confirming the legitimacy of the plaintiff’s claims.

Therefore, you should not rely on your own strength when resolving a difficult situation related to inheritance. The best solution is to seek qualified legal assistance. This will avoid wasting time and money and will significantly increase the chances of success when taking the case to court.

Due to frequent updates to legislation and the legal uniqueness of each situation, we recommend obtaining a free telephone consultation with a lawyer. You can ask your question by calling the hotline number 8 (800) 555-40-36 or write it in the form below.

The testator's right of ownership of the inherited property

Situations like this are not at all uncommon. For example, the testator initiated the privatization of his apartment, but did not complete the procedure and died. Or he acquired some property, but did not have time to undergo state registration of the transaction before his death. As a result, although the property actually belongs to the testator, it is not legally included in the inheritance.

This can be corrected legally. A claim should be filed to include a particular property in the inheritance. If evidence of the actual acquisition of property by the testator is presented, the court will satisfy the claim.

Which court should I go to to enter into an inheritance?

The law provides for two options for jurisdiction over controversial inheritance cases. Claims are filed:

To the territorial court at the location of the defendant. The defendant may be an individual or legal entity. Claims are filed in this court that are related to the establishment of facts related to the right of inheritance. For example, if the subject of the claim is the fact of inheritance, confirmation of family relationships, etc.
To the territorial court at the location of the inherited property. The jurisdiction of these courts includes division, ownership, use of property, recognition of property rights, etc. If the property objects of the inheritance are located in different places, a general claim can be filed in any locality where any of the objects is located.

Pre-trial resolution of inheritance disputes

The best way to resolve any conflict is through negotiations between the warring parties. Inheritance disputes are no exception. Through diplomacy, the parties can quickly, unlike litigation, find a mutually beneficial solution. An additional incentive to come to the negotiating table is the opportunity to avoid legal costs. In an inheritance dispute, the opponents are most often relatives, which also has a positive effect on the peaceful settlement of the issue and increases the chances of concluding an agreement on the division of the inheritance.

Currently, methods of pre-trial resolution of conflicts between citizens are becoming widespread. One of these methods is the mediation procedure. A mediator is a professional mediator who, as a rule, has special knowledge in the field of psychology and law. Its main task is to resolve all controversial issues between the parties by concluding a mediation agreement.

In order to resolve the conflict, the warring parties have the right to apply to an arbitration court, which, unlike a state court, allows the dispute to be resolved in a shorter period of time, additionally resolving issues that cannot be resolved by a court of general jurisdiction (establish the date of entry into force of the decision, determine order of execution of the decision, etc.).

How to draw up a claim correctly?

An inheritance claim may contain one or more claims. For example, when submitting an application for actual inheritance (especially if there are simply no other heirs), one requirement is sufficient - to legalize inheritance rights.

And if, for example, the heirs file a claim to recognize one of them as unworthy, then it usually contains two demands: to recognize the heir as unworthy and to challenge the will in his favor. In some cases, there may be more claims.

But regardless of this, the general formal rules for writing and filing a claim remain unchanged. It must be drawn up in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation: in handwritten or printed form (printed on a printer), without erasures or corrections, the circumstances of the case are presented in a strict business style.

The claim must contain the following information:

The exact and full name of the judicial authority to which the application is submitted
Details of the plaintiff (full name, date of birth, legal and actual address of residence, contact information)
Information about the testator (full name, date of death, last registration address)
Information about the defendant, if any (full name, date of birth, address)
The value of the inherited property (in its entirety or only the disputed part, depending on the subject of the claim) – “the cost of the claim”
Title of the document: “Statement of claim for... (restoration of the inheritance period, entry into inheritance, invalidation of the will, recognition of the heir as unworthy, etc.)
Information about the plaintiff’s inheritance rights (will, confirmation of kinship, etc.)
Information about other heirs
Transfer of inherited property
Description of the circumstances that led to the application to court
The claim or claims itself
A link to the legal provisions justifying the filing of a claim
List of documents attached to the application
Date and personal signature

As for the documents that need to be attached to the statement of claim, we are talking about any documents illustrating the circumstances of the inheritance dispute:

Copies of the plaintiff's passport
Confirming kinship and rights to inheritance
Evidence of a relationship with the testator
Evidence of actual entry into inheritance rights
Confirming the bad faith of another heir
Proving the impossibility of complying with the period allotted for entering into inheritance rights
Proving irregularities in the making of a will
And others designed to confirm the correctness and validity of the plaintiff’s claims

ATTENTION! The success of claims of this type very much depends on the evidence base. If you do not fully understand what documents are important to collect and present to the court, and which of them can significantly affect the course of the case, seek professional legal help. It is important to do this before the claim is filed.

Accompanying documents are submitted in the form of copies, with the exception of the receipt for payment of the fee, which must be submitted to the court office in the original. The remaining documentary copies and copies of the statement of claim should be prepared in an amount equal to the number of interested parties (heirs), including the plaintiff. Plus one more set that the court will accept for work and keep for itself.

Assistance from an inheritance lawyer

Inheritance disputes are among the most complex cases in civil proceedings. They require careful preparation, excellent knowledge of legislation and judicial practice.

The complexity of such cases is added by the protracted nature of the judicial proceedings, as well as the family connection of the parties to the conflict.

Law Firm “Katsailidi and Partners” recommends that in such cases you seek the help of a lawyer for inheritance disputes. Professional legal assistance in inheritance disputes mainly consists of protecting the interests of the principal, as well as the most painless outcome for the parties.