The timing of registration of an inheritance depends on the methods of its acceptance.
There are two mechanisms for accepting an inheritance: at the request of the successor and actual acceptance. An application for accession to inheritance rights is submitted if the person lived separately from the testator.
A six-month period has been allotted when it is necessary to formalize an inheritance after death if the heir and the testator lived at different addresses.
This procedure is provided for in inheritance by law and by will. Upon actual acceptance, there is no need to submit an application to a notary. This is explained by the fact that the heir, by virtue of living together with the testator, has already assumed his rights, since he continued to use the inherited property after the death of the relative.
What the law says regarding deadlines
When it is possible to register an inheritance after death is specified in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
The time frame for registering an inheritance after all successors have assumed inheritance rights ranges from 6 months to 75 years.
A six-month period is provided so that all heirs have time to inform the notary about their existence and submit the relevant documents. Then, after the specified period, the notary has the right to issue a certificate of inheritance.
Registration of inheritance rights requires certain financial costs. Sometimes citizens do not have the means to immediately complete the necessary paperwork. For this reason, the question arises how long it takes to register an inheritance. It is not necessary to re-register the property immediately after 6 months. This can be done in a year, or two, or maybe more.
Please note: an open inheritance file is stored in a notary’s office for 75 years, which means you can complete the paperwork at any time.
Is it possible to speed up the registration process?
If for some citizens the process of re-registration of inherited property seems too costly, then others, on the contrary, want to speed up this process in order to quickly sell, donate or rent out property.
Since civil legislation defines clear deadlines, notaries do not have the right to go beyond the requirements established by law. In this regard, it is not possible to reduce the processing time (less than 6 months).
Another thing is that the heirs have the right to control that the notary does not delay the process without objective reasons. If six months have passed, the heir has submitted the necessary documents and then applied for the issuance of a title document, but never received it, he can file a complaint with the Ministry of Justice, to which notary offices are accountable.
Terms of entry into the right of inheritance
Inheritance involves the transfer of property to heirs or an heir after the death of the testator. In this case, an important condition is the entry into inheritance rights and acceptance of the inheritance mass by the heir within a certain period .
For your information
The legislation of the Russian Federation (clause 1 of Article 1154 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation - Civil Code of the Russian Federation) establishes a general period for accepting an inheritance, which is six months from the date of its opening.
The opening day of the inheritance estate, depending on the situation, is considered to be:
- day of death of the citizen (testator);
- the day of entry into force of the judicial act;
- the day of death specified in the judicial act.
However, there are exceptions provided for by Chapter 64 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, when the period of entry into inheritance is increased due to additional established deadlines in certain circumstances:
- if a citizen called to inheritance dies before he can accept it, then these rights due to this citizen pass to his heirs. They have the opportunity to exercise their inheritance rights within 6 months from the date of death of the specified person. if there are less than 3 months left before the expiration of this period, then this period is increased to 3 months ;
- if the heir called to inherit refuses it, then the persons to whom this right is transferred can within six months (the passage of time in this case begins from the moment the notary certifies the fact of refusal of the right of inheritance by the previous heir);
- if a citizen called to inherit is recognized as not having the right to inherit ( an unworthy heir ), then the persons to whom this right is transferred can within six months (the passage of time begins from the moment the relevant judicial act comes into force);
- if the heir has not submitted an application for acceptance of the inheritance within the established time or has not taken other actions appropriate for this, he will be considered not to have accepted the inheritance. In this case, other persons entitled to enter into inheritance rights may submit an application for acceptance of the inheritance within three months from the date of expiration of the established time for the previous heir.
Information
The deadlines for citizens to enter into inheritance rights, regardless of whether the entry into inheritance by will or entry into inheritance by law, are similar.
What to do if you miss a deadline
Sometimes, for some reason, heirs do not contact the notary on time. One of the reasons is that the heirs do not know how long it takes to formalize the inheritance after the death of a relative. However, ignorance of the law does not exempt you from unpleasant consequences . If the deadline is missed, it will be problematic to re-register the property in the future.
The notary will refuse the legal successor if more than six months have passed.
He must issue a corresponding resolution regarding the refusal to perform notarial acts. This decision gives grounds to go to court. The court must raise the issue of reinstating the missed deadline .
Grounds for reinstating a missed deadline
The judicial authority may grant an additional period if it considers the reasons for missing it to be valid.
Valid reasons may include:
- ignorance of the heir about the death of the testator;
- disease;
- helpless state;
- completion of military service;
- staying on a long business trip;
- serving a sentence in places of detention.
When going to court, you must prove the validity of the reasons specified in the statement of claim. It is also necessary to attach documents confirming these circumstances.
The following cannot be valid reasons for missing a deadline:
- ignorance of legislation;
- employment of the heir;
- queue to the notary.
The law does not clearly indicate which reasons are considered valid and disrespectful. The court approaches this issue individually, carefully studying the case materials and the evidence provided.
If the court restores the deadline for registration of inheritance rights, the successor is obliged to contact a notary within the time period specified in the court decision. If he does not do this, he will lose his right to receive the inheritance left after the death of a relative.
Useful tips: how not to miss deadlines
In order not to lose the right to inheritance, it is recommended to contact a notary as soon as possible after the death of a loved one. At the first consultation, the heir will be explained the sequence of actions.
For a more detailed consultation, you will need to provide the following basic documents :
- death certificate;
- will (if any);
- property documents;
- heir's passport.
Next, the notary will tell you when it is better to open an inheritance case, within the framework of which a title document will be issued to the new owner.
It is worth noting that in each individual case the timing of registration may differ: when accepting an inheritance upon application, it is important not to miss the six-month period; when actually accepting it, the heir does not need to rush, since by law he has 75 years to do so.
Restoring a missed inheritance period
Often, citizens who are heirs, due to various circumstances, have problems meeting the deadlines for inheritance. Missing such deadlines casts doubt on the heirs’ ability to receive inherited property.
To protect the rights and legitimate interests of citizens, the law provides for the opportunity to restore the missed period or enter into inheritance rights after the expiration of the period established by law, subject to one of the conditions established by Art. 1155 Civil Code of the Russian Federation:
- the citizen did not know and/or should not have known about the opening of the inheritance estate;
- the citizen missed the period established by law for reasons that are valid in this case;
- if the remaining citizens who have entered into the rights of inheritance do not object to the entry into such rights of a citizen who missed the term (their consent must be certified by a notary).
In the first two cases, restoration of the missed deadline is possible only by submitting an appropriate application to the court and if there is adequate evidence of such a miss.
Limitation period for inheritance
As with all types of civil legal relations, general and special limitation periods regulated by Chapter 12 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation apply to inheritance cases (with the exception of some cases established by Chapter 64 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
The statute of limitations is the period for citizens to apply to judicial authorities for protection of violated rights or interests. The general statute of limitations is three years .
The limitation period is calculated depending on specific cases and the progress report begins:
- from the day when the citizen learned about the violation of his right (Article 200 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);
- from the day when valid reasons for missing the deadline ceased from the date of death of the testator (Article 1155 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
The limitation period is calculated in calendar dates (days, months, years). If the end of the limitation period falls on a holiday or non-working day, the end date of such period will be the working day following such day.
Example
Citizen “Z” (plaintiff) filed a claim against the Bank and the District Administration to restore the missed deadline for accepting the inheritance after her deceased mother. She explained to the court that she did not expect the existence of inherited property, and also did not have the opportunity to come to the city due to the birth of a child and caring for him, as well as dismissal from work. The plaintiff informed the court that she had applied to the notary to accept the inheritance, but the notary refused due to missing the six-month period for accepting the inheritance established by law.
Having studied the case materials and heard the parties, the court comes to the following conclusion. According to paragraph 2 of Art. 218 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, in the event of the death of a citizen, the ownership of his property passes to his heirs. Clause 1 of Art. 1142 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides that the heirs of the first priority are children, spouses, and parents of the testator.
Articles Art. 1152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and Art. 1154 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes a period for accepting an inheritance within six months from the date of its opening. The legislation provides for the right of a citizen to restore the missed deadline by filing a statement of claim in court.
Based on the law, and also taking into account the evidence provided by the plaintiff (child birth certificates, certificates of the plaintiff being registered as poor and needy, etc.), the court found in connection with the above circumstances that the plaintiff was unable to formalize inheritance rights for good reasons.
The court decided:
- restore the deadline missed by the plaintiff for accepting the inheritance;
- recognize the plaintiff as having accepted the inherited property.
Thus, the plaintiff’s rights were restored, and the inheritance became her property.
Restoring the term of inheritance in court
Only a court can restore the missed period for entering into the right of inheritance . To do this, a citizen must apply to the court at the place where the inheritance was opened with a statement of claim (Article 1155 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) for its restoration. The statement of claim must indicate the following:
- applicant’s details, address, etc.;
- information about inheritance;
- data of the defendants, their addresses, etc.;
- data of third parties (interested citizens), their addresses, etc.;
- reasons for absence (with appropriate evidence attached);
- claim;
- date and signature of the applicant.
In this case, the application must be submitted within a six-month period from the day the citizen learned about the death of the testator (opening of the inheritance mass) or when the reasons for missing the deadline no longer exist.
If it is proven in court that a citizen missed the deadline for good reasons , the court will recognize such a citizen as accepting the inheritance. Valid reasons for skipping entry into inheritance may include circumstances such as a citizen’s illness, being in the dark, a long business trip or departure, etc.
When filing a claim, it is necessary to prove not individual reasons for missing the appropriate period, but a combination of them. Since it happens that the evidence base, as well as the reasons why a citizen missed the deadline, cannot always be considered valid by the court.
Example
Citizen “M” filed the following claims against defendant “I” to restore the missed deadline for accepting the inherited property, recognize the plaintiff as having accepted the inherited property, and recognize property rights in the manner of inheritance by law. The plaintiff makes such claims due to the fact that he is the heir of his deceased father. Since the plaintiff did not know about the death of his parent, he did not promptly contact the notary with an application for acceptance of the inherited property (share in the apartment and land plot). Citizen “M” claims that the defendant did not inform him about his father’s death. The defendant did not admit the claim, saying that the plaintiff was informed about the death of his father and the date of the funeral.
Based on Art. 1113 Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 1114 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and Art. 1154 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, and in accordance with Art. 1155 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, at the request of a citizen who missed the period for accepting the inheritance (Article 1154 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), the court can restore such a period and recognize the heir as having accepted the inheritance. Provided that the heir did not know and should not have known about the opening of the inheritance or missed time for other valid reasons.
According to paragraph 40 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated May 29, 2012 No. 9 “On judicial practice in inheritance cases,” the heir’s demands to restore the missed period and recognize the heir as having accepted such an inheritance can be satisfied by the courts only if a number of circumstances are proven.
In particular, the heir did not know and should not have known about the opening of the inheritance estate or missed the period for other valid reasons. In this case, valid reasons include circumstances related to the personality of the plaintiff. In this case, the plaintiff’s ignorance of the rules of the law, as well as the fact that the plaintiff did not have information about the inherited property, etc., cannot be considered valid.
Consequently, only if the totality of facts and circumstances is proven, the plaintiff’s request for restoration of the deadline should be satisfied. The court concluded that in this case, ignorance of the death of one’s father and information about the opening of the inheritance mass cannot be recognized as valid reasons for omission. The plaintiff's arguments were found unfounded. The court rejected the plaintiff's claim in full.
Judicial procedure for registration of inherited property
Heirs are not always able to divide the property of the deceased voluntarily. It happens that a family gets to the point where a whole struggle begins over the ownership of the deceased.
If there is a dispute, the registration of inheritance rights is carried out exclusively in court.
The deadlines for registering an inheritance through the court are established by current legislation. The statute of limitations is set . This period is provided to citizens so that they can challenge their violated rights in court.
Thus, if there is a conflict situation between legal successors, it is necessary to appeal to the courts within three years.
