Dividing an inheritance is a complex process. Even finding out about the existence of an inheritance is sometimes difficult. The property of the deceased can be hidden (legally) by other relatives. How to find such an inheritance? What should you do to find out about your right to inheritance if you are not a close relative of the deceased? We'll tell you in the material.
Real estate and movable property
To understand how to look for an inheritance, you need to define what is real and movable property.
- Real estate is objects that cannot be moved without causing serious damage. These include: land, house, apartment, unfinished housing and others.
- Movable property includes everything that is not immovable. This is, for example, a car, jewelry, money, securities.
Required set of information for search
The more information, the better, of course, but without a certain minimum, you can’t even get your hopes up and immediately throw this idea out of your head. The minimum list of information includes:
- Last name, first name and patronymic. These are basic concepts, but if you only know the nickname from the area of a possible deceased person, then the chances of obtaining information are significantly reduced. Sometimes you can do without a middle name, so this fact can also be neglected.
- Date of birth information. This will help to significantly reduce the search range and increase the chances of finding information.
- Residence address. Also a good help to start your search, especially if you are going to act on your own.
- Photo of a person. A good basis for detective agencies, which will additionally have an idea of the appearance of the lost person.
How to find the property of a deceased person?
Searching for real estate is easier than searching for movable property. The algorithm of actions depends on the situation:
- If you know exactly what real estate the deceased owned:
You need to contact the Unified State Register of Real Estate (USRN). The system contains data on all real estate objects. In addition to information about the characteristics, location, cadastral value of the object, information about the history of the owners, the current owner, as well as the presence of any encumbrances (pledge, arrest ) is stored there. To obtain such information, it is enough to order an extract from Rosreestr. The easiest and fastest way to do this is on the EGRN.Reestr . Just enter the address you are interested in. You will receive an extract by mail as soon as possible.
- If you do not know whether the deceased owned property:
In this case, you can only act through a notary. The specialist will open an inheritance case and also send a request for an extract to the specific copyright holder to Rosreestr. The document will include information about all of the deceased's real estate.
Keep in mind that other applicants for the inheritance may have approached the notary with a corresponding request before you. You can check whether an inheritance case has been opened and which notary is responsible for it using the Register of Inheritance Cases on the website of the Federal Notary Chamber. The contact details of the responsible official will also be indicated there.
Request to the notary chamber
You can personally go to the notary’s office and fill out an application on the spot or fill out an application to search for a will, and then send it by mail.
As noted earlier, this document is provided only to a notary, since information about the heirs is confidential. You can find a sample form on the Internet.
If the person submitting the request is not an heir, then the relevant information will not be provided to him. But if the citizen who sent the request to the notary chamber is a legal heir or is registered in the will, then he will be provided with all the required information.
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How to find out where the deceased's money or securities are kept
Cash is easier to find than a car:
- Check the personal documents of the deceased relative. These may include passbooks or bank account deposit slips. It is necessary to find out the names of these banks;
- If you know or guess in which banks the deceased’s deposits may be opened, you must use the services of a notary. Together with him, you will make a request to specific financial organizations and will be able to find out the status of the account;
- You are sure that the deceased owned the accounts, but the names of the banks are unknown. In this case, you need to submit a request to all credit companies through a notary. This service will be paid.
Please note that banks do not provide information directly to relatives. It is possible to obtain the necessary information only with the help of a notary.
Reconnecting with family
Don't expect a warm welcome:
- You are addressing complete strangers, even if you are related.
- The huge number of scammers forces us to increase our level of vigilance.
- People may think that the only reason you are trying to “get back together” is because you need something. And there is logic in this.
- Kinship does not guarantee good character and friendliness. Sometimes it's more the other way around.
It is better to start communication or restore it gradually - social networks, calls, rare meetings. You shouldn’t impose yourself on people or pour out all your problems at once. It doesn’t hurt to ask about the rest of your family, inquire about their successes and failures. By and large, we are talking about forming a new acquaintance, the rules are exactly the same. Don't force things and don't demonstrate emotional stupidity, then everything will be fine.
You definitely shouldn’t dump any requests on your newly found relatives immediately after the “meeting”. This will immediately form a negative image that will be difficult to get rid of. No one can be pleased when they are remembered only in case of emergency.
What to do if a distant relative dies
If you are not a close relative of the deceased, you can find out about your right to inheritance in these ways:
- Start searching for a will. First of all, you should look for the deceased in the apartment or house. If you do not have this opportunity or the will could not be found, you need to contact a notary. It is he who keeps a copy of the relevant document;
- In the absence of a will, the inheritance will be distributed according to the law in order of priority. For example, the first priority includes children (in this case, the presence of an unborn child of the testator makes it impossible to distribute the inheritance before his birth), official husband or wife (the marriage must be valid), parents (including adoptive parents), and dependents. If there are no heirs in this queue, the transition is made to the next one. Also, if there is at least one applicant in the first place, all the property will go to him. Distant relatives belong to the 4th, 5th and 6th stages.
Lost connections with relatives
Boundless open spaces force periodic relocations:
- Relatives are often thousands of kilometers away.
- Distant relatives or acquaintances can be found in almost any region.
- Few people try to restore previously lost connections.
- People remember each other only when they need something.
You can really forget about such a relationship - you have never met a person and until recently did not even suspect the very fact of his existence. A small common part of the genetic material is wonderful, but it is far from a fact that good qualities were included in this “commonality”. It’s a different story when it comes to once-lost contacts.
Seeing an old acquaintance with whom you are also related by blood is always interesting. Especially if decades have passed since the last meeting. But it’s not always possible to meet again - age, distance and busyness do their dirty work.
Who should notify claimants about the inheritance?
Not a single regulatory legislative act of the country provides for the institution of searching for heirs as a concept. Only in the legislation on notaries there is an indication that the duties of a notary include notifying persons whose contact information is known to him about the inheritance due.
And this is only possible if there is a will. So, how is the search for presumptive heirs carried out:
- by address and surname - and then notifications are sent to addressees, even in Moscow, even in the Stavropol Territory, or even in the Far East;
- through other legal successors;
- wanted advertisement on the websites of other notary offices;
- information to the newspaper that the inheritance has been opened.
The notary's duty is considered duly fulfilled if he sends a letter of notification. No one can oblige him to look for anyone else. Therefore, all his efforts end with writing.
And if there is no will, no one will look for someone to transfer the property to. It is up to the successor to declare himself within the 6 months allotted by law. And the notary will determine inheritance rights from those who applied, in accordance with their order.
Magic
But this is not the end of the possible developments. Some consider even the most unexpected and non-standard ways to solve the problem. Which ones exactly? For example, magic.
Sometimes, in search of an answer to the question of how to find out whether a person is alive, people turn to magicians, witches and fortune tellers. Typically, in order to obtain information about a citizen, you will need a photograph and full name of the wanted person. It would be a good idea to tell the person’s date of birth.
After a small magical ritual, the magician will tell you what he saw - whether the person is alive or not. Also, in addition, predictors usually report on the future fate of the citizen - whether he will have a long life or will soon die. Some people really believe in this method.
Yes, it is good because it does not require any special actions from you. And knowledge too. The only disadvantage of this option is that magic is a dubious thing. Just like the work of fortune tellers. As practice shows, people usually turn to magicians out of despair. Therefore, it is not recommended to implement this idea. After all, the world is full of charlatans who just guess and extract money from you!
