The importance of the place of opening of inheritance in inheritance relations

In legal science, and therefore in the inheritance branch of law, lawyers attach special importance to the temporal and spatial framework within which an inheritance can be opened. The significance of these indicators is determined primarily by the fact that the list of property included in the inheritance mass, the circle of heirs, the procedure for entering into an inheritance and other legally significant aspects depend on them. The time and place of opening an inheritance as legal categories are strictly regulated by the norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. In this regard, everyone should understand and know all the rules regarding this topic. Missing a legally established time or choosing the wrong place to open an inheritance can have a negative impact on the entire procedure. In order to avoid difficulties and prevent mistakes, we suggest reading this article, which contains all the answers to the basic and most common questions about the time and place of opening an inheritance.

What is considered the place and time of opening of the inheritance?

The time of opening of an inheritance is understood as a certain, precisely established day from which the countdown of the period allotted by the legislator for entering into an inheritance begins. The indicator under consideration has significant legal significance, because incorrectly setting the time can subsequently lead to a delay in the process, skipping the six-month period allotted for entering into an inheritance. In such a situation, you will have to file a claim in court, which means that it is extremely important for citizens to correctly establish the time for opening the inheritance.

The place where the inheritance is opened has as significant legal significance as the time. This is a specific spatial indicator, that is, a specific locality in the region of the Russian Federation or beyond. According to the category under consideration, candidates for heirs choose a notary who will be in charge of the matter and resolution of inheritance issues.

If a citizen incorrectly establishes the place for opening an inheritance, the procedure may be delayed and additional difficulties will arise.

Who determines the place and time?

Establishing such indicators as the time and place of opening the inheritance are the most important issues that must be resolved at the initial stage of the inheritance registration procedure. The responsibility for determining these categories rests with the candidates for heirs. It is the citizens who must determine the day from which the deadline for contacting a notary runs, and also establish the place in whose territory they should contact a specialist. Only after these issues have been resolved, you can choose a notary and begin the procedure for registering an inheritance.

Civil Code of the Russian Federation on the time and place of opening of inheritance

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation strictly regulates the time and place of opening an inheritance. Time means the day of death of the person acting as the testator. This rule is directly reflected in Part 1 of Art. 1114 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Requirements of Art. 1114 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation contains references to other norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation regulating the procedure for declaring a person dead through civil proceedings.

The place of opening of the inheritance is the territory where the testator lived before his death, which is reflected in Part 1 of Art. 1115 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. A person’s place of residence is the address where the citizen permanently or mostly resides, that is, the fact of registration in the situation under consideration does not affect the establishment of the place of residence. These requirements are established by the norms of Art. 20 Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Time of opening of inheritance by law and by will

The time of opening of the inheritance is the moment of death of the testator (the citizen who left the inheritance). Art. 1114 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation defines general rules for establishing the time from which an inheritance opens. The legislator establishes requirements both in relation to inheritance by law and in the case of the testator writing a will. At the same time, according to Art. 1154 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a single duration is established, after which the heirs can receive the appropriate certificates of acceptance of property. This duration is 6 months from the date of opening of the inheritance.

Art. 1114 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, in addition to the general rule for establishing the time for opening an inheritance, provides for special situations. For example, if in fact the body of a citizen (testator) was not found, the moment of opening of the inheritance will be the day the corresponding court decision enters into force. In the act, the judge must acknowledge the fact of death; in some situations, the document also reflects the approximate date of death. Date recording is used if it is possible to establish the estimated date of death of a person. In such cases, the inheritance opens either from the moment the decision comes into force or from the date specified in the judicial act. These rules are strictly regulated by Part 1 of Art. 1114 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

What types of inheritance are there?

According to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, there are two types of inheritance:

• in law;
• by will.

According to the law, property is inherited for which there was no order from the deceased citizen. Heirs by law inherit property according to the order of which there are eight in the Russian Federation. The heirs of the corresponding line are called upon to inherit. If there are no heirs in the corresponding line, heirs in the next line are called upon to inherit. The fact of acceptance of the inheritance is confirmed by the will of the successor in the form of filing an application accepted by a notary. The opening of an inheritance, the procedure for its acceptance, the grounds for receipt, the procedure for formalizing and registering rights are the same for both inheritance by law and inheritance by will. The documents that need to be submitted to confirm the property rights of the testator do not depend on the type of inheritance. When inheriting both by law and by will, the place of opening of the inheritance is also the last place of residence of the deceased.

Inheritance by will is carried out if there is an order from the owner regarding the fate of the property on the day of death. The opening of an inheritance, both by will and by law, arises from the date of death of the testator. When accepting an application, the notary first checks the existence of the fact of inheritance under a will. The deadline for accepting an inheritance both by law and by will is the same.

The procedure for determining the time of opening of inheritance

The time of opening of the inheritance is reflected in the corresponding document - the death certificate of the citizen. Thus, one of the heirs should obtain a document from the registry office; to do this, you must do the following:

1. After the death of a person, it is necessary to obtain a death certificate from a medical organization. If a person was declared dead, it is necessary to obtain a corresponding decision from the court office.
2. Write an application in Form No. 21, established by order of the Ministry of Justice.
3. Collect the necessary documents: the applicant’s passport, a document proving the fact of the citizen’s death, an application, the passport of the deceased.
4. Contact the registry office or MFC branch during office hours. Hand over the collected documents to the specialist.
5. The completed death certificate must be collected at the appointed time.

The received document will serve as proof of the citizen’s death, which must subsequently be provided to the notary so that an inheritance case can be opened. After acquiring the certificate, you should calculate the place where the inheritance will be opened, then select a notary.

If the deadline for accepting the inheritance is missed, you must go to court to restore it. You can download the statement of claim to restore the deadline for accepting an inheritance here.

How to open and accept an inheritance

The opening and acceptance of the inheritance occurs in the following order: The heirs, having learned about the opening of the inheritance, i.e. about the death of a citizen, in order to formalize rights in accordance with the law of the Russian Federation, they turn to a notary by writing a statement that expresses consent to accept the inheritance. The application form is developed by the notary independently, and its form is given to the heir to fill out. The application is recognized as a fact of legal significance, confirming the will of the heir to consent to receive the inheritance. The absence of such an expression of will entails consequences in the form of a notary’s refusal to take action to issue a certificate.

An heir who permanently resides with the owner of the property until the day of his death is considered to have actually accepted the inheritance. To register the rights, he needs to obtain a certificate of the right to inheritance from a notary within 6 months from the date of opening of the inheritance. As a basis for proving the fact of acceptance of the inheritance, a certificate of residence or registration at the place of establishment of the inheritance case may be submitted.

Documents to confirm the fact are individual in each case and the notary makes a decision in each case separately. In addition, heirs who have paid the debts of the testator, received funds for him, preserved or protected the inherited property, or entered into management or ownership of the inherited property may be recognized as having actually entered into the inheritance. If the notary refuses to recognize the applicant as an heir, the fact of acceptance of the inheritance may be challenged in court.

Place of opening of inheritance by law and by will

Rules Art. 1115 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation indicate that the place of opening of the inheritance is the last address of residence of the testator. In addition, Art. 1115 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation regulates certain features of establishing territory. For example, if the testator’s residential address is located on the territory of a foreign state, or it is impossible to establish it, from a hereditary point of view, the place is the territory in which the property to be transferred to the heirs is located. If the property is evenly distributed at several points, the place where the inheritance is opened is considered to be the territory where the property is located.

If the estate includes only movable property and it is difficult to determine the place of opening of the inheritance, the value of each of the valuable objects should be established. The location of the most expensive property is the place where the inheritance is opened. This rule is directly enshrined in Art. 1115 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Place

To enter into his inheritance rights and obligations, the heir should contact a notary at the place where the inheritance was opened . This means that heirs can apply not to any notary office in the country, but to a specific one.

As a general rule, the place of opening of the inheritance is:

• last place of residence of the deceased;
• the location of the deceased's property (or the location of most of the property if it is located in different places).

How to determine the place of opening of the inheritance

According to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the place where the inheritance is opened coincides with the residential address of the deceased citizen or, in his absence, the location of the largest share of the property. In other words, the place where the inheritance is opened is the fact of the testator’s residence at a certain address or the fact of the location of the property. Documents confirming the residence of the deceased and the place of opening of the inheritance are submitted simultaneously with the time of filing the application for acceptance of the inheritance.

If the place of opening of the inheritance cannot be identified, citizens have the right to go to court by writing an application to establish the place of opening of the inheritance.

The meaning and concept of place, opening of inheritance is recognized in that the heirs can apply for the acceptance and issuance of a certificate from one notary whose notary office is located in the same district.

When resolving disagreements about establishing the place of opening of the inheritance, the court will be interested in the location of the testator’s property and what documents confirm this. The fact that all heirs apply to one office where the notary is located contributes to the optimal protection of the rights of all heirs.

What is considered the place of opening of inheritance?

Options for where to open an inheritance

The place of opening of the inheritance is usually determined by the residential address of the deceased subject (Article 1115 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The remaining options are used quite rarely.

The procedure for confirming the place of opening of inheritance through the court

Notaries refuse to issue a certificate of inheritance if:

• the testator was not registered or was registered temporarily;
• the house register with information about the registration of the testator was lost;
• there is no real estate as an object of inheritance.

This problem is resolved in court, where a corresponding application is filed.

In addition to the application, the following documents are sent to the court:

• a copy of the death certificate;
• copies of property ownership documents;
• extracts from the Unified State Register for objects of inheritance;
• documents indicating that the potential testator was refused by the notary to accept an application or to perform notarial acts (decree, correspondence).

You must also include a receipt for payment of the court fee. This application is considered in special proceedings, according to a simplified procedure. The state fee is insignificant, the consideration time, compared to claims, is reduced.

During the court hearing, potential heirs or interested parties must prove the fact of residence of the deceased at a specific address.

Based on the court decision, the heir turns to a notary, who will begin the process of preparing inheritance documents according to the general procedure.

The procedure for determining the place of opening of inheritance

After the time has been determined (a death certificate has been received), it is necessary to establish the place where the inheritance can be opened. To do this you need to do the following:

1. Try to determine whether there are any other heirs who might have information about the last years of the testator’s life, including his place of residence.
2. Find documents that give certain indications of the last place of residence of the citizen who left an inheritance.
3. If it was not possible to establish the death address of the testator, a list of property to be transferred should be compiled. In the generated list, the status of objects is established and division into immovable and movable occurs. For each property, it is necessary to identify the address of its location.
4. Valuation of movable property – if the estate includes exclusively such objects. The value of this property will determine the place of inheritance.
5. Once the location has been established, it is necessary to determine which notaries work in that area. As a rule, when it comes to a city, there are several specialists, which means the heir has the right to choose anyone.
6. The beginning of the inheritance procedure is a consultation with a notary, collection of the necessary documentation and opening of an inheritance case.

Hotels, boarding houses, inns, sanatoriums and other similar institutions cannot be the place of last residence of the testator. This is due to the fact that these objects can only be a place of stay, not residence.

What documents are needed to register rights?

In the Russian Federation, to confirm the existence of the right to inheritance and register rights to it, the notary is provided with the following documents:

• application for acceptance of inheritance;
• a certificate from the place of residence of the testator, if the inheritance case has not previously been opened by other heirs;
• documents that prove the identity of the heir;
• death certificate, if the inheritance case has not previously been opened by other heirs;
• documents confirming the testator's rights to property.

After filing an application for inheritance, an application for issuance of a certificate of inheritance is submitted. Documents are provided in originals. From all of the above, it follows that the opening of an inheritance occurs at the time of the citizen’s death. A properly established fact of death is recognized as the basis for opening an inheritance. The fact of declaring a citizen dead in court entails the same legal consequences as the fact of death established by a doctor.

The concept of inheritance is the transfer of inherited property.

Legally significant facts of death, acceptance of inheritance, the presence of documented rights to the property of the testator in legal practice are recognized as the basis for the transfer of rights.

Author of the article

Nuances

Determining the place and time of opening of the inheritance are the initial and most important categories that need permission from the heirs. In order to correctly set the time and place, it is necessary to take into account a number of nuances:

1. In order to declare a citizen dead, it is necessary to go to court. The deceased may be a person whose place of residence has not been known for 5 or more years, as defined in Part 1 of Art. 45 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
2. When it comes to the participation of a citizen in hostilities, only 2 years of absence of information about the location of a person is enough in order to recognize him as dead. This is due to the fact that combat conditions are characterized by an increased degree of danger to humans.
3. State registration of death in the registry office is not subject to duty, that is, contacting the administrative body is absolutely free. If the heir asks to issue a second certificate, you need to pay 350 rubles.
4. Death registration can be done both through the MFC, registry office, and through the public services portal.
5. In the process of determining the place of opening an inheritance at the location of the most valuable object, an appraiser can be involved, but this is not a mandatory stage of the procedure. The appraiser will only help to objectively determine the value of each item, on the basis of which the most expensive object can be selected.
6. If the inheritance is a bank account with cash, the place where the inheritance is opened is the location of the bank branch where the cash deposit is located.
7. The last place of residence of the testator must be permanent, that is, adapted for living in a residential building. The requirements for such premises are reflected in Art. 15 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation.

Inheritance and heirs. Volume I

Question #2:

I heard that now, instead of a will, it will be possible to sign an agreement on the distribution of property after death. My father offers us this option, but I’m thinking: should I agree or not? Still, this has never happened before.

A. Borovikova

Answer

:

Indeed, as of June 1, 2021, an innovation has appeared in the law: you can dispose of property in the event of death and inherit property not only by law and by will, but also by inheritance agreement.

Now the testator has the right to conclude an inheritance agreement with any of the persons who may be called upon to inherit, the terms of which determine:

- circle of heirs;

- the procedure for transferring rights to the property of the testator after his death to the parties to the contract or to third parties who may be called upon to inherit.

In addition, an inheritance agreement may contain a provision regarding the executor and impose on the persons participating in such an agreement, who may be called upon to inherit, the obligation to perform any actions of a property or non-property nature that do not contradict the law.

The current rules on wills apply to an inheritance agreement, unless otherwise follows from the essence of the inheritance agreement (clause 1 of Article 1118 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

The terms of the inheritance agreement apply to the extent that they do not contradict the rules of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on the obligatory share in the inheritance (including the obligatory share in the inheritance, the right to which appeared after the conclusion of the inheritance agreement), as well as on the prohibition of inheritance by unworthy heirs (we will talk about them later ). If the right to an obligatory share in the inheritance arose after the conclusion of an inheritance agreement, the obligations of the heir under the inheritance agreement provided for by such an agreement are reduced in proportion to the decrease in the part of the inheritance due to him after satisfaction of the right to an obligatory share in the inheritance (clause 6 of Article 11401 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

After the death of the testator, the heirs, the executor, the surviving parties to the inheritance contract or third parties surviving the testator, as well as the notary who is in charge of the inheritance case, may demand the fulfillment of the obligations established by the inheritance agreement during the period of performance of his duties for the protection of inherited property and the management of such property before the issuance of a certificate of the right to inheritance (clause 2 of Article 11401 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

The rights and obligations of the parties to such an agreement arising from an inheritance agreement are inalienable and cannot be transferred in any other way (clause 4 of Article 11401 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

According to paragraph 7 of Article 11401 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the inheritance agreement must be signed by each of its parties and is subject to notarization. If one of the parties evades notarization, the provisions of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on the possibility of recognizing such an agreement as valid in court do not apply. When certifying an inheritance agreement, a notary is obliged to video record the procedure for its conclusion, unless the parties to such an agreement object to this.

An inheritance agreement, in which the spouses participate, as well as persons who may be called upon to inherit for each of the spouses, may determine the procedure for the transfer of rights to the common property of the spouses or the property of each of them in the event of the death of each of them, including that occurring simultaneously, to to the surviving spouse or other persons; determine the property included in the inheritance mass of each spouse, if this does not violate the rights of third parties. It may also contain other orders of the spouses - in particular, a condition on the appointment of an executor or executors acting in the event of the death of each spouse (clause 5 of Article 11401 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). If such an inheritance agreement is concluded, the rules regarding the testator apply to the spouses. Such an inheritance agreement becomes invalid in connection with the dissolution of the marriage before the death of one of the spouses, as well as in connection with the recognition of the marriage as invalid. In addition, the specified inheritance agreement cancels the effect of the joint will of the spouses completed before the conclusion of this inheritance agreement (clause 5 of Article 11401 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

It would seem like a great idea for everyone to agree in advance on what will happen after the death of the testator. But be careful: the new institution of inheritance law is fraught with many surprises and pitfalls. Let's consider such cases in more detail.

First of all, the same property may be the subject of several inheritance agreements with different persons (clause 8 of Article 11401 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). And if the subject of different inheritance agreements is the same property, when accepting the inheritance, the agreement that was concluded earlier will be taken into account. What then will happen to the legal force of subsequent agreements? Should they then be considered invalid?

It should be noted that the above rule significantly distinguishes an inheritance agreement from a will. In accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 1130 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a subsequent will that does not contain direct instructions to cancel the previous will or individual testamentary dispositions contained therein, cancels this previous will in whole or in part in which it contradicts the subsequent will. That is, simply put, a subsequent will cancels the previous one (we’ll talk about this in more detail when considering questions about a will).

In general, Ms. Borovikova, if you are a potential heir and seriously expect to receive property upon concluding such a transaction, check whether the inheritance agreement concluded with you is the first.

It should be taken into account that the consequences provided for by the inheritance agreement can be made dependent on circumstances that occurred by the day the inheritance was opened, regarding which, at the conclusion of the inheritance agreement, it was unknown whether they would occur or not, including circumstances completely dependent on the will of one of the inheritance agreements. sides This is the so-called conditional fulfillment of an obligation (Article 3271 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), when the fulfillment of obligations, as well as the exercise, change and termination of certain rights under a contractual obligation may be conditioned by the commission or failure of one of the parties to the obligation to perform certain actions or the occurrence of other circumstances provided for by the contract, in including those completely dependent on the will of one of the parties.

In addition, it must be remembered that the testator will have the right to unilaterally refuse the inheritance agreement at any time without giving reasons. True, he will have to notify all parties to the contract about this and compensate them for losses that arose in connection with the execution of the inheritance contract. Said notice will be subject to notarization. And the notary who certified the notice of the testator’s refusal of the inheritance contract is obliged, in the manner prescribed by the legislation on notaries and notarial activities, to send a copy of this notice to the other parties to the inheritance contract within three working days. Losses will be compensated to the extent that they exist at the time of receipt of a copy of the notice of the testator’s refusal of the inheritance agreement.

And that's not all the features. The fact is that after concluding an inheritance agreement, the testator has the right to make any transactions in relation to the property belonging to him and otherwise dispose of this property with his own will and in his own interest, even if such a disposition will deprive the person who may be called to inherit of the rights to the property of the testator . Any agreement to the contrary is void.

In principle, the same rule applies to wills. But in the presence of a will, unlike an inheritance agreement, no one expects the testator’s counterparty to perform actions of a property or non-property nature - at least during the life of the testator. Later, after the opening of the inheritance, the presence of a testamentary refusal or assignment may be discovered, but they are fulfilled at the expense of the inheritance. And under an inheritance agreement, it is not excluded that obligations may be fulfilled during the life of the testator at the expense of the party to the agreement. This follows from the possibility of such a party in certain cases to recover damages from the testator.

In other words, the conclusion of an inheritance agreement and the fulfillment of your obligations under it, Ms. Borovikova, do not at all exclude the occurrence of a situation when the testator, during his lifetime, makes a transaction to alienate the property that interests you to a third party. By the way, in this case, compensation for losses, paradoxically, is not prescribed by law.

FOR LAWYERS:

Innovations regarding the inheritance agreement raise questions. New legal regulation often does not correspond to the real state of affairs and cannot be implemented in practice, or at least its application will cause serious difficulties.

In the current version of Article 1140 1
of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation there are many points that are not fully clarified; the consequences of implementing the norm are difficult to predict.
Thus, paragraph 1 of this article provides for the possibility of imposing on the persons participating in the inheritance agreement, who may be called upon to inherit, the obligation to perform any actions of a property or non-property nature that do not contradict the law. However, consequences for cases where the proper performance of these duties turns out to be impossible for reasons beyond the control of such persons are not provided.

According to paragraph 3 of the same article, if a party to an inheritance agreement refuses to inherit, the inheritance agreement remains in force in relation to the rights and obligations of its other parties, if it can be assumed (

I wonder who can guess and why only guess?
- M.B.), that it would have been concluded without including in it the rights and obligations of the party who renounced the inheritance.
The remuneration of the inheritance agreement is likely to remain at the discretion of the parties. It is unclear whether the possibility of concluding an inheritance agreement is assumed as a transaction aimed at generating income even before the opening of the inheritance.

And here the question arises: can the general provisions of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on obligations to inheritance contracts be applied at all, and if so, then to what extent? Indeed, at present, according to paragraph 1 of Article 1118 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the rules of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on wills are applied to the inheritance agreement, unless otherwise follows from the essence of the inheritance agreement. But who exactly will decide what does or does not follow from the essence of the inheritance agreement? Apparently, the parties - and if they do not agree, then, obviously, the court.

Don't you think, dear readers, that there is too much uncertainty?

At the same time, in some cases the impossibility of applying general rules on transactions to inheritance contracts is still prescribed. Thus, according to paragraph 7 of Article 1140 1
of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, if one of the parties evades notarization of an inheritance agreement, the provisions of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on the possibility of recognizing such an agreement as valid in court do not apply.
Since the current rules on wills apply to the inheritance agreement, it should be noted that with its advent, the institution of secrecy of a will also undergoes a radical change. Previously, a notary had no right to disclose even information that related to the very fact of making a will, not to mention its contents. However, now a notification of a unilateral refusal of an inheritance agreement, which is essentially similar to a change or cancellation of a will, will not be considered a disclosure of the secret of the will.

It is also unclear how the regime of secrecy will be ensured when courts consider cases of amendment or termination of inheritance agreements on the basis of paragraph 9 of Article 1140 1
of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
And, of course, the video recording procedure not only does not preserve the secrecy of the will, but also raises many questions. What exactly needs to be removed? The people at the notary who sign the papers? Or the contents of the papers? Is it possible to record sound while doing this? And these questions are far from the last.

I note that in the absence of agreement between the parties, the basis for changing or terminating the inheritance agreement in court can only be a significant change in circumstances, including in connection with the emerging possibility of calling to inherit persons entitled to an obligatory share in the inheritance.

A number of questions arise regarding the status of property that will be subject to inheritance - both about its volume and about the legal regime, which, judging by the text of paragraph 1 of Article 1140 1
of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, are not essential conditions of the inheritance agreement. Moreover, as noted earlier, the same property may be the subject of several inheritance agreements with different persons (clause 8 of Article 1140 1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). And after concluding an inheritance agreement, the testator has the right to make any transactions in relation to the property belonging to him and otherwise dispose of this property with his own will and in his own interest, even if such a disposition will deprive the person who may be called to inherit of the rights to the testator’s property (clause 12 of Article 1140 1 Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
On the one hand, in this case the testator does not refuse to fulfill the terms of the agreement, he only legally disposes of his property. On the other hand, such a disposition may actually deprive the inheritance agreement concluded in relation to this property of any meaning. In addition, paragraph 12 of Article 1140 1
of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, providing ample opportunities for the testator to dispose of his property, despite the existence of an inheritance agreement, allows him to do this only in his own interest.
The question arises whether, for example, transactions for donating property mentioned in the inheritance agreement will then be allowed: after all, the interest of the donor-testator in such a transaction, according to some experts, is not unconditional. The initiators of the appearance of the inheritance agreement in the legislation, in order to justify the feasibility of the corresponding changes in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, proclaimed the need to reduce the number of conflict situations in families and ensure the implementation of agreements on inheritance of property. It seems that the opposite goals have been achieved, and the current rules have created potential conditions for abuse of law. At the same time, the goals declared by the legislator are achievable with the help of already existing institutions of inheritance law: will, testamentary refusal, testamentary assignment.