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There are several ways to accept an inheritance. One of them is factual. It is enough for the heir to live in the apartment that belonged to the testator, protect and maintain it. However, in order to begin to fully manage the property, it is necessary to register ownership of it. If the applicant does not submit documents to the notary in a timely manner or he refuses to issue him a certificate, then the citizen will have to go to court. The application form must comply with the requirements of procedural law.
Actual acceptance of inheritance
Art. 1153 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides for 2 options for entering into inheritance rights. The law gives 6 months for this from the date of death of the owner.
The main method is notarial. In such a situation, a person who has the right to receive property (by law or by will) must contact the notary office at the place where the inheritance was opened.
Based on the results of the application, a certificate of inheritance rights is issued. Based on this document, the copyright holder must carry out state registration of the received property.
As a result of notarization of property, a citizen is endowed with all the rights of the owner. He can sell the object, donate it, rent it out. From the moment of registration, he becomes the full owner.
The second option is the actual one. Its peculiarity is the absence of official documents on the ownership of the heir. Legally, the object continues to be registered with the deceased.
A citizen must perform a number of actions aimed at actually entering into inheritance.
Among them:
- payment of bills;
- repairs or payment for them;
- ensuring the safety of the object;
- living in an apartment.
That is, a citizen must use the object and take care of it as an owner.
Problems with actual inheritance
A popular example of actual inheritance is moving into the apartment of the deceased. However, it is necessary to distinguish from this the situation when the heir is a co-owner and lived in the apartment until the death of the co-owner.
In such a situation, you can prove the actual entry into the inheritance by the fact of repairs and full payment of utility bills.
The actual entry into inheritance is one of the most popular inheritance disputes. Often citizens do not know about the need to contact a notary, do not have the funds for registration, or simply do not consider it necessary to contact a notary office.
But they forget that the inaction of the assignees is equivalent to abandonment of the property by default. As a result, other heirs have the right to register it with a notary.
Also, the need for litigation arises if a citizen decides to formalize rights to property. But the notary refuses to issue the certificate due to lack of evidence.
Procedure for accepting documents from a notary
The notary forms an application for acceptance of the inheritance, where they indicate complete information about the successor, testator, the presence of the last will of the deceased, the reasons for registering the property, and the date of preparation.
After accepting this application, the notary draws up a document indicating the legal basis for the share or all of the deceased’s possessions.
The application may also contain information about other applicants for possession of the deceased’s belongings, information about the location of the property, and so on.
If for some reason a citizen does not have the opportunity to personally hand over documents to a notary office, it is allowed to send documents through a post office or through a third party. In this scenario, the signature of the applying heir must be confirmed by a notary, and a power of attorney must be issued for a third party.
Sending by mail is included in the period allocated for entry into rights. That is, sending documentation by mail through a dispatch operator is marked with the date of receipt of the letter, so sending the letter via mail will be considered valid and there will be no delay.
We recommend reading: What documents are needed to renounce an inheritance?
It is allowed to involve witness testimony to increase the chances of a quick resolution of the issue with the testator’s belongings. Witnesses can be:
- acquaintances or relatives of the successor who communicated with him during the period of interaction with the personal belongings of the testator;
- neighbors who observed actions indicating the citizen’s accession to heritage rights;
- third-party organizations that provided their services for repair work, restoration, transportation or storage of the deceased’s possessions;
- citizens who saw the fact of the transfer of funds to pay off the debt obligations of the testator;
- owners of neighboring dachas, garage cooperatives, who are able to prove the fact of any manipulation with the things of a deceased relative: a dacha plot or a garage.
Form and content of the application to establish the fact of acceptance of inheritance
You can go to court by stating your demands in a statement of claim.
This is a document that is drawn up in writing by the plaintiff. The application form is not prescribed by law. However, it must comply with the provisions of Art. 131 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.
Key points:
- the name of the judicial authority at the applicant’s place of residence;
- plaintiff's details;
- information about interested parties;
- name of the claim;
- information about the death of the owner;
- a list of property included in the inheritance;
- information about the presence/absence of other recipients;
- data confirming the fact of acceptance of the inheritance;
- reference to law;
- requirement to establish the fact of acceptance of inheritance;
- list of documents;
- signature and initials of the applicant, date.
Important! The document can be signed by the applicant personally or by his authorized representative.
Sample statement of claim
Sample application to establish the fact of acceptance of inheritance:
Statement of claim for inclusion of property in the inheritance
Sample statement of claim for restoration of the deadline for accepting an inheritance
Features of determining a place for certain categories of residents of the Russian Federation
In the event of the death of certain categories of citizens who did not live in one place during their lifetime, it is provided for the determination of the place of inheritance proceedings without recourse to the judicial authorities. The case is opened at the last permanent address in the event of death:
- students studying in another city or region;
- those detained in places of deprivation of liberty;
- military personnel;
- business travelers.
For a deceased representative of small nationalities leading a nomadic lifestyle, the place of inheritance proceedings is the settlement in which he was registered.
A settlement in which a person stayed temporarily, even for a long time, cannot be the place where an inheritance is opened.
Who can be a plaintiff in a case?
The proper plaintiff is the heir who has legal rights to enter into the inheritance. That is, it is he who should have the right to receive property before other applicants.
For example, if there is a will, such a person is the legal successor under the will. And in the absence of an expression of will, such an opportunity appears to the legal successors of the next generation. As a rule, this is the first priority (spouses, children, parents).
The process can also be initiated at the initiative of the deceased’s creditor. Any individual or legal entity who can confirm the existence of a debt (loan agreement, receipt) may ask to establish the fact of inheritance in order to collect the debt.
Where is inheritance accepted?
The place where the inheritance is opened is not chosen arbitrarily, but in accordance with the provisions of Art. 1115 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
- Place of residence of the deceased. Only the last place where the testator permanently resided is taken into account.
- Location of property, if the address of the deceased is unknown, or he permanently resided outside the Russian Federation.
If the place where the testator spent the last years of his life is unknown, or it is located abroad, and the property is represented by different real estate in several districts (regions) of the country, then the place for opening inheritance proceedings will be the location of the most valuable real estate.
If the testator did not leave behind real estate, and it is unknown where exactly he permanently resided (or lived in another state), the place is the location of the most expensive part of the inheritance at the time of the owner’s death.
The location of the property is determined by various certificates, which can be obtained from state registration authorities, and extracts from commercial structures, if relevant.
The procedure for filing a claim with the court to establish the fact of acceptance of an inheritance
Algorithm for initiating the process to establish the fact of acceptance of inheritance:
- Collection of evidence.
- Payment of state duty.
- Filing a claim.
- Determination of jurisdiction.
- Referral to court.
- Trial.
Step 1. Preparing documents
The applicant must prove that he took action to actually enter into the inheritance within the established time frame.
To do this, you need to prepare the following data:
- the applicant's civil passport;
- receipt of payment of state duty;
- certificate from the housing office (if the plaintiff lives in the apartment of the deceased);
- information from a garden society or garage cooperative about timely payment of contributions;
- utility bills;
- receipts for payment of debts of the deceased;
- bank statements about the transfer of funds to pay the testator's payments;
- agreement on the provision of repair and construction services;
- information on ensuring the safety of the object (certificate of rental of a garage, container for storing things).
Additionally, you can involve witnesses. Citizens must confirm in court that the applicant owns and uses the property of the deceased as his own.
Separately, it is worth highlighting the physical evidence. The plaintiff has the right to provide small but expensive objects that previously belonged to the deceased (jewelry, paintings, antiques).
Step 2. Payment of state duty
The amount of the state duty depends on the situation:
- if there is a defendant - 300 rubles;
- if there is a defendant and a demand for recognition of ownership of real estate - 300 rubles. + amount for property dispute;
- if it is necessary to establish a legal fact (without a defendant) – 300 rubles.
Step 3. Determination of jurisdiction
The court authorized to resolve this situation also depends on the presence/absence of the defendant:
- if available, the district or city court at the place of registration of the defendant;
- in the absence - the district or city court at the place of registration of the applicant.
Step 4. Submitting a claim to court
The application and documents are prepared in a number of copies equal to the number of parties to the proceeding. Each copy of the document must be certified with a signature, a transcript of the plaintiff’s signature and the inscription: The copy is correct. Certificates and extracts are provided to the court in the form of originals.
Documents can be sent as follows:
- personally;
- through a representative;
Important! The representative must have a notarized power of attorney. The exception is when documents are submitted by parents or guardians. Their powers are confirmed by data on the presence of a family relationship or a guardian’s certificate.
When sending documents by mail, you must add a description of the contents to the envelope.
Documents for entering into inheritance rights
Establishing the fact of taking possession of the personal belongings of the deceased will require the provision of written evidence of the actions of the heir.
Written and printed documents act as evidence:
- a sample from the housing office indicating that the citizen actually lived at the specified address before and after the death of a relative;
- an extract from the municipality on the direct use of the property for its intended purpose (harvesting, repair work, disposal of the garage);
- receipts for payment of utility and insurance services, taxes;
- a bank statement stating that payments were received from the heir;
- receipts and other financial documents on expenses for spare parts, components, consumables for property maintenance;
- contracts for the provision of services: installation of alarm systems, registration of leasing, sending things for safekeeping;
- bank certificate confirming partial or full repayment of the deceased’s credit obligations;
- promissory notes for the issuance or receipt of funds;
- a statement of claim directed against persons illegally possessing the property of the testator, with a corresponding note from the court office on acceptance;
- appeal to bailiffs;
- other documentary evidence of the successor’s interaction with the testator’s property regarding the acceptance of personal belongings.
All papers presented as evidence must be drawn up without errors, on a special form, marked with a seal and have the originating number, date of writing and visa of the person compiling it.
Arbitrage practice
As practice shows, an application to establish the fact of acceptance of an inheritance is most often made by the creditors of the deceased and citizens who lived with him.
Example from judicial practice No. 1:
The credit organization went to court to recognize the heirs of the deceased debtor as having actually entered into the inheritance. However, the debtor’s daughters explained to the court that they did not communicate with their father and did not receive his property. The notary at the place of last registration of the deceased confirmed that the inheritance case had not been opened. The court refused to satisfy the applicant's demands. (Decision No. 2-477/2019 2-477/2019~M-224/2019 M-224/2019 in case No. 2-477/2019 dated July 15, 2019).
If a citizen requests recognition of the fact of inheritance in relation to the deceased’s home, then the fact of residence in the disputed apartment is important. That is, the court recognizes as having assumed the rights the heir who lived in the apartment during the life of the owner or moved in after his death.
Example from judicial practice No. 2.
Citizen G. went to court to recognize the fact of inheritance after the death of her mother. The woman was ill and could not come in on time. After the death of her mother, the plaintiff moved into her apartment, paid the payments and made repairs. Every fact was documented. The court satisfied her demands. (Decision No. 2-386/2019 2-386/2019~M-161/2019 M-161/2019 in case No. 2-386/2019 dated May 30, 2019).
Application processing time
The application review period is 2 months . The calculation of time limits begins from the moment the plaintiff applies to the court.
However, there are many reasons for its increase. For example, if one of the participants in the process does not appear in court or the defendant falls ill.
Also, the parties to the trial may request the judge's recusal. In such circumstances, the case is considered first. As a result, the hearing of the case can drag on for up to six months or more.
Important! You also need to take into account the deadlines for appealing a procedural document. The parties are given 1 month to file an appeal.
If the plaintiff or defendant files an appeal, the procedural document comes into force after its review in the court of second instance. The appeal is also given 2 months to consider .
