Statement of claim to the court for recognition of the right to inheritance

The statement of claim for recognition as an heir is more an invention of the Internet than a real possible claim. Files in .DOC: Form of claim for recognition as heirSample statement of claim for recognition as heir

The fact is that the court does not include anyone in the circle of heirs. He is only able to establish certain facts that may allow him to accept a citizen as an heir or oblige the notary to perform certain actions.

In any case, this is resolved through claims that have nothing to do with recognizing a person as an heir.

It all starts with the notary

Inheritance legal relations include several stages, and all of them, one way or another, are connected with the notary. This is the opening of an inheritance and inheritance case, determining the circle of heirs, establishing the inheritance mass, issuing a certificate of the right to inheritance. That is, starting from the moment the testator died, all paths of the heirs lead to the notary’s office.

Cases cannot be excluded when there are more heirs than the testator could suspect, and not all of them can prove their inheritance rights. In these cases, the notary refuses to include this or that potential heir in the circle of heirs and explains to them the right to go to court.

The subject of the statement of claim when going to court will depend on the reasons for which the notary did not recognize the heir as such. Below we will look at all possible reasons for the failure and options for correcting the situation.

How to correctly write an application to the court to receive an inheritance

The form and content of the claim are determined by the norms of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. The law does not provide for a unified application form. However, the document must contain several required sections.

Claim requirements:

1. Brevity.
2. Consistent presentation of the essence of the matter.
3. There is no need to make a 10-page statement of claim. 2-3 pages are enough.
4. It is advisable to write the text in small paragraphs.

Components of the claim:

1. The introductory part of the claim contains information about the court and the parties to the lawsuit.
2. The descriptive/motivational part reflects the circumstances of the case, evidence of the applicant’s correctness and the provisions of the law to which the plaintiff refers.
3. The final part contains the final requirement of the applicant.

In some cases, it is better to contact a specialized lawyer. A specialist will study the documents, clarify the circumstances of the case and help you correctly draw up an application.

In this matter, it is also necessary to take into account existing judicial practice. You may need to look at several solutions for a similar situation.

Form

When drawing up a procedural document, you must be guided by Article 131 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.

Mandatory details of the claim

Content

The content of the claim depends on the factual circumstances of the case. Initially, you need to briefly describe the fact of the death of the testator . At the same time, one should refer to the presence of a family connection with the deceased subject .

If there are other applicants, then it is necessary to indicate this fact and list all known successors (full name, residential address).

Below you need to describe the list of inherited property . It is necessary to indicate the type of ownership and location of assets. At the same time, you need to refer to papers that allow you to conclude that the deceased citizen has rights.

The next paragraph should indicate the reason for going to court .

Example. I submitted an application to accept the inheritance. However, the notary refused to issue a certificate due to the lack of documents confirming the ownership of the testator. The owner did not have time to register ownership of the apartment. However, the existence of the right is confirmed by the privatization act.

The last section of the claim usually contains a reference to legal provisions and the plaintiff's request . Then a list of attached documents . At the very bottom of the document is the date and signature of the applicant .

Attached documents

In order for the court to make a positive decision, the heir must take care to provide indisputable evidence. Otherwise, the stated requirements will be rejected. The list of papers depends on the actual circumstances of the case.

At a minimum you should prepare:

1. Applicant's identity card.
2. Death certificate of the property owner.
3. Evidence of relationship with the copyright holder.
4. Confirmation of the registration address of the deceased citizen.
5. Documents of title to the property of the testator.
6. A written refusal of a notary to perform a notarial act.
7. Original will (if available).
8. Report on the value of identified property.
9. Confirmation of payment of state duty.
10. Power of attorney addressed to the representative (if any).

Also, the claim must be accompanied by copies of it according to the number of participants in the process (Article 132 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).

If the successor actually accepted the property, then he will have to prepare documents confirming the completion of legal actions within six months after the death of the testator:

1. Contract agreement for construction and repair work.
2. Receipt for repayment of debt to third parties.
3. Bank loan repayment receipt.
4. Agreement on installing an alarm system in an apartment, renting out property.
5. A court decision on a claim for debt collection in the interests of the testator.
6. Evidence of contacting a notary for the purpose of protecting property.
7. Certificate from the dacha cooperative about the use of the land.
8. Evidence of payment of land or transport tax.
9. Excerpt from the house book.

The list of documents is far from complete. It may be expanded or modified depending on the prevailing circumstances and the actions taken by the applicant.

If the successor was dependent on the deceased subject, then he will have to prepare:

• document confirming loss of ability to work;
• prove the fact of receipt of money;
• prove cohabitation with a deceased citizen for 1 year (for strangers).

Expenses of heirs

When filing a claim to establish a legal fact or recognize ownership rights, you will have to pay a state fee. Its size is determined by law.

When filing an application within the framework of special proceedings, the fee is 300 rubles . These also include cases of restoring the deadline for entering into inheritance. When submitting an application for recognition of ownership rights, the amount of the fee will not increase.

Full/partial tax exemption is granted to disabled people of groups 1–2. To take advantage of the tax benefit, the plaintiff must attach the appropriate document.

Sample statement of claim to the court for recognition of the right to inheritance

Sample statement of claim to the court for recognition of the right to inheritance

Unaccounted for heir

The possibility of the appearance of illegitimate children of the testator during the division of the inheritance is never excluded.

However, an unfounded statement that the acquired relative is the testator’s son or daughter will not be enough. The notary will require a birth certificate that lists the testator as the parent.

If there is no such entry in the birth certificate, the notary will refuse to recognize the applicant as an heir and invite him to file an administrative claim in court to establish the fact of paternity. You can read the material on this topic and download a sample statement of claim on our website.

If the court satisfies the claim, the notary will include the applicant in the circle of heirs.

What to ask for in a statement of claim

What did Nikolai want from the trial? What did you expect when filing a lawsuit?

The heir wanted to legalize his rights to an apartment and a car, and not give them to the state and the city.

Having not formulated his demands correctly, Nikolai could have lost the trial and been left without an inheritance

The lawyer legally correctly presented the pleading part of the statement of claim, asking the court:

• Recognize Nicholas as having accepted the inheritance of his father, Ivan Vasilyevich
• Recognize Nikolai's ownership of the apartment and vehicle

Errors in documents

A situation similar to that of an illegitimate child can arise with any heir as a result of errors made by the civil registry office in the documents.

For example, replacing the letter “е” with the letter “e” can lead to the fact that father and son legally turn out to be people who are not related by family ties, as in the case of “Hedgehogs - Hedgehogs.”

If there are such discrepancies in the documents, the notary will certainly refuse to include the heir in the circle of heirs.

One of the options for rectifying the situation would be the possibility of filing an administrative claim in court to establish the fact of a family relationship. You can read the material on this topic and download a sample statement of claim on our website.

The second option would be to contact the civil registry office with an application to make corrections to the documents. This path will be much longer, since the registry office will certainly refuse the request after 30 days.

Based on the refusal of the registry office, it will be possible to go to court with a claim to establish the fact of ownership of the document. You can read the material on this topic and download a sample statement of claim on our website.

Entry into inheritance

The inheritance belongs to the heir from the date of death of the testator.

If the inheritance is a house, apartment, dacha, land plot, other real estate, in whole or in part, then

The right of ownership does not arise from the moment of its state registration

For this rule to apply, the heir must accept the inheritance.

By the way, the correct thing is to accept the inheritance, and not enter into it.

Two ways to accept an inheritance

If Nikolai had contacted a notary in time, he would not have had to file a claim.

This would be the first way to accept an inheritance.

The first way is to submit an application to a notary in a timely manner

However, Nikolai did not do this and accepted the inheritance in the second way.

The second way to accept an inheritance

The meaning of the second method is to assess the behavior and actions of the heir in relation to the property of the testator.

If the heir, through his actions, has shown interest in the inheritance and treats it as his own, then he has the right to it

This is logical and correct. Having forgotten to contact a notary, but having taken care of the testator’s property, the heir is worthy of receiving it.

What should the heir do?

• Start owning or managing inherited property
• Preserve this property and protect it from others
• Maintain property at your own expense
• Pay off the debts of the testator or receive what is owed to the deceased

All these actions are unconditional proof of acceptance of the inheritance in the second way. Unconditional is until someone proves otherwise.

It is not necessary for the heir to perform the actions personally

This can be done by other persons on his behalf.

How many times do you need to do this

It is enough for the heir to perform one of the specified actions once.

This must be done within six months from the date of death of the testator.

What did Nikolai do in our example and what did this mean according to the law?

• I took the keys to the apartment, began to visit it, clean it, moved some of my things - began to own it, moved in
• Started paying rent for the apartment—maintaining the property with my own money
• He took care of and paid for his father’s funeral - he simply showed that he was a good son and a worthy heir
• Repaired the car - saved the property
• Repaid the debt under the loan agreement - repaid the debt of the testator

We see that Nikolai did everything possible to become the heir.

For this reason, he had no problem proving in court the fact of his acceptance of the inherited property.

The more actions the heir takes, the easier it is to prove in court later

Also, do not underestimate the work of a lawyer who legally correctly drafted a statement of claim to the court.

Heir-dependent

Persons who were supported by the testator can claim a mandatory share in the inheritance even if they are not his heirs by law.

If a former dependent cannot document to a notary the fact that he is a dependent of the testator, he will receive a refusal to include him in the circle of heirs and an explanation of the right to apply to the court with an administrative claim to establish the fact of being a dependent.

You can read the material on this topic and download a sample statement of claim on our website.

If you do not accept the inheritance within six months

What would have happened if Nikolai had shown indifference to his father’s property?

Legally, Ivan Vasilyevich would not have an heir in the person of his son.

An apartment and a car, everything that was left after him, would be considered escheatable property.

What is escheat property

Escheated property is property left without an owner after the death of the owner who had no heirs.

Does this mean that escheated property will not belong to anyone?

No, the state cannot allow ownerless property on its territory. Everything must have its owner.

Escheat does not mean “nobody’s”

Depending on the type of property (movable or immovable, residential or non-residential), the heir is considered to be the state or city (rural settlement, municipal district, etc.).

All property of the deceased is considered escheat if:

• There are no heirs either by law or by will
• None of the heirs have the right to inherit
• None of the heirs accepted the inheritance
• All heirs renounced the inheritance not in favor of another

Notary's refusal

Notary refusals are not always associated with the lack of documentary evidence of inheritance rights. Thus, in accordance with Article 48 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On Notaries,” a notary has the right to refuse to perform notarial acts in cases where:

• performing actions is impossible without violating the law;
• another notary must perform the action;
• an incapacitated person or a representative who does not have the right to request these actions requests the performance of actions;
• the transaction itself is contrary to the law.

The notary shall formalize the refusal in writing, and the person who received this refusal may appeal it to a court of general jurisdiction in accordance with Art. 225 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, 37, 310 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation through an administrative claim to appeal the refusal to perform a notarial act.

Cost of the claim and how much state duty to pay

In the statement of claim, Nikolai asked the court to recognize:

1. Those who accepted the inheritance
2. Ownership of the apartment
3. Ownership of a car

One request to the court - one claim

A total of three claims were filed in court.

The first requirement is recognition of the plaintiff as having accepted the inheritance

This requirement concerns property, which means it is proprietary.

It is impossible to evaluate it, the requirement is UNevaluable

The amount of the state duty for property claims that are not subject to assessment is 300 rubles .

Second and third claims = cost of claim

Requirements for recognition of ownership of an apartment and a car are property and appraised.

To correctly determine the amount of state duty for these requirements, you need to know the cost of the claim.

The price of a claim for ownership of property = the value of this property at the time of going to court

Before going to court, Nikolai received a certificate of the cadastral value of the apartment of the deceased Ivan Vasilyevich.

At the time of preparing the statement of claim, the cost according to the cadastre was 4 million rubles.

The car was purchased by Ivan Vasilyevich long before his death and the purchase and sale agreement did not reflect the real value of the vehicle.

For this reason, Nikolai ordered a report assessing the market value of the car, which amounted to 350 thousand rubles.

The total value of the property to which the heir claimed rights in court:

4,000,000 (apartment) + 350,000 (car) = 4,350,000 rubles

The lawyer calculated the state duty for the second and third claims using the formula:

13,200 + (4,350,000 - 1,000,000) x 0.5% = 29,950 rubles

Total amount of state duty

The total amount of state duty is the sum of state fees for all requirements.

The state duty on assessed and non-assessed property claims is calculated separately and then summed up.

In total, Nikolai paid to the budget for filing a statement of claim:

300 (for the first requirement) + 29,950 (for the second and third) = 30,250 rubles

Statement of claim with or without a lawyer

There are categories of litigation where you can do without a lawyer. There aren't many of them.

The plaintiff downloads a one-page sample statement of claim on the Internet, enters names, substitutes numbers, and corrects simple phrases.

There are a lot of pitfalls in inheritance disputes. Only an experienced litigation lawyer, a specialist in inheritance disputes, can overcome these obstacles.

No template or sample claim can replace the work of a lawyer.

Don’t forget, the opponent in court will not be your neighbor, not a private organization, but the authorities.

It's always difficult to argue with them. It would be unnecessary to explain why.

A professional lawyer from a city department or tax office with a loyal judge's attitude - that's who you'll face in court

You will find a few more arguments in favor of preparing a claim by a lawyer, rather than template homemade work, on the page “Drafting a claim: template or professional training.”