Inheritance by a minor child by law

The right of inheritance by minors in Russia is described in legislation. After the death of a relative or a complete stranger, a minor may become one of those who is entitled to a share of the inheritance, or the entire inheritance. According to the law, the owner of any property has the right to dispose of it at his own discretion, including bequeathing it to anyone. In this case, a will can be drawn up for your relatives and even for strangers or an organization. Moreover, inheritance by a minor child occurs in any case if he lived together with the deceased, since in this case he is entitled to an undiminished share in the inherited property.

Can a minor child be an heir?

Any citizen can be an heir. However, only a fully capable subject can turn to a notary to register property. Citizens under 18 years of age act through legal representatives.

Minors inherit property after death by law:

• mothers;
• father;
• grandmothers;
• grandfathers;
• brothers;
• sisters.

And also in the event of the death of other relatives, provided that they are included in the inheritance line.

Is it possible to leave an inheritance to a child who has not reached the age of majority? Yes. However, the heir will not be able to dispose of the property independently.

Application Form

Children under 14 years of age are present in the procedure for registering inheritance rights, but cannot sign any documents - their official representatives do this for them. They must also write the application, not the child.

In addition to the application itself, the child's official representative must write a written consent that the child accepts the testator's property as his own.

As a rule, the notary office already has a ready-made application form. The document must indicate the following:

• Full name, passport details of the heir, testator, as well as legal representatives of the minor heir.
• Details of a will or other document that is the basis for accepting an inheritance.
• Date and signature of all parties to the transaction, except for a child under 14 years of age.

As for the timing of taking over your rights, nothing changes here - there are only 6 months for everything. Lost deadlines can only be restored through legal action.

Separately, it should be said about the payment of the state fee - a minor who enters into his rights is exempt from such material penalties. As for other expenses - there are no concessions for paperwork, notary and lawyer services (if necessary).

Illegitimate and adopted children

The following are granted equal rights with natural children:

1. Adopted children. The right of inheritance for a child adopted by the testator arises immediately after the court decision on adoption enters into legal force. An adopted person can claim a share in the inheritance if there is a court decision on adoption, which was not canceled at the time of the death of the testator (or the court decision on cancellation of adoption did not have time to enter into legal force).
2. Dependents. If the deceased owner had minor children, then they must be included in the heirs, regardless of the order to which they belong. Dependents can be brothers, sisters, stepson, stepdaughter, adopted child, ward under the age of 18 (if he was supported by the owner during his life). To receive a share, persons who are not blood relatives of the deceased must live together with the testator for at least 1 year before his death.
3. Illegitimate children. In this situation, everything is ambiguous. Much depends on the official registration of the child. If the deed record about the father was made according to the words of the mother, then when submitting documents on acceptance of the inheritance, a court decision will be required to establish the fact of recognition of paternity. The legal representative of the child will have to submit a corresponding application, conduct an examination, and prove the relationship between the child and the testator.

A child has the right to inheritance if:

• mother and father jointly registered the birth of the child;
• paternity has been established by the father's statement;
• paternity is established by court decision;
• paternity was established posthumously.

The child has the right to the father’s property, regardless of the presence/absence of a marriage between the parents. The key point is to register paternity with the civil registry office. In addition, children from the first marriage are given the rights of heirs, on an equal basis with other recipients of the first stage.

Example. After the death of the head of the family, the inheritance was opened. List of property - apartment, car, securities. The composition of the heirs is wife, son, parents. The application was submitted to the notary by 2 people - the wife and son of the deceased man. The parents did not want to contact a notary. Later it turned out that another statement appears in the case materials. It was filed by the mother of a young child, who provided evidence that the testator is the father of the girl. To reduce the share of an illegitimate child, the relatives agreed on the participation of the parents of the deceased citizen, who also did not know about the presence of another heir. Each applicant received 1/5 of the property. Later, the heirs agreed among themselves on the redistribution of shares of property. The apartment and car remained with family members. The illegitimate child was compensated for the cost of the inheritance through securities.

Right to mandatory share

A minor has the right to an obligatory share in the inheritance. It cannot be less than ½ of the share provided by law.

The obligatory heir is:

• natural child of the deceased;
• a minor ward who lived with the testator for more than 1 year;
• adopted child of the testator;
• stepson or stepdaughter living with the testator for more than 1 year.

That is, the testator has the right to deprive all legal successors of a share in the property, but is obliged to establish a mandatory share for a minor heir in the will. If a citizen has not bequeathed all of his property, then the obligatory share will be allocated from the unwilled property.

But, if the testator did not provide for the obligatory share, then the will must be challenged in court. In the interests of the minor, a legal representative must apply to the court.

At what age can you dispose of an inheritance?

The owner has the right to freely own, use and dispose of inherited property from the moment he turns 18. From this moment on, full legal capacity appears on the territory of Russia.

The exception is emancipated citizens. Emancipation refers to the early acquisition of legal capacity before reaching a specified period.

Emancipation is possible from the age of 16 if:

• the child works under an employment contract;
• the minor got married;
• child is engaged in entrepreneurial activity

To formalize emancipation, the consent of the legal representative or a court decision is required (in case the legal representative refuses to issue consent).

A citizen is vested with full legal capacity from the moment:

• making a decision from the district guardianship department;
• giving a court decision legal force.

Methods for a child to accept an inheritance

The law provides for the following options for accepting an inheritance:

• notary;
• actually.

However, the notary will not take into account evidence of the actual acceptance of property by a minor.

The legal representative must prove that he took the necessary actions in the interests of the child:

• for the protection of inherited property;
• on the use of the property of the deceased;
• to accept or pay the debts of the deceased.

Thus, in the event of actual acceptance of the inheritance, the actions provided for by law must be performed not by the child, but by his representative.

Special cases of kinship

The legislator provides equal rights for all children, regardless of the fact of their birth in marriage or out of wedlock, as well as the fact of consanguinity. Adopted children have the same set of rights as concerns inheritance.

Illegitimate

Inheritance by illegitimate children is a subject of eternal debate. Other heirs often do not even suspect that the testator has children and try to challenge the fact that they accepted the inheritance, however, this is almost impossible to do.

Such heirs will be considered full heirs of the first stage if they were recognized by their parents.

Adopted

The scope of rights of adopted children is also equal to the rights of relatives. There is also the secret of adoption, that is, the child and those around him may not even suspect that he is not related to the testator.

Adopted and illegitimate children also have the right to a mandatory share in the inheritance, which completely equalizes their inheritance rights with the rights of “ordinary” children.

Not native

If it turns out that the child of the marriage is not a relative of the testator, then he will have the right to accept the inheritance only in an additional order, as a dependent of the testator.

What is the “place of opening of inheritance”? The answer is presented in the article “The concept and purpose of the place of opening of inheritance.” You can find out whether there is an inheritance tax here.

How can a minor child inherit an inheritance?

Expert opinion

Stanislav Evseev

Lawyer. Experience 12 years. Specialization: civil, family, inheritance law.

The child cannot acquire rights on his own. To register an inheritance through a notary office, the participation of a legal representative will also be required. In the absence of a person representing the interests of a minor, he cannot enter into an inheritance.

The following may act as a legal representative:

• mother;
• father;
• adoptive parent;
• guardian;
• adoptive parent;
• head of an organization for orphans;
• specialist of the district guardianship department.

Order and procedure

Algorithm of actions for accepting an inheritance on behalf of a child:

1. Identification of the place of opening of the inheritance.
2. Collection of documents.
3. Visiting a notary's office and submitting an application.
4. Payment of duty.
5. Obtaining a certificate.

The child's legal representatives will have to visit the notary twice. Initially, you need to submit an application to take over the property. After 6 months, you must re-visit the notary and obtain a certificate.

Required documents

The list of documents on acceptance of inheritance by a minor child is somewhat longer than usual. Legal representatives must attach papers that confirm their authority and allow their identity to be identified.

Basic documents:

• child's birth certificate;
• death certificate of the testator;
• an extract from the house register for the testator and for the child (if he inherits as a dependent);
• applicant's passport;
• papers for identified property;
• fee payment receipt;
• evaluation report.

Documents that confirm the powers of the legal representative:

1. For the parent - passport and birth certificate of the child.
2. For a guardian - a guardian's certificate and an order appointing guardianship.
3. For a foster parent - a foster parent's certificate and an agreement on the transfer of a minor to a foster family.
4. For the district guardianship department - a power of attorney on behalf of the head of the local government body.
5. For an organization for orphans - an order for placement under supervision, an order for the appointment of a director, a power of attorney on behalf of the director.

In case of refusal of inheritance, the legal representatives of a minor child must provide written consent from the guardianship authority.

Sample application

The legislator did not approve a standard form of the document. Each notary may have his own sample application.

Sample application for acceptance of inheritance

Expenses of heirs

When registering an inheritance, a state fee is withheld from the beneficiaries. Its size is determined by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The amount of the fee largely depends on the degree of relationship and the value of the inheritance.

Base rates

Additional costs include notary services, possible litigation, and registration of property rights.

Additionally, you must pay for legal and technical services of a notary. They are entered when issuing a certificate of inheritance rights.

Tariffs vary depending on the presence/absence of real estate as part of the inheritance, as well as on the region of circulation. You can check the payment amount on the website of the Federal Notary Chamber.

For example, the amount of payment in the Trans-Baikal Territory when inheriting movable property is 1000 rubles. for each object from each heir. When registering real estate, you will have to pay at least 4,300 rubles, but not more than 5,500 rubles. for each object.

Features of the transfer of a mandatory share

If the testator makes a will for other persons, then the children, in accordance with Art. 1149 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a mandatory share of inherited property is due. There are no exceptions here, since the law protects the interests of children, so the will of the testator does not play a role here. He may prohibit them from inheriting in his will, but such a decision will be considered invalid.

This means that minors receive their part of the inheritance under a will at the rate of at least ½ share of the property if they inherited by law in accordance with Article 1149 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. In other words, in order to calculate the obligatory share of the inheritance, you must first select all the heirs of the 1st stage, including the child, and calculate their share of the inheritance according to the law, but the “legal share” of a minor must simply be divided in half according to Article 1149 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

IMPORTANT! If the testator ignored his minor children or other obligatory heirs in the will, then the document is declared invalid. The inherited shares will be distributed according to the rules of Article 1149 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, and the main heirs will receive much less property than they were owed according to the document.

Let's say testator N bequeathed an apartment to his mother (father died), but he has a young child from a previous marriage who inherits an obligatory share of the property.

The mother of the deceased and the child are heirs of the 1st stage. If there had been no will, then by law they would have received 1/2 of the apartment, but in reality the child receives 1/4 of the obligatory share, that is, exactly half of his 1/2 legal share. Read more about the inheritance queue here.

The testator's mother will receive 3/4 of the property. If the testator had two young children, then each of them would receive 1/6 of the apartment, and the mother would be left with 1/2 of the property according to the will. The more compulsory heirs, the smaller the share of the inheritance under the will.

As for inheritance without a will, minors receive their part in equal shares along with other heirs, so no difficulties should arise here.

The obligatory share of the inheritance is determined based on the total number of all legal, obligatory heirs and the size of the inheritance, taking into account bequeathed and untested property.

The court may individually reduce the share of the inheritance depending on the circumstances of the case and the specifics of the property. The legal heir must prove that the child has other real estate and has not previously lived in this apartment, so this will not violate his legal interests in any way.

Missing deadlines for accepting inheritance

If parents miss the deadline for submitting documents, the children lose property rights. Restoration of the deadlines is possible by a court decision or a written statement from relatives who accepted the property. You can file an application with the court within 6 months after the reason for the absence disappears.

What if the legal representatives did not know about the death of a person for several years? Specific circumstances must be taken into account. In some cases, the heir can independently submit an application upon reaching the required age.

Children aged 14 to 18 years

Starting from the age of 14, children can independently participate in transactions with the consent of their legal representatives (Article 26 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). That is, the heir can independently visit the notary and submit an application for registration of the inheritance.

Parents can provide written consent simultaneously with the child’s application or within a 6-month period .

If a 16-year-old teenager has undergone the emancipation procedure, then after receiving full legal capacity he can perform legally significant actions independently. The rule applies to the acceptance of an inheritance and the sale of inherited property.

Is a power of attorney needed on behalf of a child?

Representatives of the child can be not only parents/guardians, but also outsiders, including lawyers in accordance with Article 1, Article 1153 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The power of attorney must indicate the powers of the representative, which include:

• right to submit documents;
• the right to draw up an application;
• government payment duties;
• right to sign;
• obtaining a certificate.

In this case, the power of attorney must be drawn up in writing and notarized. The document itself is drawn up by parents or a teenager (from 14 to 18 years old), but only within the limits of their rights.

A minor must be present when submitting documents to a notary, but if this is not possible, then his signature on the power of attorney must be notarized.

Refusal to accept inheritance for minors

Each potential heir can refuse the property assigned to him. Most often, relatives do not inherit due to debt or the low value of their share of the property.

If we talk about refusal of inheritance by minors, then there are certain nuances. Legal representatives cannot make such decisions alone. The direct participation of guardianship authorities is required.

Parents or guardians need to submit an appropriate application to the guardianship authority and provide evidence that accepting the property is inappropriate or will provoke additional expenses that the inheritance will not cover. Documents confirming the facts stated in it are attached to the application.

The evidence may be a loan agreement that the testator entered into during his lifetime and a certificate of the status of the debt on the loan.

If the guardianship authority does not give consent, then the representatives of the minor child will have to enter into rights on behalf of the heir.

Inheritance by children by law

In accordance with the law, in the absence of a will, the inheritance mass is divided among the heirs of the first priority in equal shares, which include, among other things, the minor sons and daughters of the deceased.
Their priority to accept the property of the deceased is protected by law. If, for example, the testator has drawn up a will and it does not take into account minor heirs, then it can be challenged in court and the inheritance will be divided based on a court decision.

If there are no persons classified as heirs of the first stage or they did not accept the property (they refused, ignored the deadlines), then the next stage of successors (minor brothers, sisters) takes over.

Minor grandchildren and nephews of the deceased can claim their rights in the event that their parents die before the testator (by right of representation) or if they die before accepting the property (by way of transmission).

How to register an inheritance for a minor child

After receiving the certificate, ownership should be registered. Legal representatives must contact the appropriate institution - the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate, Rosreestr or the Federal Tax Service. The choice of institution depends on the type of inherited property.

Order and procedure

To register ownership of an apartment you must:

1. Prepare a package of documents.
2. Submit an application to the authorized body.
3. Receive registration documents.

Papers can be submitted in person, through a representative, or electronically.

Statement

Registration of ownership occurs upon the application of the legal representative of the owner:

1. When contacting Rosreestr through the MFC, the operator will independently print out the application. The applicant only needs to sign.
2. When registering a car, documents are submitted to the traffic police. To complete the procedure, the presence of a minor owner is not required. However, a vehicle is required.
3. When registering shares or other registered securities, an application is submitted to the registry holder.

Required documents

List of papers for registering property rights:

• statement of the legal representative;
• parent/guardian ID;
• certificate of inheritance;
• birth certificate or passport of the child;
• title and technical papers for housing;
• PTS for a car;
• extract from the register of shareholders;
• extract from the house register;
• proof of payment of state duty.

Expenses

To register property rights, you need to pay a state fee. When registering an apartment, 2,000 rubles . However, for registering part of an apartment in an apartment building you need to pay only 200 rubles.

The cost of registering a car in 2020 is 850 rubles. When changing numbers you need to pay an additional 2,000 rubles.