General and special terms for accepting an inheritance
According to the current rule, you can enter into an inheritance within 6 months after its opening.
We talked about how an inheritance is opened in this article.
Total term
The general six-month inheritance period applies to persons who:
- indicated in wills or appointed as heirs (in the latter case, if the main legal successor determined by the testator died);
- recognized as heirs in order of priority;
- are called upon to inherit if the will is declared invalid by the court or the heirs indicated in the document have died.
Special deadline
In Art. 1154 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes a special period for accepting an inheritance. It is also 6 months, but the countdown begins not from the day of the person’s death, but from the day the powers arise. The special period applies if:
- the testator is declared missing;
- there is no information about the death of the person, but there is evidence that there were conditions dangerous to the life of the testator;
- the successor refuses to enter into inheritance;
- the legal successor is declared unworthy by the court.
In the last two cases, the heirs will be the legal successors in the next line of succession.
Also, a special rule of inheritance is provided for persons who:
- agree to accept the property after the heir who renounces the inheritance;
- accept property if the primary legal successors have not claimed rights to it.
The period for accepting the inheritance in such cases is calculated at 3 months.
Actual acceptance of inheritance from a notary
The procedure for acquiring inheritance rights to property involves the following steps:
- the emergence of grounds for inheritance;
- within the established time frame, the implementation of one of the actions indicating the desire to own and use inherited benefits;
- obtaining a notarial certificate that makes it possible to re-register property rights to the object;
- re-registration of property benefits;
- actual disposal of property.
Contacting a notary is not necessary until a person wants to re-register property rights, since without a notarial certificate this will not be possible. It is extremely important to submit an application to a notary before the expiration of the six-month period if none of the heirs has expressed a desire to receive the property.
In the absence of a will, the notary prepares documents transferring property in favor of the state. This is escheatable property that the state can sell for its intended purpose. Therefore, in practice, there may be cases when, after some time, the actual heir begins to receive legal and justified demands to release the property or return it to the state.
Such situations are fraught with lengthy legal proceedings. Ultimately, the property is returned to the heir, but the person has additional financial expenses for legal costs and for collecting evidence. Therefore, it is much better to visit a notary within 6 months from the date of death of the testator, who will help to timely draw up documents confirming property rights.
Which notary office should I contact?
The Civil Code stipulates that it is necessary to contact the notary office located at the address of the last residence of the deceased testator. Lawyers accept an application from the heir, open inheritance proceedings, on the basis of which documents and a notarial certificate are prepared to obtain property rights to the object.
The notary, upon signature, acquaints the heir with his rights, obligations and legal consequences of accepting the property.
The approximate cost of making copies, opening an inheritance, registering an application, and preparing a notarial certificate will range from 1 thousand to 3 thousand rubles.
Contents of the statement
The application is written in free form by hand. As a rule, each notary already has his own form of address.
The application contains the following information:
- Full name of the testator;
- address of the deceased's last residence;
- Full name of the actual heir;
- relationship between the testator and the heir;
- name of the object, detailed technical characteristics in respect of which the person wants to enter into property rights;
- indication of the desire to accept the inheritance on the basis of actual ownership;
- clarification of actions indicating the actual acceptance of property;
- date and signature of the application.
State duty amount
The inheritance is not subject to tax, but the actual heir must pay a state fee. For close relatives, the amount will be 0.3% of the total price of the property.
For relatives of the second degree and beyond, for persons who were dependent on the deceased testator, the amount will be 0.6% of the value of the property. The price is confirmed by an assessment or cadastral documents.
Counting down the deadline for accepting an inheritance
The deadlines for registering the estate begin to count:
- the day after the opening of the inheritance;
- on the next day after the day the right to inheritance arises.
If a person is declared dead in court and the day of death is determined in the decision, the countdown of the deadlines begins from the date specified by the court.
If the court has not determined the date of death - the next day after the announcement of the court decision.
A similar rule applies in the presence of a will: the terms are calculated from the day following the day the document was announced.
If an heir under a will or a first-priority heir is recognized as unworthy, a relative of the subsequent line has the right to begin processing documents from the day he receives authority.
In all of the above cases, the period for accepting the inheritance is 6 months.
If a person has the right to inheritance as a result of non-acceptance of property by another legal successor (inaction or refusal of inheritance), the terms are calculated from the day following the end of the total period.
The period for registration of inheritance in this case is 3 months.
Time limit for entering into inheritance
The last day of accepting an inheritance, according to the law, is determined by the date from which the countdown of the six-month or three-month period begins. In this case, the circumstances of receiving the inheritance do not play a role.
- Example No. 1. There is a first-degree heir. The inheritance was opened on 01/30/2017 and must be accepted by him during the period from 01/31/2017 to 07/30/2017 inclusive.
- Example No. 2. If the primary heirs refused to enter into the inheritance and formalized the refusal properly, that is, they submitted an application dated 02/15/2017, the second-priority heirs accept the inheritance from 02/16/2017 to 08/15/2017 inclusive.
- Example No. 3. The heir under the will was declared unworthy or excluded from inheritance by a court decision that entered into legal force on January 24, 2017. Successors of the first stage enter into inheritance from 01/25/2017 to 07/24/2017.
- Example No. 4. The successor under the will refused to accept the property, and the deadline for registering the inheritance expired on January 10, 2017. Relatives of the deceased have the right to accept inherited property in the period from 01/11/2017 to 04/10/2017.
There are situations when a child, who is the primary heir, was born after the death of the testator. The six-month period in this case is calculated from the date of his birth. The legal representative will handle the inheritance on behalf of the child.
Commentary to Art. 1154 Civil Code of the Russian Federation
1. The right to accept an inheritance must be exercised by the heir within a certain period. This period is called the period for accepting the inheritance. By its legal nature, this is the period of existence of the right. Moreover, since the expiration of the period entails the termination of the right, it could be qualified as a pretrial period, if not for the possibility of its restoration, provided for in Art. 1155 Civil Code.
Upon expiration of the period for accepting the inheritance, the right of the authorized person (heir) terminates. The law does not provide for the possibility of extending the period for accepting an inheritance. The exception is Art. 1156 of the Civil Code, which provides for an extension of the period of inheritance to three months when inheriting by way of hereditary transmission, if the remaining part of the period established for accepting the inheritance after the death of the main heir is less than three months. In addition, the law provides for the possibility of restoring the missed deadline for accepting an inheritance (Article 1156 of the Civil Code).
The period for accepting an inheritance limits the freedom of the heirs in terms of the time when they can express their will to become the right holder of the testator and lay claim to the inherited property. Such a limitation is necessary to reduce the period of uncertainty in establishing the subject composition of the heirs. Indeed, during the period from the day the inheritance is opened until the day the inheritance is accepted by specific heirs, the inherited property does not belong to anyone and is subjectless. In addition, it is used to establish the composition, value and location of inherited property, search and appearance of heirs for their decision to accept or reject the inheritance. In the interests of the successors of the testator, as well as to strengthen the stability of civil transactions, it is customary to set the period for accepting an inheritance quite short.
The law provides for general and special deadlines for accepting an inheritance. Special deadlines are provided for accepting inheritance in special cases. In addition, special rules have been established regarding the beginning of the calculation of the period.
2. As a general rule, the general period for accepting an inheritance applies. It is provided for the heirs designated in the will and for the heirs by law who are next in line. The general period for accepting an inheritance is six months.
This period is counted from the date of opening of the inheritance. The day of opening of the inheritance is the day of the citizen’s death. When a citizen is declared dead, the day of opening of the inheritance is the day the court decision to declare the citizen dead comes into force. A special period for accepting an inheritance is provided for cases when a citizen who has gone missing under circumstances that threatened death or gives reason to assume his death from a certain accident is declared dead (clause 3 of Article 45 of the Civil Code).
When calculating the period for accepting an inheritance, the general rules for calculating terms are applied (Articles 190 - 194 of the Civil Code). The six-month period begins to run the day after the opening of the inheritance (or after the court decision comes into force). This period expires on the corresponding date of the sixth month. For example, the testator died on October 1, 2010, the period for accepting the inheritance begins on October 2, 2010, and the six-month period ends on April 2, 2011. If the end of the period for accepting the inheritance falls on a month in which there is no corresponding date, then the period expires on the last day of this month (paragraph 3, paragraph 3, article 192 of the Civil Code). If the last day of the period falls on a non-working day, the end of the period is considered to be the next working day following it (Article 193 of the Civil Code). Non-working days are considered to be weekends and non-working holidays (Articles 111, 112 of the Labor Code).
When accepting an inheritance on the last day of the term, the inheritance is recognized as accepted on time:
- if the application for acceptance of the inheritance is submitted personally to the notary before the end of his working day on the last day of the term;
- if the postal item with the heir’s application for acceptance of the inheritance is handed over to the communications organization before 24 hours of the last day of the deadline, even if it was received by a notary after the expiration of the period established for acceptance of the inheritance (Article 194 of the Civil Code).
3. The law provides for exceptions to the general rule of a six-month period from the date of opening of the inheritance. Such exceptions can be conditionally divided into two groups: those providing for the emergence of the right to accept an inheritance not from the moment the inheritance is opened, but from a different moment; providing for a different length of time for accepting an inheritance.
The first group includes special periods of six months, which are counted:
- from the date of the emergence of the right of inheritance in cases of refusal of inheritance (for example, in the case of inheritance by law when the heirs of the previous order refuse, in the case of inheritance by legal heirs when the heirs refuse the will, or in the case of inheritance by a sub-designated heir when the heir refuses the will). The right of inheritance arises from the date of certification by a notary of the renunciation of the inheritance, which is considered the day the notary at the place of opening of the inheritance receives the heir’s application for renunciation of the inheritance. It should be taken into account that the heir’s application to renounce the inheritance can be submitted to a notary or submitted to the postal operator for mailing before the expiration of the six-month period. In addition, the right of inheritance may arise from an earlier day, when the refusal of inheritance became known to other heirs;
- from the day the right of inheritance arises in the event of exclusion from inheritance. The right of inheritance in this case arises from the date of entry into force of the corresponding judicial act on the exclusion of heirs from inheritance (clause 2 of Article 1117 of the Civil Code);
- from the day the court made a decision to declare the citizen dead, if the opening of the inheritance occurred on the day of the presumed death of the testator. Despite the fact that on the day of opening of the inheritance after the death of such a citizen in accordance with Art. 1114 of the Civil Code is considered the day specified in the court decision; the period for accepting the inheritance in this case is counted from the day the court decision to declare him dead comes into force. This deviation from the general rule is due to the fact that the ability of the heirs to exercise the right to accept the inheritance would be significantly reduced due to the fact that from the moment of time, which is considered the day of death of the testator, until the moment when the heirs received the right to inheritance (the day of entry into force of a court decision), most of the six-month period would have already expired.
In addition to the above-mentioned special deadlines for accepting an inheritance by notaries, a special deadline is also applied in the event that the heir was conceived during the life of the testator and was born alive after his death. The period for accepting an inheritance in this case is counted from the date of birth of such an heir.
The second group of special periods includes a period of three months. It is provided for heirs whose right of inheritance arises only as a result of non-acceptance of the inheritance by other heirs: if one heir did not accept the inheritance within six months from the date of opening of the inheritance, in connection with which the right of inheritance arose in another person. The three-month period is counted from the date of expiration of the total period for accepting the inheritance of six months.
Non-acceptance of an inheritance is considered to be the inaction of an heir who has not taken any action either to accept the inheritance or to refuse the inheritance. If within six months the will of the heir is not determined, the right to inheritance arises for other heirs (for example, heirs of the next turn) due to his non-acceptance of the inheritance. Other heirs may exercise their right to accept the inheritance within three months after the expiration of the six-month period. An heir who submits an application to the notary for acceptance of the inheritance within the prescribed period is considered to have accepted the inheritance. The rights of inheritance of other persons arising as a result of non-acceptance of the inheritance by the main heir do not arise if they do not submit an application to the notary.
A three-month period also applies when the right of inheritance arises for sub-designated heirs (Article 1121 of the Civil Code) in the event of failure to accept the inheritance by the main heir or in the event of the death of the main heir after the opening of the inheritance, who did not have time to accept the inheritance.
Finally, the three-month period applies if not only the main heirs, but also subsequent newly recognized heirs have fallen away.
Restoring missed deadlines
Sometimes heirs do not have time to submit an application for a certificate within the allotted time. In these cases, the law allows the registration of the right to inheritance in the following way:
- enter into inheritance in a pre-trial manner;
- preliminary restoration of the period for entering into inheritance through the court.
In the first case, the concept of “conciliation period” is used. In other words, the heirs who previously accepted the inherited property agree to voluntarily include a relative who missed the deadline among the legal successors.
The conciliation period does not apply if the heir who missed it is the only one. In this case, it will be necessary to restore the deadline for accepting the inheritance in court. And only on the condition that the remaining existing legal successors have not exercised the right of inheritance.
The heirs who have received the certificate formalize their consent to accept a new heir among them in a single document or in separate ones. Their signatures must be notarized. If the heir wishes to send written consent by mail, his signature is also subject to notarization.
Subsequently, after the consent is formalized, the shares in the inheritance mass are redistributed and a new share is allocated to the legal successor who missed the legal deadline.
The notary issues a certificate of inheritance, including all legal successors. If the certificate has already been issued, it is subject to cancellation.
What if the heirs executed documents on the ownership of the property before a new successor appeared? In this case, on the basis of the new certificate, changes are made to the state register.
In all other cases, the legal successor who missed the deadlines should restore them in court.
We talked about the procedure for registering an inheritance through the court in this article.
Sample application for restoration of the deadline for accepting an inheritance
The reasons for violating the deadline must be compelling and documented, otherwise the judge will refuse the application.
Actual acceptance of inheritance in court
Disputes may arise with third parties claiming ownership, with a notary who refuses to issue a notarial certificate of receipt of property rights.
The basis for preparing a claim in court may be the missed deadline for re-registration of documents, in which the property is recognized as escheat and transferred to the benefit of the state. That is, a conflict arises between the actual heir and a state organization that wants to begin selling property benefits.
Jurisdiction
The claim may be heard by a magistrates' court or a federal court of general jurisdiction. The magistrate considers the claim if there is no other defendant party.
In this case, the magistrate prepares a court order, on the basis of which the notary will prepare a notarial certificate of transfer of property rights to the heir.
If a conflict has arisen between two parties (for example, different claimants to property), then the petition is sent to a federal court of general jurisdiction located at the location of the inheritance or at the location of the notary office that opened the inheritance proceedings.
Statement of claim for recognition of ownership rights
The statement of claim consists of the following parts:
- The header of the application, which contains the name of the court, the personal data of the applicant, and the personal data of the defendant, if this is an individual. The name of the document (statement of claim for the actual acceptance of the inheritance), date and place of its preparation.
- The introductory part, which indicates the grounds and causes of the conflict.
- A descriptive part containing a detailed description of the actions indicating the actual acceptance of property benefits, indicating a list of evidence that confirms the implementation of these measures.
- The section with legal requirements contains the person’s desire to recognize the inheritance as actually accepted and a request to allow it to be re-registered.
- The list of documents is a mandatory part of the statement of claim. In the absence of an inventory of the attached evidence, the court has the right to refuse to accept the claim for consideration.
It is extremely important to include the following information in the content of the statement of claim:
- list of actually accepted property;
- a list of actions aimed at safety (described in detail);
- an indication of the purpose of filing a statement of claim;
- indication of the date and signature of the citizen who is filing the appeal to the court.
Required documents
The application is supported by mandatory documents, including:
- plaintiff's passport;
- passport of the deceased testator;
- death certificate or court decision declaring deceased;
- receipt of payment of the state fee for filing a statement of claim in court;
- all documents confirming the actual acceptance of the inherited property;
- a written application to a notary to obtain a notarial certificate;
- official notarial refusal to issue a notarial certificate.
Arbitrage practice
The Civil Code states that the only basis for the actual acceptance of an inheritance is the absence of other claimants to the property, that is, complete confidence that no one will make claims to the benefits, that no one’s rights are limited or violated.
If the plaintiff was able to fully confirm the absence of claims from other persons and prove a list of actions aimed at the actual possession of the property and its safety, then the claims are satisfied, and the person takes possession of the property.
Lawyer's answers to questions about actual acceptance of inheritance
We have one registration with the deceased. We have lived in the same apartment for the last 5 years. What do I need to do to inherit an apartment?
If there are no others willing to receive the property, it is necessary to collect the required documents confirming joint residence. These could be receipts in your name for payment of utilities, a certificate from the municipality about cohabitation, explanations of witnesses confirming cohabitation, copies of contracts with the company managing the house. Every document in your name that confirms your residence in the apartment can serve as evidence. With these documents and a personal passport, the passport of the deceased testator, you will have to contact the territorial notary office, where the application for receiving the inheritance is sent.
I do not have documents to confirm the actions necessary to actually accept the inheritance. But there are witnesses who can confirm these actions. Is it possible to claim an inheritance in this case?
In the absence of a conflict situation and claims to property from third parties, one can hope to receive the property, but there must be at least 2 disinterested witnesses. If it is possible to obtain supporting documents in your situation, the notary will require them. For example, if there is a loan that you have not repaid, then the possibility of receiving an inheritance is very doubtful.
The deceased and I have different registered addresses, but after his death I maintained his property by living in it. Can I claim an inheritance?
Yes, but after collecting supporting documents.
How long does it take to receive an inheritance?
You should not think that immediately after the trial you can go to the notary and receive the long-awaited certificate. The law allows 30 days for a court decision to enter into legal force. For example, if someone does not agree with a court verdict, they can appeal the decision within this period.
Igor K. was able to restore the deadline for accepting the inheritance. However, his brother, Peter K., did not agree with Igor’s arguments and decided to challenge the court’s decision, so he turned to a lawyer for help. The lawyer filed a complaint against the court's decision, pointing out that Igor actually knew about the death of the testator, but did not want to accept the inheritance, considering it illiquid. Having learned that the apartment of his deceased father, which Peter inherited in a timely manner, was at stake, Igor decided to seize part of the inheritance. But the court, when making its decision, did not pay attention to the previously presented testimony of witnesses, in which Peter called Igor to report his death. As a result, Igor was denied reinstatement of his sentence.
The heir needs to understand that there is no specific “limitation period” for court decisions. But since we are talking specifically about restoring the period for accepting the inheritance, it will be valid for only 0.5 years, during which the heir must appear before the notary to formalize the inheritance. If this deadline is missed, then, theoretically, it can be restored again. But it is unlikely that the court will agree to reinstatement.
When contacting a notary, no specific confirmation of the heir’s rights is required. Exactly the same documents that were presented to the court are used.
Due to frequent updates to legislation and the legal uniqueness of each situation, we recommend obtaining a free telephone consultation with a lawyer. You can ask your question by calling the hotline number 8 (800) 555-40-36 or write it in the form below.
What is the statute of limitations for inheritance?
When there are no other claimants to the property, and also, if they exist, but do not make a claim against the actual heir regarding the ownership of the relevant property, the case is resolved through special proceedings. In this order, there are no defendants, but only evidence is studied on the basis of which the court recognizes the right of the actual heir.
When there are claims and disputes from third parties, the case is considered in the manner of claim proceedings. In this case, it is not an application, but a lawsuit that is filed in court. In this case, in addition to the evidence provided to the court by the actual heir, the testimony and evidence of persons who have claims against him are studied.
But in both cases, the rule applies according to which the application or claim must be filed within a certain period, after which the actual heir loses the right to go to court on this issue. Of course, it can be restored, but also at the discretion of the court.
The total period for carrying out this action is three years. However, in exceptional cases, the heir may go to court within a longer period. Previously, this period was not limited by law. However, the maximum period is now 10 years.
What is the statute of limitations for inheritance?
According to the general rule established for accepting an inheritance in a general manner, the period during which successors must contact a notary is six months from the moment the death of the testator was declared. The successor can submit an application in any way convenient for him.
If the successor cannot apply to a notary himself, he can authorize his representative to do so. He also has the opportunity to submit an appeal via mail.
When such an appeal is submitted via mail, the date of the appeal is considered to be the date of sending the letter, and not its acceptance by the notary. This rule is of particular importance when there are only a few days left until the end of the established period.
After completing all the inheritance procedures, the successor, who contacted the notary within the specified time frame, receives a certificate on the basis of which he will further defend his powers.
But if there are other interested parties who may consider themselves legal successors, then they can challenge this right of the official successor through the court.
In such cases, the law defines a period during which other applicants for the inheritance, who did not manage to contact a notary on time, can go to court. It is equal to three years.
But the reason may be not only the fact that other successors were late, but also the illegal actions of the notary. So judicial protection of the rights of heirs is the only legal mechanism of legal succession.
If a certificate of inheritance was issued to a particular successor for illegal reasons, then the court may recognize the corresponding certificate as illegal.
In addition, the courts may establish a fact that will mean that the reasons for missing the deadline for official registration of succession are valid, as well as the possibility of late heirs to demand an equal redistribution of the inherited property.
This possibility, enshrined in legislation, leads to the fact that many relatives of a deceased person try to get his property even many years after his death.
It often happens that sold property, which at one time was received by inheritance, is recognized as illegal possession, and the buyers of such property are left without money and without the corresponding property.
As the legal practice of those years showed, such cases were quite common in the judicial system, so the government decided to make concessions to the general requirements of the law and set a period of 10 years so that interested and eligible persons could appeal issues of inheritance in court.
But heirs should keep in mind that they not only receive property, but also the obligations of the deceased person to third parties. In most cases, such persons immediately make demands for repayment of the debt of the deceased person from his property.
However, in practice there have also been cases when they presented their demands many years after the heirs registered the property of the deceased person. This obligation of heirs is established by Article 1175 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
That is, succession is carried out not only in relation to the powers of the deceased person, but also in relation to his obligations to third parties, including to the state.
Article 1157. Right to refuse inheritance
This article determines how the debts of the deceased are paid.
Thus, according to this article, the creditors of a deceased person have the right to demand from his heirs the payment of his debts only within the limits of the value of the property that they received as an inheritance. Demanding more than these amounts is illegal.
If there are several claimants, then the debts of the deceased person are distributed among them according to their shares received in the property of the deceased person.
But the rule for creditors of a deceased person is that they can file claims or go to court against the heirs only within the time limits determined by law. These periods expire after 10 years from the date of death of the testator.
Statute of limitations for establishing the fact of acceptance of inheritance
The fact of acceptance of an inheritance is determined by circumstances that confirm that one or another successor actually owns the property and incurs expenses for its maintenance. In addition, if the successor did not know about the death of a person or could not know about it, then he can sue to accept the inheritance according to his share.
Where is inheritance registered after death?
What does actual acceptance of an inheritance mean? Read here.
Is it possible to recognize a deceased person as an unworthy heir? Read the link:
The law defines a general time limit for litigation on these issues. It is equal to three years.
However, this period is calculated not from the moment when the person died, but from the moment when the successor became aware of the fact of the death of such a person.
That is, the person’s attitude to ongoing legal phenomena is also taken into account, as well as his reasons for not being able to realize his rights.
Deadlines for re-registration of rights
If a citizen manages to submit the necessary documents to the notary and pay the state fee within six months, he is assigned a date and time when he must come to receive a certificate of the right to inherit the property of the deceased. Typically the day following the end of the six-month period is selected.
The timing of registration of inheritance depends on the type of inherited property. When real estate is inherited, its new owner applies to the Rosreestr authorities to re-register the property in his own name. This must be done within 10 days after the certificate is issued. Officials will charge a state fee for performing this service. If the residential premises are re-registered, it will be 2000 rubles. The period for re-registration of rights in Rosreestr is 7-9 working days.
If a car becomes the property of an heir, it should be registered to the new owner. For this purpose, you must come to the traffic police within 10 days. The procedure takes 1 day.
In one visit to the bank, you can re-register the testator’s deposit. The citizen must present to the operator his passport, the death certificate of the former investor and a notarized document on the right to inheritance. He can either withdraw all the money and close the account, or register it in his own name.
The deadlines established for the inheritance of property help to identify the circle of applicants and register it in the name of another owner as soon as possible. It is beneficial for the state to do this quickly, so that there is someone to bear the costs of its maintenance and pay the necessary taxes to the treasury.
