Sample statement of claim to establish the fact of kinship, restore the term for accepting an inheritance, recognize property rights by inheritance - Lawyer in Samara and Moscow

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The standard inheritance procedure does not provide for going to court. To accept the property of the deceased, the successor only needs to visit a notary or take possession of the inherited property in fact. But in some cases it may have problems. And, if it is not possible to cope with them on their own, the heir has only one choice - to go to court to resolve the controversial situation.

For a successful outcome of a lawsuit, it is important to meet several conditions, and one of the most basic is to correctly write and execute the statement of claim.

How is inheritance accepted?

The rules of succession establish the need for the heir to carry out actions that unconditionally indicate his interest in the property of the testator.

The potential owner has the right to complete them in two ways: through a notary or bypassing official authorities (in fact).

Notarization is carried out as follows:

The priority successor applies to the notary office at the place where the testator primarily resided before his death. If he lived abroad, entry into inheritance occurs at the location of the most expensive part of the deceased’s property.
At the notary, the heir writes a statement in which he lists the key data on the inheritance case - information about the deceased, his property, the grounds for accepting the inheritance and other applicants for receiving it. The application may include a request to obtain a certificate of title.
In the notary's office, paperwork is started, and the applicant is given a list of documents that he will need to convey.
After the necessary papers* are collected, verified and attached to the inheritance file, the successor pays the state fee and notary services, as evidenced by receipts or other similar documents.
On the appointed day, six months after the death of the testator, the heir receives a notarized certificate of the right to inheritance.

* - when registering an inheritance, the following must be presented:

death certificate of the testator;
a certificate confirming the last place of residence of the deceased;
a document establishing the right of inheritance by law, or a will;
contract of purchase and sale or gift of inherited property, extract from the state register of property rights;
power of attorney in the name of the applicant (if he acts on behalf of the heir).

You can actually express your desire to enter into inheritance. To do this, you need to perform actions that would clearly indicate:

Ownership or control of the property of a deceased person.
Taking measures to preserve the inheritance from illegal attacks by third parties.
Incurring expenses for the maintenance of inherited property.
Payment of debts of the deceased.
Receipt from third parties of amounts due to the testator.

Both methods are recognized by law as equal, but lead to different results. In the first case, the notary performs all the necessary actions to prepare and issue title documentation for the inheritance. Then the successor can only register or take ownership of the property.

The actual inheritance is an unconfirmed circumstance, since it is carried out without the participation of a notary or authorized government officials. And from a legal position, only documented actions have sufficient significance.

Therefore, if the heir plans to transfer the property to himself, sell or donate it, he will need official confirmation of the fact of acceptance of the inheritance, obtained from a notary or in court.

Procedure for renouncing inheritance: detailed description

An inheritance is not always a welcome gift, so sometimes you have to think about how to write a statement of refusal of inheritance and how to carry out this procedure without violating the law.

Refusal of inheritance is part of inheritance law. If the heir does not want to accept the property bequeathed to him, he has the right to refuse the inheritance.

The refusal will serve as the basis for the redistribution of his part of the property to other heirs who are next in line.

How to file a claim for abandonment of inherited property and what consequences this procedure may lead to will be described below.

Refusal of inherited property: Features of the procedure

It would seem that receiving property bequeathed by a relative should please the heir, but there are situations when this prospect does not suit him at all. There can be many reasons for this.

For example, the bequeathed property is of no interest to the heir; its value can only cover the debts left by the testator, or the citizen wants the bequeathed apartment, car or other property to be given in favor of another heir.

Based on the above, it should be noted that the abandonment of inherited property can be executed in favor of another person or can be executed without a clear indication of the heir. The difference between these two options is who will receive the right to the inheritance left by the testator after his death.

If the heirs, by mutual consent, agree to transfer the inherited part of the property to one of them, then the heir who wishes to renounce the inheritance must contact a notary, writing a statement renouncing the property he received in favor of another person.

In the application for renunciation of the testator's property, it is not necessary to indicate a specific person to whom the inheritance will pass.

In such a situation, the property or its share, which one of the heirs did not want to accept, will be divided into equal parts and given to the remaining heirs of the next line, and if there are none, then to those who will follow them in line. The distribution of the right to inheritance is carried out by an employee of the notary office.

It is also worth considering that when transferring the property of a deceased testator to a spouse, children or parents, for example, when the inheritance is distributed among three heirs, each of them can only claim 1/3 of the property, but no more.

If any of them refuses such a gift and does not indicate to whom he wants to transfer his part, then it will be distributed in equal shares between the two heirs who remain.

Sometimes it happens when there is only one heir of the first priority. This can happen when there were no children in the family, the parents died long ago, and one spouse outlived the other. In this case, if the heir refuses the property provided to him, his rights will be received by the heirs of the second priority.

According to the legislative framework, these include grandparents and brothers/sisters of the deceased testator.

Therefore, if, when refusing an inheritance, the heir was not specified, then according to the law, all those relatives who belong to the second priority will divide among themselves the property of the deceased testator in equal parts.

When inheriting by will, the situation will develop in a slightly different direction. If the heir to whom the testator transferred the property under the will refuses it, then the so-called “spare” heir acquires the right to receive it.

According to legislative norms, in this situation there is a procedure for sub-appointing one or several heirs at once. This is necessary when the main heir, whom the testator indicated in the will, did not accept the inheritance; in this case, the “reserve” heir will receive it.

The number of sub-designated heirs is not limited by law, so the testator can insure himself as much as he deems appropriate.

It follows that the heir can enter into inheritance rights only when actual obligations arise that exclude the right of the main heir to receive the property.

As mentioned above, the refusal of property transferred by the testator involves two options, represented by an unconditional refusal without specifying a specific heir and a refusal in which the heir is indicated.

To renounce property in both cases, you must write a statement that will differ in some details.

Below is a sample application for refusal of inheritance for the two situations described above.

An application suggesting an unconditional renunciation of inherited property is drawn up according to the following principle:

In the upper right corner you should indicate the name of the office providing notary services to which the application will be sent. You must also enter your full name there. and the applicant's residential address;
Next, its main text is written;
The writing of the document should be completed by entering the date of preparation and the signature of the applicant.

A statement suggesting the renunciation of inherited property in favor of another heir has the following writing principle:

in the upper right corner, the name and address of the office providing notary services that deals with inheritance matters is indicated;
All information about the applicant is entered below, or more precisely, his address and full name;
next comes the main text;
The writing of the document is completed with the signature of the applicant and the date of writing the application.

It should be noted that this document must be drawn up by a notary. If the applicant is unable to appear at the notary’s office, a proxy may come instead, who must have a power of attorney to draw up the document. You can also deliver your completed application by courier.

A few important nuances

Before abandoning the property left as a gift by the testator, the heir must understand what consequences await him, as well as what nuances this procedure has.

The procedure for voluntary renunciation of inherited property cannot be cancelled.
When refusing the inheritance of an incapacitated or minor person, permission must be obtained from the guardian or parents.
Give up a share of inherited property. For example, the heir will not be able to take possession of the inheritance if he refuses to pay the debts that are attached to him as an encumbrance.
The law does not impose any restrictions on the refusal of property received on various grounds.
The inherited property that the heir received according to the will can only be abandoned in favor of a “spare” person whom the testator has allocated. It is not possible to refuse in favor of other persons.
A person who has received a share of property that was abandoned by another heir also has the right to refuse this part of the inheritance.

The procedure for renouncing inherited property should be carried out within six months from the date of opening the inheritance case. Knowing all the nuances of this procedure, the heir will be able to refuse the bequeathed property without breaking the law or making mistakes that could lead to unforeseen consequences.

When inheritance is entered into through court

The need to draw up a statement of claim for inheritance from a successor may arise if there is an irreconcilable dispute regarding inheritance rights.

The dispute must exist between applicants for inheritance and/or their legal representatives, that is, persons with sufficient authority to bring claims to the court. Examples of conflict situations that can be resolved in court include:

Restoring the deadline for accepting an inheritance.
Contesting a will.
Division of the hereditary mass.
Recognition of the heir as unworthy.
Upholding the rights of the testator to unregistered property.

The need to go to court during inheritance may arise not only because of a dispute. In some cases, the successor requires an official establishment of facts of legal significance, which are a prerequisite for entering into inheritance rights.

In such situations, the heir does not file a claim, but an application to consider the issue in a special proceeding. The trial will differ significantly from the proceedings in lawsuits. The subject of such appeals may be:

Establishing the fact of acceptance of inheritance.
Confirmation of the applicant's dependency.
Restoring the validity of an insignificant will.
Declaration of the testator as deceased.

In most cases, a court decision in a case considered does not eliminate the need to register an inheritance in the prescribed manner (the received document becomes a kind of admission to the standard inheritance procedure).

Reasons for going to court

The heir may accept the property in accordance with the will or by law. There is an algorithm of actions for registering inheritance rights, by violating which you can lose the property values, rights and obligations due.

First you need to write an application for acceptance of the inheritance and provide it to a notary. To correctly fill out the form, you can use the help of a lawyer. A package of documents is submitted along with the application, and after six months the notary issues a certificate of inheritance. Despite the apparent simplicity of the procedure, it can be complicated by non-compliance with the rules of inheritance and disputes between relatives. Then it becomes necessary to go to court by writing a statement of claim for recognition of rights to inheritance.

Important! The claim is filed in the area where the deceased previously lived or at the location of the main part of the property to be inherited. The case is heard by a city or district court.

The main reasons for going to court are:

Actual entry into inheritance. This is a situation when a person begins to use the property of the deceased within 6 months after the opening of the inheritance, taking upon himself the costs of its maintenance, improvement, and protection. Moreover, the heir must inform the notary about the actual acceptance of the property and provide written evidence within the prescribed period. Otherwise, rights are established in court.
Recognition of the heir as unworthy.
Inability to enter into legal rights due to errors made by the notary when preparing documents.
Violation of the deadline for entering into inheritance. The application and package of documents are submitted to the notary within 6 months. Otherwise, the relative may lose the inheritance if he does not prove that there were good reasons that led to the violation.
The desire to recognize the entire will or part of it as invalid.
Resolution of other disputes between relatives who do not agree with the division of property according to the law.

The legal process begins with filing a claim in court. Its content may differ depending on the motives for the appeal, but the structure remains unchanged.

Features of filing a claim

The applicant in claims proceedings is called the plaintiff. This may be the heir or his official representative - by power of attorney or legally (as a parent, trustee, guardian).

The dispute requires the presence of a second party, in the language of legal proceedings - the defendant. This is a distinctive feature of claims cases. Defendants and plaintiffs have equal procedural rights. During the proceedings, they submit objections to the judge, prove their position and also expect a decision to be made in their favor.

Where to contact

The statement of claim is filed with the district court at the defendant’s place of residence. If there are several opposing parties, the plaintiff chooses the jurisdiction of the case - he has the right to appeal to the judicial authority at the place of registered residence of any of the defendants.

In cases where the place of residence of the defendants is unknown or is not on the territory of the Russian Federation, the case is opened in court at the official location of their property.

Deadlines

The period for filing a claim is regulated by the civil legislation of the Russian Federation. In Art. 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation defines it as “limitation period”. Its validity period is 3 years from the moment when the plaintiff learned or should have learned about the offense.

But the total period should not exceed 10 years from the date on which the cause of the dispute actually arose. In inheritance cases, the beginning of its course most often coincides with the day of death of the testator, but it can also occur at another time, for example, when an unworthy successor entered into the inheritance, etc.

Price

Filing claims is subject to a state fee. The plaintiff must pay immediately after going to court, in order to then attach the receipt to the accompanying package of papers.

The amount of the state duty is established in accordance with Art. 333.19 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and depends on the price category of the claim:

Price category, rub.	% of the difference between the declared value and the lower price limit	Additional fixed payment, rub.
1–20 000	4 (at least 400 rub.)	—
20 001–100 000	3	800
100 001–200 000	2	3,200
200 001–1 000 000	1	5,200
1 000 000+	0.5	13,200 (not more than 60,000)

The value of the claim is the estimated value of the property that is the subject of the dispute. The plaintiff indicates the amount, but if the judge considers its value inappropriate, he has the right to indicate the price based on the principle of reasonableness.

Sample statement of claim for inheritance

The claim for inheritance is drawn up by the plaintiff in advance, taking into account the mandatory structural plan:

Introductory part (“header”) - full name, addresses of the parties to the case and their official representatives (if any), name of the authorized court.
The descriptive part is the essence of the dispute, key circumstances with facts, dates, personal data of the defendants, a statement of your position and arguments in its favor (including evidence).
The pleading part is the claim (what the plaintiff wants to achieve by going to court), articles from current legislative acts that support the legality of the plaintiff’s request.*
Attachments - a list of documents and materials confirming the information contained in the application.

* - In addition to the requirement to settle the inheritance dispute, the plaintiff has the right to ask for recognition of his rights to the property of the deceased. In this case, he will no longer need to contact a notary to formalize the inheritance and obtain a certificate of title - it will be replaced by a satisfactory court decision.

Sample statement of claim

Nuances of drafting

In order to correctly fill out the form and draw up an effective application, you should familiarize yourself with the peculiarities of legal proceedings in inheritance disputes.

Restoring the inheritance period

Submission conditions:

the mandatory inheritance period was missed for valid reasons or the successor did not know and should not have known about the opening of the inheritance;
from the moment when the obstacles to accepting the inherited property disappeared, no more than six months passed.

Who is the defendant: heirs who took possession of the property of the now deceased and disagree with the restoration of the term for the plaintiff.

Evidence: certificates from government agencies or official institutions, travel certificates, witness statements and other evidence of the nature and duration of obstacles to the timely acceptance of the inheritance.

Current legislative acts: Art. 1155 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, ch. 6 “Methodological recommendations for registration of inheritance rights” dated 02/28/2006.

Contesting a will

Submission conditions (one is enough):

actual incapacity of the testator;
failure to comply with the requirements for certification of the act;
making a will while under the influence of alcohol, drugs or under the influence of potent psychotropic drugs;
drawing up and certification of the will under the threat of deprivation of life or health of the testator and/or his relatives.

Who is the defendant: the person who inherited under an invalid will.

Evidence: results of a medical examination, conclusion of the attending physician, documents confirming violations of the rules of certification of the act, testimony of witnesses, photo and video materials.

Current legislative acts: par. Chapter 2 9, Chapter 62 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Division of inheritance

Conditions for filing: the presence of a preemptive right to the disputed object of inherited property.

Who is the defendant: other heirs, co-owners of the testator's property.

Evidence: certificates of place of residence, level of income, title documents for a share in the disputed property, checks, receipts, agreements indicating material investments in the object, testimony of witnesses, etc.

Current legislative acts: Ch. 16, art. 1164–1170 Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Recognition of the heir as unworthy

Submission conditions: heir

committed a crime against the testator or deliberately, through illegal actions, influenced his posthumous will;
was deprived of parental rights in relation to the deceased without subsequent restoration to them;
did not pay the deceased alimony ordered by the court.

Who is the defendant: an unworthy successor.

Evidence: witness statements, judicial acts, photo, video, audio materials.

Current legislative acts: Art. 1117 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Dispute over unregistered property

Submission conditions:

the testator became a bona fide purchaser of property under a contract of sale or gift, but did not manage to register ownership of it;
the procedure for privatization of the living space was not completed due to the death of the applicant (the testator, during his lifetime, did everything necessary to register the apartment - he submitted an application and all the necessary documents).

Who is the defendant: the owner of the alienated property, who refused to carry out the necessary registration of the transfer of rights in this case, or the state body responsible for the privatization of the premises.

Evidence: agreement under which the transfer of ownership of the object was made, documents indicating the conscientious fulfillment by the testator of his obligations, application for privatization, social rental agreement

Current legislative acts: Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 08/24/1993 No. 8 (as amended on 07/02/2009) “On some issues of application by courts of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the privatization of housing stock in the Russian Federation”, Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 10, Plenum of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation No. 22 of April 29, 2010 (as amended on June 23, 2015) “On some issues that arise in judicial practice when resolving disputes related to the protection of property rights and other property rights” (paragraphs 52–65).

Application for renunciation of claims to inheritance

21.04.2019

And write a corresponding statement. Such a refusal may be made in favor of any person who is also an heir or without specifying one.

This document can be provided to the notary in several ways: provided in person, through a representative, transferred through another person, or sent by mail. In the last two cases, it is necessary that the heir’s signature be properly certified

This application will be registered by the notary in the register of inheritance affairs.

If the successor has accepted the property, then he has the opportunity to refuse it (even if the deadline established for this was missed - six months, if there are good reasons), but only in court

. Refusal of part of the due inheritance is not allowed.

An exception is the situation when a person is an heir for several reasons. In this case, refusal is possible both for all reasons and only for some of them.

The amount that will need to be paid to the notary for registering the renunciation of inherited property will vary depending on the region in which the notary's office is located.

In any case, the final cost of his services is unlikely to exceed 1000 rubles.

Documentation

The following documents must be attached to the claim for inheritance:

Death certificate of the testator.
Title documents for inherited property.
A will, birth/marriage/adoption certificate or other act substantiating the inheritance rights of the plaintiff.
Evidence (depending on the type of controversial situation).
Receipt for payment of state duty.

Copies are made of documents according to the number of participants in the case. The originals are presented to an authorized official for verification when filing a claim.

Document structure

The claim for the right to inheritance includes:

Introductory part. It includes: name and address of the court; full name of the plaintiff, details of his registration and contact telephone number; full name of the defendant (one or more heirs, other persons), information about his (their) registration, telephone number; the price of the statement of claim, which is established based on the value of the property subject to inheritance; amount of state duty.

The value of the inherited property, if it is real estate, is indicated in the cadastral passport or a certificate issued by the BTI. Also, the assessment of an apartment, car or other property on the day of death of the testator can be carried out by appraisal organizations or private appraisers.

The introductory part is written on the sheet in the upper right corner. Below in the center is the name of the document, for example, “Statement of Claim for Recognition of the Right to Inheritance.”

The factual part. It clearly and easily understands the following information: information about the opening of an inheritance, indicating the date, time and place of death of the testator; description of the inheritance object; an indication that the inheritance is carried out by will or by law; an explanation of the reasons why there was a need to resolve the issue in court; evidence necessary for a positive court decision: letters; checks for payment for services or things necessary for the protection or preservation of property; utility bills; agreements on the transfer of property, purchase and sale, donation; witness statements.
The pleading part. It contains a clearly formulated request from the court to recognize the right to inherit property. It is better to start the petition part with references to the articles of the laws that guided the heir when filing the statement of claim.
Applications. The following documents are attached as attachments to the claim: confirming the identity of the plaintiff; proving the fact of death of the testator (death certificate); containing information about the last place of residence of the deceased (certificate from the housing office, extract from the house register); containing information about family ties with the deceased and indicating inheritance rights: birth certificate, marriage certificate; confirming the deceased’s ownership rights to property; receipt of payment of state duty.

It is necessary to submit original and photocopy of documents. At the end of the application the current date and signature are placed.

Filing an application for an inheritance case in a special proceeding

Applications without a defendant and a property dispute are considered as special proceedings. And their differences from lawsuits do not end there.

Entering into inheritance through the court - procedure

The process of accepting an inheritance through the court requires the successor to perform the following algorithm of actions:

Determination of jurisdiction.
Drawing up an application.
Preparation of documents.
Submitting papers to court.
Payment of state duty.
Obtaining a court decision.
Visit to the notary.
Writing an application for acceptance of an inheritance and/or issuance of a certificate of right to it.
Submission of necessary documents.
Payment of notary services and state fees.
Obtaining a certificate of inheritance.

Steps 7–11 are only needed if the court decision did not include a decree recognizing ownership of the disputed property.

Litigation in inheritance cases gives rise to many difficulties - the successor will have to face the need to collect evidence, prepare documentation, competently substantiate and present claims. In addition, the formed case needs support.

Provided that these tasks are performed correctly, the likelihood of a successful outcome of the case increases significantly. But what if the heir has problems with their implementation? You can act according to a standard template and rely on luck, or you can contact our lawyers to develop an individual action plan and help in its implementation.

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