2021

How to find out if a deceased person has heirs

It often happens that after the sudden death of a citizen it turns out that he does not have a will, or his whereabouts have never been established.
In such a situation, you should start searching for a document or next of kin. If the paper is never found, then children, husbands (wives), mothers and fathers will receive the inheritance.

All property of the deceased will be transferred according to the order established by current legislation. But according to a will, for example, property is not distributed among all relatives, but can be left to only one person.

To find this important document, you first need to know that it is drawn up in two copies. One of the copies must be kept by the testator, and the second by the notary. Each copy must be notarized, otherwise they will not have legal force.

As a rule, you should look for such a document at the home of the deceased testator. Often the paper is stored in a safe or cabinet with valuable documents.

If, as a result of a lengthy search, the will has not been found, then you need to immediately go to a notary. The question immediately arises: where to find this authorized official?

The first thing you should do is contact the notary office, an employee who works at the place of residence of the deceased. If he does not have the will of the deceased, it is recommended to contact another notary. Sometimes it happens that in large cities the responsibilities are distributed among several notaries, so you will have to visit each of them.

When visiting an authorized person, you should have the following documents with you:

passport;
death certificate of the testator;
documents confirming relationship with the deceased.

It often happens that it is impossible to find this important document. This usually happens if the deceased did not have time to make a will. It is recommended to make a formal request to the notary chamber of the district or region.

The responsibilities of this structure include registration and recording of all transactions made by local notaries

To obtain all the necessary information, it is important to go to them in person

If you wish, you can simply send a request. To do this, you must send all the required documents confirming the relationship. They will prove their identity

It is also important to provide a death certificate of a close relative who is the testator.

After processing the sent request, the person who submitted it will definitely receive a response, which will indicate that:

if a will exists, and the person is not registered in it as an heir, then this will be indicated in the response received;
among other things, you should remember that all the names of the heirs are strictly confidential information that is not subject to disclosure. For this reason, it is impossible to know exactly who is the heir to a particular property.

Why do you need to look for heirs?

A notary is required to open a case after receiving information about the death of a citizen. This occurs when a relative of the deceased applies, presents a certificate and/or finds a will. From this moment on, the following consequences arise:

applicants for things and objects must confirm to the notary their desire to accept them (no more than 6 months are given for this);
if the property was bequeathed, only the heirs specified in the text of the document have the right to receive it (certain categories of subjects will be able to claim the obligatory part);
in the absence of testamentary dispositions, distribution will occur according to law, i.e. in equal shares and according to the principle of priority.

Close and distant relatives have the right to contact a notary’s office, even if they are not included in the first line of inheritance. The property of the testator goes only to those persons who submitted an application to the notary office. Consequently, the number of recipients and the size of shares directly depends on the number of heirs who have declared their rights. If someone is late in submitting documents to a notary, the deadline can be reinstated if there are valid reasons.

Is a notary obliged to look for heirs, and why is this necessary? The notary is not directly interested in the outcome of the procedure. In the complete absence of applicants, the entire inheritance mass goes to the state or municipality. Indirect interest is caused by the payment of the state fee when issuing the certificate, since it is calculated from the value of the assets and depends on the degree of relationship of the heirs.

All nuances that may arise during the conduct of production are regulated in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The powers of a notary are fixed in Law No. 4462-1, which answers the question of searching for persons entitled to the property of the testator.

Three stages of interaction with a notary

The sequence of visiting a notary’s office is determined by the procedure for accepting an inheritance and mainly consists of three stages:

1. At the first visit, an application is submitted, and he opens an inheritance case. For this purpose, he requests documents - general and sometimes additional. The heir must collect and provide all the necessary documents on his own, because this is not the responsibility of the notary when registering an inheritance after the death of the father, mother and other testators. But if he wishes and has the funds, the heir can entrust this matter to a lawyer, thereby avoiding red tape and visiting many government agencies with their queues. Also, registering an inheritance with a notary after the death of the mother, father or any other testator provides that he is obliged to give advice on:

further collection of documents, taking into account the type of property and the nuances associated with it.
circle of heirs who also claim the right to register an inheritance for themselves.
payment of state duty.

2. At the second consultation, the heir provides a package of documents collected by him since the first meeting, and gives checks confirming payment of the state fee. After this, the date for issuing the certificate of inheritance is set.

3. The third meeting is the actual issuance of a certificate confirming the right to inheritance. It is necessary to check the data specified in the document and register with the UFS, which gives the heir the right to dispose of the new property without restrictions.

But when is a notary obliged to suspend the issuance of certificates to heirs? The period for issuing the certificate is 6 months from the date of application. But, as Article 1163, paragraph 3 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides, in some cases extradition may be suspended:

How to find out about the existence of rights to an inheritance without a will?

How to find out if there is an inheritance if the deceased did not leave a will? If you have information and a document certifying the death of a person, all that remains is to find out about the property of the testator. This can be done in 2 ways:

Request for an extract from the Unified State Register. The report will identify the owner and note the existence of the encumbrance. Information is open and available upon request. To issue an extract, you need to contact the Rosreestr Office. This option can be used if you know the address of the property.
Contact a notary. To find out whether there is an inheritance after the death of a father or another relative, you can write an application for accession to rights. After your application, the specialist will request an extract from the Unified State Register of Property and Encumbrances from the testator. The applicant is also given a document confirming his rights. With the certificate, the candidate can obtain an extract independently.

The first option is convenient if a person knows where the deceased lived, what property he could have owned, etc. If it happens that there is no information about the inheritance, you should contact an official representative. You can confirm your relationship using a marriage or birth certificate. However, after drawing up the application, if the decision is positive, the second party simultaneously acquires debt.

You can freely waive your rights only within 6 months. Later, you will have to file a claim and prove that the successor, for a good reason, did not have time to complete the documents. If possible, apply for an extract yourself.

Solving the question of how to find out about an inheritance if there is no will is simplified if you have accurate information about the property and death of the deceased. If the will of the initiator is absent, the queue of heirs and the presence of obligatory successors matters. The latter include disabled relatives, retired parents and dependents. The list of the latter is not fixed by law, however, persons claim ownership subject to the following conditions:

Disability. The reason for allocating a share may be, for example, disability.
Assistance was provided to the deceased for a year or more.
Financial support was the dependent's sole or main source of income.
The applicant lived with the deceased in the same territory. An exception may be close relatives.

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Not only relatives, but also other persons can receive a mandatory share. For example, a common-law spouse. In such cases, for the inheritance procedure, you will have to collect not only the necessary documents, but also additional ones that will indicate connections with the deceased. During the trial, testimony of witnesses may be considered. The size of the obligatory share is no more than ¼ of the total weight.

If there is no will, the legal spouses, parents and children (including adopted children) have the priority right to the property. Representatives of other lines include uncles, aunts, cousins, etc.

By default, shares are distributed equally among representatives of the same queue. Half of the jointly acquired property goes to the legal spouse as an indivisible part. The right of inheritance passes to the next group if all members of the previous group have abandoned the property, died or are legally disabled.

In some cases, it is possible to find out about rights only after the end of the period for entering into inheritance. Then, in order to be restored, you need to apply for an extension of the period. Additionally, it is possible to re-open an inheritance case if the rights of the heir were violated (the person did not know about the death of the testator).

There is no statute of limitations, but you must go to court within 6 months from the date of receipt of the information or the disappearance of the impeding factors. To obtain a positive decision, additional evidence will be needed.

The claimant has the right to a share if, after the death of the deceased, he maintains and is responsible for the property. Even in the absence of a certificate, the candidate has a chance to receive part of the property. However, if there is a delay, you will have to prove to the court that the documents were not completed for a good reason. Additionally, you will need to provide paid bills, receipts if repairs were carried out, etc.

Regardless of the circumstances, the heir will be deprived of his rights in the following cases:

Committing illegal actions. These include threats and physical or psychological pressure directed against the deceased (to hasten his death) or other claimants (to increase his own share). Additionally, successors who are in prison at the time of opening the inheritance case are deprived of their rights. A possible exception is the murder of the first party through negligence.
Concealment of the last will. This may include, for example, the destruction of a will.
Intentional deception, misrepresentation. The heir is considered unworthy if he provided false documents to the notary.

The proceedings take place in court upon appeal from other interested parties. Possible reasons for declaring an heir unworthy are not an immoral lifestyle, a negative attitude towards the deceased, poor care of a relative, etc.

Who is interested in searching for heirs by will and by law?

Searching for heirs by a notary is not the only measure if other claimants to the property have not shown up. First of all, applicants for property who assume the rights of an heir by law are interested in finding them. Only at first glance it seems that the other heirs receive many benefits from the applicant who did not show up. The division of the inherited property, in this case, will be distributed without taking into account his interests. But you should always remember that a person, when he learns about the existence of an inheritance, has the right to enter into the inheritance through the court.

Most likely, the court will approve the restoration of the terms of the inheritance to the applicant if he proves that he did not know about the death of the testator. In this case, property is redistributed taking into account one more person.

The heirs may already have time to carry out certain actions with the property. For example, sell it. However, this does not relieve them of responsibility. If the applicant's share is sold, he must receive proportionate financial compensation. Such a turn causes a lot of inconvenience to the heirs. Therefore, you should not take risks and hope that the applicant will not show up at all. It is better to search for heirs by last name or other data yourself.

What does the property search law say?

Since 2021, notaries have been given the authority to send requests about the composition of the property remaining after the death of the owner. However, the specialist is obliged to do this only at the place of production, i.e. place of residence of the copyright holder at the time of death. Sending requests to authorities outside this territory is a right, not an obligation, of notary employees.

To identify assets, you are allowed to take the following actions:

you can request information about real estate from Rosreestr (according to Law No. 217-FZ, an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate can be obtained not only by a notary, but also by any interested entity);
official data on the deceased’s vehicle can be obtained from the traffic police;
information about the availability of accounts and deposits is requested from the bank;
title documents can be presented by the participants in the proceedings themselves (for example, if, while putting the apartment in order after death, a relative found papers for the movable things and real estate of the deceased).

A search in public registers is possible by the address and surname of the deceased owner, passport details. Participants in proceedings have the authority to request information from the registers themselves, if so provided by law. An independent search for an inheritance can also occur by submitting advertisements and messages, interviewing relatives, friends and colleagues.

Not only financial and property assets identified at the time of issuance of certificates are subject to distribution. The law allows the issuance of a certificate indicating the share of all things and objects remaining after the death of the copyright holder. In this case, re-registration of rights or actual receipt will be possible as they are identified and after 6 months from the date of death.

What is the procedure for searching for heirs?

The notary chooses the method of informing known heirs independently. As a rule, letters are sent by mail with a request to visit the office to write an application for acceptance of the inheritance or refusal of it.

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According to Article 61 of the Fundamentals, publication in the media or public notice is also allowed, although in practice this method of information is used extremely rarely.

In many ways, the method that the notary chooses to inform will depend on the completeness of the information that he has about a particular heir.

What will happen, or will none of the heirs contact the notary?

Perhaps a person had only one heir, and he adopted him after the fact. In this case, such an heir may not contact the notary at all. However, this is fraught with some difficulties in the future. Without a title document for inheritance, it will be impossible to re-register real estate or transport in your name. If you miss the six-month deadline, then you will have to go to court to confirm the fact of the actual acceptance of the inheritance by a court decision.

There are cases when a person has no heirs in principle, or all of them were declared unworthy or refused the inheritance.

In this case, the inherited property is recognized as escheated and becomes the property of the municipality (real estate) and the Russian Federation (other property).

When property has passed into state or municipal ownership, it is possible that some heirs may appear who previously did not know that the testator had died. It will be possible to reclaim the property only in court.

This process is not easy, and it is unlikely to be possible without qualified legal support.

The best way is the official service of the notary chamber

If the search for a document is unsuccessful, then you can blindly go through all the lawyers in the city or send a request to the notary chamber.

This institution will record all transactions that took place in each of the administrative districts.

To your request you need to attach copies of the same documents that were needed to search with a notary:

Passport.
A document confirming the fact of death.
Papers establishing your relationship with the deceased.

A request is also sent to the notary chamber if the heir lives far from the testator.

I recommend using the search service for inheritance cases of the Federal Notary Chamber. You need to understand: this service does not necessarily contain information about all the dead. It has nothing to do with the civil registry authorities at all. If a person died and no one became interested in his property, information about the deceased will not be included in this register. But in this case, most likely, there is simply no property and nothing to inherit.

But if the relatives of the deceased contact a notary to open an inheritance case, information about this will immediately appear in the database. And anyone can recognize it if they make a request. It is free, there are no restrictions on quantity. You can check the information every day, even if you live a thousand kilometers from a relative.

We talked in detail about how to use this service in the article “The service for searching for inheritance cases on the Internet has been launched.” In short: it is enough to know the last name, first name and patronymic of the relative about whom you want to receive information. If the date of birth is known, this will speed up the search.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPlN-i1aalo

Remember:

It is useless to contact the registry office and government agencies for information about death.
It’s also not worth using the services of familiar police officers or specialists in breaking through databases on the Internet. They may take money and provide false information.
The most reliable option in your case is a probate search service.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with: The concept of incapacity and the procedure for limiting legal capacity

If you have a question about personal finance, rights or laws, please write. We will answer the most interesting questions in the magazine.

If there is no will

In the absence of orders from the testator regarding the fate of his property in the event of death, that is, in the absence of a notarized will, we are guided by the rules established by law.

And these rules are such that all possible heirs (that is, relatives and not only) are divided into queues in accordance with the degree of relationship. Therefore, the people closest to the deceased go first, and the most distant relatives, as well as disabled dependents who inherit simply by virtue of the direct instructions of the law, go last.

When a specific notary does not have a special order in the form of a will, he therefore does not have information about potential heirs. Therefore, hoping that he will suddenly become aware of your place of residence or work is, at a minimum, naive.

The heir must reveal himself

Most likely, if after the opening of the inheritance no one shows up within the time specified by law, the notary will simply publish information about the opening of the inheritance in the media. That's all. And after the expiration of the period established by law, the property will be recognized as escheated and transferred to local governments.

Article 1151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Inheritance of escheated property

In some sources you may come across the opinion that in this case the notary will contact the internal affairs bodies to search for the relatives of the deceased. But we can say with confidence that this is nonsense. No one compensates him for the time spent on this (often meaningless) activity, so no notary will be puzzled by what the law, in principle, does not oblige him to do.

What can be advised in such cases: do not lose contact with relatives. Fortunately, in the modern world of social networks and the Internet, this task is more feasible than ever before.

Inheritance is carried out according to the laws of the country of the testator

Sample statement about the absence of other heirs

Everything mentioned above can be done by the heir himself. Moreover, it is enough to submit a notarial application, on the basis of which the notary will carry out all the necessary measures, establish the number of possible heirs and determine the incumbent. He will decide to shorten the term of the notarial inheritance case, and the heir, having assumed the rights of the owner, will be able to sell the apartment in 3 months.

Required details

To obtain a passport for the property of the deceased, you must officially contact a notary. The application form is free, but the general requirements for legally binding documents must be met. A document becomes invalid if it does not contain:

dates, places, names;
details of the notary authority;
information about the heir and testator;
data on the legitimacy of claims;
notarization and registration;
signature of the heir with a transcript.

The absence of at least one of them leads to the recognition of a legal document as invalid. Even errors and inaccuracies made in the text will lead to unpredictable consequences.

Information about the testator and successor

It is important to provide comprehensive information in the text to identify the parties to the inheritance transaction. To do this, indicate the Last Name, First Name, and Patronymic in full; you will also need the registration address of each

It is advisable to register SNILS. This is necessary so that there are no misunderstandings in the case of full namesakes and namesakes. Information is also needed to determine the circle of persons to be called as compulsory heirs in the notarial order.

Guarantees about the absence of other heirs

The heir who puts the property up for sale is obliged to guarantee that he is the only actual owner. To do this you will need:

extract from the state register;
death certificate of the previous owner with notarization;
notarized confirmation of the absence of other heirs;
a receipt accepting responsibility for the violation.

The essence of the last document is that if other heirs appear, the seller undertakes to independently and at his own expense resolve material disputes by paying the new applicant the required monetary equivalent of the due share.

Obligations of the heir with references to relevant legislative acts

enter into inheritance;
make sure there are no other heirs;
re-register the property in your name;
sign the agreement and the transfer deed.

Notarization and signature of the heir

These are two mandatory attributes, the absence of which deprives the document of legal force. The essence of the certification is to confirm that the autograph was signed by the citizen who is participating in the transaction. His capacity and legality are also confirmed. Next to the signature there is a transcript (full name), and the relevant section should contain the details of the signatory.

Results

There are many subtleties in the process of obtaining the right property. For a positive outcome of the case, it is important to be aware of them.

Often some aspects are unknown to the average person, so he can make a lot of mistakes.

That is, in order to take ownership of property you need:

Know where to look for a will.
What to do if the deadlines for entering into inheritance rights have been missed.
What evidence should be provided to the court to restore the terms.
Be able to competently draw up a statement of claim in court.

To undergo all such procedures, a lot of time, nerves, and physical strength are usually spent. Therefore, it is very important to seek the services of specialists who are aware of all the intricacies of the law.

A professional will be able to provide the following services:

Competently prepares documents.
Will recommend a good notary.
Will represent your interests in court.
He will do everything clearly and quickly.

That is, you save your time, nerves and will be able to do more interesting things while a professional takes care of your affairs.

Independent search for heirs

Sometimes the greed of some heirs can prevail over common sense.

They will decide that there is no need to report other heirs to the notary, and they themselves do not need to report the death of the testator - they will get a larger share.

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Sometimes it even gets to the point where the heirs deliberately distort information, mislead other heirs and the notary himself, and all in order to prevent other persons from accessing the inheritance, to which their hands are already reaching out so much.

However, such behavior may result in this cunning person ending up without an inheritance altogether. According to Article 1117 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, such heirs may be considered unworthy and excluded from the inheritance.

But the opposite situation also happens, when some heirs look for others so that they can equally accept their share of the inheritance. This behavior of people is dictated not only by high moral qualities, but also by a purely legal meaning.

The situations can be very different.

When you are one of the contenders for an inheritance

For example, the testator had two sons - one lived with his father, and the second lived somewhere abroad. The brothers had a very cool relationship, and they didn’t even communicate with each other; the son who left had also quarreled with his father a long time ago.

So, the father dies and leaves a house as an inheritance. The son who lived with him draws up all the documents, enters into the inheritance, and does not tell his brother anything. The house becomes the property of one son, and the second learns that his father died only a year later.

Naturally, the second son is shocked. But not because he lost his father, but because his inheritance was omitted. He goes to court, reports that he did not know and could not know about the opening of the inheritance, the court restores the period for his entry into the inheritance and cancels the certificate previously issued by the notary, prescribing to the court decision that the house is to be inherited as shared ownership by ½ each.

If the first son had already managed to dispose of the property by selling it, he would have to return half of the money received.

In order to avoid such situations, it is better to immediately ensure that all potential heirs are notified of the death of the testator.

Of course, if in this case there was a will, and the father wrote everything to the first son, then the second would not have to count on anything (except if he was disabled and would receive the right to a compulsory share). But when inheriting by law, exactly this can happen, as described above.

When you are a property buyer

The buyer of real estate also bears certain risks if he buys an apartment immediately after it is transferred to the seller by inheritance.

Of course, the buyer, as a bona fide purchaser, will not be deprived of his apartment - the seller will pay monetary compensation to the new heirs, but there are serious risks that the deal will “fall through” at the very moment of settlement.

Appearing heirs who have gone to court can obtain the seizure of real estate, which is an inherited estate, and then it will no longer be possible to carry out civil transactions with it.

If the buyer was counting on this particular property, then he will have to “replay” the whole situation and look for some other options for acquisition.

The inheritance procedure differs in the procedure established by law. A person must contact a notary within the prescribed period (6 months) and receive a certificate. However, in practice everything is not so simple. When a testator dies, his close relatives may simply not know about this fact. Accordingly, they do not enter into rights at the appointed time. The deadlines have to be restored through the courts. Many, in such a situation, ask the question: is it possible to show to a notary that he did not search for heirs in Russia? Let's try to consider the duties of notaries, as well as the procedure for dealing with “lost” heirs.

Reinstatement of term without trial

In dictionaries you can find different definitions of the term “inheritance”. Simply put, it is the process of transferring ownership of property after the death of the owner to another individual or legal entity. Heirs can receive material benefits from the testator on the basis of a will or in connection with the right of inheritance by law.

The process of transferring property is quite simple in many cases. But due to the complexity of interpersonal relationships between people, the financial background of the issue, as well as other factors, inheritance cases are often aggravated by minor legal disagreements and serious conflicts. The reasons can be varied, ranging from searching for a will to the need to find out whether a person has entered into an inheritance.

What will happen to the inheritance if relatives could not be found?

The notary should not look for heirs on his own, so if potential candidates for the property of a deceased citizen do not apply for registration of property (inheritance) in a timely manner, they may lose it altogether.

Each applicant is given exactly six months to enter into inheritance. This period is quite enough to register movable and immovable property in your name. In some cases, if a person did not know about the death of a relative, he may request that the period be extended.

In such a situation, the potential heir will have more time to formalize the inheritance. If no one applies for registration of the property of the deceased citizen within six months, then the inheritance becomes escheat and goes to the state. It will be impossible to return it in the future.

You need to remember this. Due to various life circumstances, it is not always possible to find a close relative of the deceased, so it is recommended to maintain relationships and communication with family and friends. This will allow you to be aware of the main life events of your loved ones.

After the expiration of the six-month period given for registering the property of the deceased, the heirs can still file a claim, indicating:

right to inheritance;
the reason for untimely treatment in the distribution of property;
inherited property and its total value;
list of remaining heirs.

Relatives can file a petition to suspend the inheritance case. If the court decides positively, the heirs can receive their share of the inheritance, even if it has already been declared escheat.

Legal experts recommend contacting notaries in a timely manner after the death of a close relative, so as not to miss your chance to inherit an apartment, car or private house. After all, if there are no heirs, the property is considered escheated and goes to the state.

It should also be noted that if at the time of the legal heir’s application the property has already been sold, then the potential candidate for the property of the deceased will receive a refund in the form of a sum of money. Its volume will be equal to the sale price of the inheritance due

In any case, you should not delay the process of contacting a notary office. The sooner a person enters into an inheritance, the less he will have to worry about the fact that he may not have time to register the property of the deceased.

USEFUL INFORMATION: Escheatable property

Search for heirs

Potential successors may not be aware that:

the testator died;
they were specified in the will.

Search by notary for heirs

A notary can inform about the right to property to people specified in the will or claiming property by law.
He retains the opportunity to publish a notice in the media to increase the chances that a legal heir will be found. This method is suitable in cases where the addresses of legal successors are unknown. But the notary is not obliged to check whether the testator has passed away. Law enforcement agencies and registry offices do not transmit data on the death of citizens to notary offices. He can only learn about this from applicants for the property.

Please note that notaries rarely search for potential heirs for free.

Searching for heirs via the Internet

Since 2021, heirs have been searched for on the official FNP portal. They publish information about deceased owners and open inheritance cases.

The online notary service simplifies the procedure for finding heirs. All inheritance processes opened by notaries throughout the country are uploaded here.

Go to the “Register of Inheritance Cases”

To find a case, you must provide information about the deceased testator:

FULL NAME.;
date of birth;
date of death.

Enter the required data

Next, the system will open data about the notary with whom the case was opened.

Oddly enough, the search for potential heirs can also be carried out on social networks. This will help establish contact with the applicant for the property if the data from his page is known.

Search for heirs by heirs

Since 6 months are allotted for searching for heirs and registering rights to the property of the deceased, the applicants themselves are primarily interested in finding them.
The sooner the procedure is completed, the sooner he will become the owner of the property. Another reason for assistance in the search is punishment for withholding information about potential heirs. If the applicant did not inform the notary about the possible recipients of the property, then, according to Art. 1117 of the Civil Code, such a person may be recognized as unworthy, deprived of rights to the proper property.

Important! Regardless of how other heirs were found, to confirm their rights they must submit an application to the notary who opened the inheritance case.

Article 1117 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation “Unworthy heirs”

Search for heirs by the buyer of real estate

The purchaser of an object must make sure in advance that the seller has obtained the rights to it legally.
In the case of inheritance, the risk lies in the possibility of the emergence of new heirs who have the right to sue even the sold property. Read also: How to inherit under a will

Since the basis for registration of property rights by the seller is the results of inheritance, you should review the inheritance file in advance.

All information about the property of the deceased is uploaded into a unified notary information system and stored in the electronic register of wills. In turn, online banking services allow you to view data on the accounts and deposits of the deceased.

Basic Rules

Let's start with the fact that the issues of searching for heirs change depending on whether the testator left a will or not. As is known in the Russian Federation, inheritance is possible in two ways: by law and by will. Each of us has the right to leave instructions in the event of our own death in relation to all property acquired during life, or in relation to only part of it. Each of us has the right, by will, to leave our property to any person we wish. It may even deprive those who have a right to claim it by law from inheritance. In this regard, there is complete freedom of will, limited only by the rules on compulsory share.

Article 1119. Freedom of will

Basic moments

During the process of considering a claim, it is important to take care of the safety of property. So that those heirs who have already entered into their rights cannot alienate the property, that is, donate or sell it.

The general requirements must also include a request that ownership rights be fully established. This will reduce time and facilitate the review and subsequent preparation of official papers.

After the commission has accepted the claim, the court will make a decision within two months. During this time, witnesses are interviewed and evidence is examined.

If the reasons for missing the deadline for entering into inheritance were recognized as valid, then the court restores the deadline and recognizes the plaintiff’s right to inherit.

When there was a request to establish ownership, the commission recognizes the plaintiff’s rights to own this or that property.

The court decision comes into force 10 days after its announcement.

How to find an inheritance file by last name

Typically, a probate case is opened at the place of residence of the deceased person. In some cases, heirs contact the notary at the address where the object of inheritance or its most valuable part is located (Article 1115 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Here you can find out if there is a will. If there are several offices at the deceased person’s registered address, then the heir can visit each of them.

An alternative option is to search for an open inheritance case on the website of the Federal Notary Chamber. The service has been operating since 2021.

Anyone can find out where the inheritance case is opened. To do this, it is enough to know the data of the testator.

Additionally, you can enter information about the date of birth and death of the owner. However, the information is not mandatory. If you do not include dates, the service provides all testators with the specified data and the location of their inheritance affairs.

The Service contains general information only. Therefore, the heir will not be able to find out about the presence/absence of a will or the composition of the inheritance. This data can only be obtained directly from a notary.

How to check an inheritance if there is no will?

The first and fairly obvious recommendations are to simply not forget about your relatives, contact them from time to time, take an interest in their health and marital status, and meet at least once a year in order to support a relative if necessary.
Such an approach will not only allow the formation of healthy relationships between close people, but will also eliminate the need to double-check relatives who suddenly decided to hide the fact of the testator’s death in order to avoid competition among the heirs.

If, nevertheless, it was not possible to reach an agreement between the families, then you can obtain the necessary information at the notary’s office at the address where the deceased previously lived. In this case, interested parties need to have a number of documents with them, namely:

identification. As a standard, a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation is sufficient, but other options permitted by law can still be used;
written confirmation of the death of the testator. This is usually the death certificate or a copy of it. In some cases, a court decision is used to declare a person dead;
proof of relationship with the deceased testator. This may include: a child’s birth certificate, adoption decree, marriage certificate, etc.

It is impossible to establish the fact of the existence of a will during the life of a relative, unless he himself decides to inform the citizen, since according to the law, all persons who were present during the execution of a written expression of will do not have the right to disclose information about the contents of the document, or even about the fact of its preparation.

According to the law, the notary must notify the heirs specified in the will of the fact of the death of the testator and their right to the property. But it is quite possible that he will not be able to contact the heir due to the lack of contact information. Therefore, when receiving information about the death of a relative, a citizen must adhere to the following sequence of actions:

Independent search in a relative’s apartment. If you have access to the deceased's home, you should carefully examine all the places where the deceased could have left a document - it is quite possible that the will may end up where important papers are kept. Close persons living with the testator are usually aware of this. However, they are often heirs at law, so they may be interested in ensuring that a will is not found. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon when they try in every possible way to hide the existence of a written expression of will.
If the search does not produce results, you will have to contact the notary office at the place of registration of the testator. In this case, you need to have with you the same documents that are necessary in case of clarifying information on an inheritance sought by law. As a standard, the notary who serves the area where the deceased lived is responsible for conducting all inheritance matters.

What is noteworthy is that searches can be complicated by permissible provisions of the law, because according to the norms, a will can be certified not only by a notary, but also by the chief doctors of medical institutions, heads of nursing homes and other competent persons. Typically, these options are used if a citizen is in serious condition and cannot visit the office on his own or does not have the opportunity to call a notary at home.

Therefore, interested parties will have to clarify in the supplement whether the testator, shortly before his death, was in a clinic or in a nursing home. If this fact is discovered, you should visit these institutions to clarify the information.

If the will was not found either in the apartment of the deceased or in one of the notary offices at the place of residence, the search can be continued by sending a written request to the notary chamber of the region. Such departments provide information about all transactions concluded by notaries located in controlled administrative areas.

This option will be much more effective than visiting all the offices one by one. When contacting the chamber, you will need the same documents that are required when visiting a notary at your place of residence.

The same method is relevant in circumstances where the heir actually lives in another city or region.

Checking the existence of an inheritance and the possibility of obtaining the property of the testator can be carried out exclusively in cooperation with a notary with the provision of a package of mandatory documents to confirm the legal right.

Doing this online was problematic until May 2021. Then, through Internet resources, it was only possible to obtain advisory support on issues related to rights, features of the registration procedure and confirmation of the legality of inheritance. There were also some illegal and not very reliable services that offered information for a fee.

Now, on the official website of the Federal Notary Chamber, you can clarify whether an inheritance case has been opened after the death of a particular person. At the same time, information is provided: which notary is responsible for the review, the contact phone number of the specialist and the address of the office location.

To use the service, you must enter the last name, first name and patronymic of the testator - in exactly that order, since otherwise the system will give an incorrect result: the case has already been opened, but it is not on the website. You may also need the date of birth and death, but in fact these data are not mandatory.

Anyone can now obtain information on open inheritances - just enter information about the deceased. However, information about the heirs remains unavailable. What is important is that during a person’s life it is impossible to clarify through the service whether there is a will or not - confidentiality in this case is maintained.

We suggest you read: Is it possible to discharge a minor child from a first marriage from a municipal apartment?

The online method is quite convenient, but it is still recommended to additionally use standard options if the site does not provide information, since the service was introduced recently, so errors in data processing are possible.

In a situation where a written expression of will is properly executed, the notary who is responsible for conducting the inheritance case is obliged to contact all the persons indicated in the document. The usual contact details are indicated there.

This is also done by special departments whose activities include checking and opening inherited property abroad. With the help of such colleges, any citizen can obtain information: whether he has inherited property abroad. Among other things, these institutions provide services for finding heirs to transfer the relevant certificate to them.

At the same time, you need to understand that the registration procedure in other countries can be implemented using various options:

in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code;
in accordance with the legislative norms of the state where the testator’s property is located;
according to the provisions of local regulatory legal acts relevant in the area where the relative died.

The procedure for entering into inheritance rights and obtaining a certificate abroad in most situations complies with Russian standards. The most common exceptions are in the clause regarding the amount of state duty.

Peculiarities of searching for heirs in the Russian Federation

In fact, everything is not so difficult. It is enough to turn to the archives, and most likely, the necessary documents will be found. Not many people know where to start searching and whether it is even possible to get hold of old documents somewhere.

Can help:

Registry Office Archives
House books
Military archives (if the ancestors are military personnel)
Party archives (today they can be useful and provide information about relatives)
Archives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (give information about passports)
Personal files at enterprises or firms where a person worked

The notary is also interested in finding the necessary documents. In the absence of the necessary confirmation of relationship, the notary refuses to issue an inheritance. Naturally, a person will go to challenge this decision in court. And he has every chance of winning this trial. To avoid judicial red tape, it is much easier for a notary to advise the client where to go and help him find documents.

There are situations when it is not possible to find heirs. Then the property left by the person goes to the state. It's called escheat. The same becomes the property that the heirs abandoned or in a situation where they turned out to be unworthy of receiving an inheritance.

Citizens can be considered unworthy:

Causing physical harm to the testator or his immediate relatives in order to obtain property
Refused to care for the testator, despite a legally justified obligation to do so
Those who are parents deprived of parental rights (if the testator is their child)

Mandatory heirs, regardless of the will, include disabled first-degree relatives, disabled children (natural or adopted), and minor children.

Particularly conscientious citizens who do not have close relatives can take care during their lifetime about who gets their property. To do this, you can contact distant relatives, find out their details and indicate them in the will. The compiled document greatly facilitates further work. If ties with your family are lost, you can turn to specialists for help, and they will help you find your relatives.

In a situation where relatives are not ready to accept the inheritance for one reason or another, they are required to confirm this in writing by formalizing a refusal to receive the property. If the testator is abroad and it is necessary to register the refusal in another country, there is no need to go there.

It is necessary to draw up a waiver application and have it certified at the nearest notary office.

Such a certified statement is sent by mail to the specialist conducting the case abroad. You can also act through a representative who, having secured a general power of attorney to conduct business and sign documents, can formalize all the necessary arrangements regarding the inheritance. This is a more complex and more expensive scheme, however, in some cases, such actions are justified.

Be that as it may, an experienced notary will always notify his ward of the need to draw up a will. Even if there are no relatives, the testator can draw up a document in favor of the state. This will also make the lawyer’s work easier in the future.

Which notary should handle inheritance business?

A candidate for receiving material benefits (or part thereof) has the right to resort to private services or specialists from the state notary chamber. Having chosen one of these options, the potential heir must submit a qualifying application. The opening of an inheritance case must be carried out at the place of permanent residence of the deceased.

If there are no difficulties in determining the place, any notary working in the chamber of a given district can deal with this matter. Compulsory membership of all notaries working privately in the district is considered a strict requirement.

In a situation where difficulties arise in identifying a notary, the following options are possible:

In the notarial environment, the principle of distributing inheritance cases according to the first letter of the surname applies. Documents are submitted to the notary to whom certain names of deceased citizens are assigned.

There are also general professional requirements for notaries, including those dealing with inheritance matters. First of all, they are lawyers with high moral qualities. Their activities are regulated by legislative acts. For example, in Moscow there is a “Professional Code” approved by the members of the MGNP more than 15 years ago.