When there are no documents confirming the relationship, the interested person can use an application to establish the fact of the relationship to the court. Going to court will help when documents are lost, not preserved, or erroneous entries are made in them. In most cases, it is necessary to establish family relationships with the deceased in order to formalize an inheritance. However, in some cases it is possible to establish this fact between living people.
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Grounds for establishing family relationships
Kinship refers to a connection between people based on descent from a common ancestor. Relationships can be established between brothers, with parents, children, uncles and aunts, grandparents and other relatives in the ascending and descending line. There are no restrictions in this case - everything depends only on the search for evidence of such a relationship.
It should be noted that it is impossible to establish family relationships with a wife (husband), stepsons and stepdaughters, stepmother and stepfather. Although relationships with these people can be very close, they are still not related. Because there is no fact of common descent from one ancestor.
To establish the fact of family relations through the court, it is necessary to determine the legally significant purpose of this legal fact. That is, what legal consequences will this circumstance have? For example, family relationships are established in order to receive an inheritance after the death of a relative. Or apply for a pension on the death of the breadwinner. It will not be possible to simply establish (for yourself) the fact of a family relationship through the court. A legally significant purpose is the main requirement for a statement to establish a fact of legal significance. And special production.
Another important condition for going to court is the inability to obtain the appropriate documents in another way, for example, through the registry office.
In some cases, there is no need to establish the fact of a family relationship through the court. It is enough to correct the typo in the documents issued by the civil registry office. Or establish paternity.
| Note! |
| Application for making corrections to a civil status record Application to establish the fact of recognition of paternity |
When might proof of relationship be required?
A citizen must confirm kinship in several cases:
- the need to visit a notary to register an inheritance;
- obtaining the right to an obligatory share in the transferred property;
- sending documents on acceptance of inheritance by law;
- reducing the amount of state duty paid when transferring inheritance under a will;
- registration of a pension in connection with the loss of a breadwinner;
- confirmation of nationality after moving to another country;
- registration of alimony payments;
- obtaining permission for burial in the family crypt.
Sometimes it is possible to confirm relationship without going to court. It will be enough to restore the documents by visiting the registry office. If this method does not work, you will need to confirm the relationship in court.
How to draw up an application to establish the fact of a family relationship
Before drawing up an application to establish the fact of a relationship, it is necessary to obtain documents confirming the impossibility of establishing the fact of relationship in any other way.
To do this, appropriate applications are submitted to the registry office, archives and other bodies where the relevant documents can be stored. Only after receiving official written refusals is an application to the court drawn up.
| Note! |
| Applications to the registry office |
In the application to establish the fact of a family relationship, it is necessary to indicate the person with whom it is necessary to establish a relationship, who these people are related to each other. If the degree of relationship is distant, then you need to describe in detail the entire chain of family ties. The statement indicates the purpose of going to court and what consequences the establishment of a legal fact will have.
As attachments, it is necessary to submit documents directly or indirectly confirming the relationship. You can also present correspondence, greeting cards and telegrams, joint photographs, from the content of which it will be clear that there is a family connection between people. It is allowed to call witnesses who can confirm the existence of family relationships and the degree of relationship. In this case, witnesses will have to indicate the source of their knowledge.
| Note! |
| Application to call witnesses |
Target
Establishing kinship, first of all, is necessary to confirm the property rights of the applicant when entering into inheritance under the law. In accordance with the provisions of Chapter 63. Civil Code of the Russian Federation, this may be required by persons included in the current line of inheritance: first parents, spouse and children (grandchildren), then, in case of their refusal or absence - brothers, sisters (nephews), grandfathers, grandmothers and further, starting from uncles and aunts and ending with great-great-grandchildren and nephews.
Confirmation of family relationships is also important in the presence of a will in relation to the legal holders of the obligatory share of the inheritance, namely:
- disabled parents, spouse, children;
- other relatives up to the fifth (inclusive) degree of kinship who were dependent on the deceased.
The fact of a close relationship with the testator can also be beneficial for the successors appointed in the will. The state duty they pay to obtain a certificate of inheritance is two times lower than for other categories of heirs and amounts to 0.3% of the assessed value of the property.
Sample application for establishing family relations
We offer a sample application to establish the fact of family relations, taking into account the latest changes in current legislation.
In ______________________________ (name of the court) Applicant: _______________________ (full name, address, telephone, e-mail) Interested person: ___________ (full name or name, address, for the organization - INN and OGRN,
For an individual, indicate if known:
date and place of birth, place of work,
identifier (passport, SNILS, INN, etc.),
telephone, e-mail)
Application for establishing family relations
I, _________ (full name) and _________ (full name) are relatives of _________ (indicate the degree of relationship). However, documents confirming our relationship have not been preserved due to _________ (specify the reason). It is not possible to independently restore documents confirming our relationship due to _________ (specify the reason).
Currently, there is a need to _________ (indicate the reasons for the need to establish the fact of relationship). Our family relationship is confirmed by _________ (give evidence confirming the existence of a family relationship, full names of witnesses).
Based on the above, guided by Articles 131-132, 264-267 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation,
Ask:
- Establish that I, _________ (full name, date of birth), am _________ (indicate the degree of relationship) _________ (full name, date of birth).
List of documents attached to the application:
- Notification of sending (delivery) a copy of the application and documents to interested parties
- Receipt for payment of state duty
- Evidence confirming the existence of this legal fact (documents, acts, letters of a business and personal nature containing information about family relationships)
- Evidence confirming the impossibility of the applicant obtaining the appropriate documents or the impossibility of restoring lost documents (certificate from the civil registry office, etc.)
Date of application “___”_________ ____ Signature _______
statements:
Application to establish the fact of family relations
Documents proving relationship with the deceased (list)
Inclusion in the number of heirs is not done automatically.
A citizen who contacts a notary when transferring property according to the law must provide evidence of relationship. This can be confirmed by one of the following documents:
- A person's birth certificate. It states who the citizen’s parents are.
- Documents confirming the change of personal data (name, surname).
- Marriage certificate.
- A court decision recognizing family ties.
- Papers issued by various institutions (MFC, Civil Registry Office).
Several documents will be required when property is transferred to a second-order heir. For example, the grandson of the testator must provide not only his own certificate confirming the birth, but also a similar document for the mother/father, who are the primary applicants. Her/his death certificate will also be required.
Reference! The list of documents may vary depending on the degree of relationship between citizens. The closer it is, the fewer papers you need to provide.
Each relative is provided with his own list of documents. They are shown in the table below.
| Relation degree | Supporting documents |
| Grandmother | Evidence:
Applicant's civil passport |
| Grandfather | Evidence:
Applicant's civil passport |
| Mother | Identity card for mother and child over 14 years of age Evidence:
|
| Father | Identity card of the father and child over 14 years of age Evidence:
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| Brother | Evidence:
Passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation |
| Sister | Evidence:
Passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation |
| Uncle | Evidence confirming:
Citizens' identity cards |
| Cousin | Evidence confirming:
Citizens' identity cards |
| Grandma's sister | Evidence:
The applicant's civil passport; |
Evidence base
If there is no official data in the registry office indicating a relationship with the deceased, the interested person has the right to seek to establish the fact of family relations in court. And for a successful outcome of the case, he will need evidence. These can be documents, official certificates and extracts, as well as photo, video materials, witness statements and others. In general, they can be divided into indirect and direct.
Circumstantial evidence
Indirect evidence can be called evidence of facts that lead to a conclusion about the reliability of the applicant’s position. In other words, they establish a chain of events or circumstances that preceded, accompanied or followed the subject of the trial.
In the process of establishing kinship, they become:
- video recordings or photographs indicating a family relationship between the now deceased and the applicant;
- testimony of witnesses who do not reliably know about the fact of relationship, but based on what they saw or heard earlier, they made conclusions about its presence/absence;
- letters, personal notes, greeting cards and other visual materials that contain references to a relative.
The judge’s decision is rarely based only on indirect evidence, but their totality makes it possible to clarify the case and serve as an additional basis for confirming or refuting the established fact.
Direct evidence
This category of evidence can establish or refute kinship with the deceased, since it clearly indicates its presence or absence. These include:
- records in public registers or archives;
- data from medical records, documentation of other official institutions;
- testimony of witnesses who have known the family for several years and have reliable information about established family ties;
- results of genetic testing;
- extract from the House Register.
Direct evidence is the most difficult to obtain, especially in the absence or impossibility of organizing the testimony of witnesses who can provide the court with comprehensive information about the issue under consideration.
Unambiguous and irrefutable evidence of blood ties is the results of a DNA test. It can be carried out not only with the deceased, but also with his relatives. In any case, modern methods of biological identification make it possible to obtain a reliable result even without exhuming the body of the testator. The main thing is that the examination center has the appropriate license, and the intended heir has good grounds for conducting the test.
Establishing a relationship through the court is an extreme but necessary measure in the absence of supporting documentation. The whole procedure is fraught with difficulties and can take a lot of effort, time and money from an unprepared applicant. But, most importantly, the outcome of the case remains unpredictable, which means there is a significant risk that the resources spent will not pay for themselves.
Those who want to simplify their task and bring a positive result as close as possible can contact the lawyers of the website https://ros-nasledstvo.ru for a free consultation and the opportunity for in-depth legal study of the current problem.
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When do you need to confirm family ties?
Most often, establishing a relationship is required in such life situations as:
- death of the testator (opening an inheritance case);
- confirmation of nationality in case of immigration;
- collection of alimony from parents, children, husband or wife.
Sometimes citizens manage to do without going to the courts. For example, when possible, you can prove your relationship with the testator using restored documentation from the registry office. If the issue cannot be resolved this way, you have to go to court - this is the only option for resolving the issue.
