Termination of an apartment donation agreement

Citizens often enter into a gift agreement instead of a will. In most cases, deeds of gift are issued to close relatives.

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After all, it has advantages over a will, but terminating such a transaction is much more difficult, unlike a will. What are the reasons for terminating a deed of gift? Is it possible to terminate a transaction without litigation?

Reasons for termination

Cancellation of a deed of gift at the request of the donor:

The donor has the opportunity to cancel the transaction if the recipient has caused harm to the health of the donor or members of his family or close relatives. Injuries must be confirmed by certificates from medical institutions.
The recipient has a bad attitude towards the gifted object and this can significantly worsen the condition of the gift. For example, the recipient, due to his negligence, allowed a fire to occur in the donated house. The house can be returned to the donor if he provides the court with the results of examinations confirming the possibility of loss of the gift, or if he finds witnesses who can testify to confirm the donor’s arguments.
The donor's health has rapidly deteriorated or serious financial difficulties have arisen. He may request the return of the gift to improve his standard of living.
When the donor presented the gift, he was in great error in relation to the recipient.
The donee has died, and the legal act states that upon the death of the donee, the donated item is returned to the person who gave it.

In these cases, the contract can be terminated by issuing an appropriate court order.

It is possible to cancel a deed of gift at the initiative of the person who accepted the gift. The grounds for such cancellation can be very different.

The procedure for canceling a contract becomes more complicated if the donation was officially registered, then the termination agreement will have to undergo state registration. In most situations, the refusal must be certified by a notary organization.

Before refusing a gift, the recipient must realize that he will have to return absolutely all the objects that were given to him as gifts.

Good to know! Sometimes the cancellation of a donation occurs on the initiative of government bodies, since for some categories of persons donation is prohibited by law. If the law is violated, the investigation is carried out by investigators and prosecutors. They are looking for evidence that indicates the illegality of the transaction. If there is sufficient evidence, the donation is canceled by a court decision.

Termination of a gift agreement by agreement of the parties

Often, a deed of gift is terminated by mutual consent of the donor and the person who accepted the gift.

Procedure

If the parties to the agreement have come to a mutual desire to terminate the deed of gift, then they draw up an act of termination of the gift.

In it they indicate the following information:

date and location when signing the agreement;
information about the donor and recipient, passport information;
all information about the legal act being terminated;
description of the object that served as the donated item;
which party bears the costs of terminating the contract (in most situations, the parties divide them equally).

The agreement must be signed personally by both the donor and the recipient. It is advisable to draw up the deed at a notary office. If the gift agreement was initially registered at a notary’s office, then the annulment agreement must be certified.

Let's celebrate! After the parties to the agreement sign the agreement, they receive a single copy. Also, one copy is transferred to the notary archive. If a minor was a participant in the deed of gift, then the annulment will require the consent of the legal representative of the minor, as well as the permission of the guardianship and trusteeship authority.

Where to contact?

If the gift agreement was executed by a notary, then the cancellation must also be carried out by a notary.

If the deed of gift has not been certified anywhere, then you will not have to visit any authorities or institutions to cancel it. You just need to keep a copy of the gift termination agreement.

If one of the parties to the contract wants to terminate it, but the other party opposes it, then it is worth filing a claim with the court for subsequent termination of the transaction.

Required documents

Direct donation.
Passports of the parties to the agreement.
Title documents for the object of donation.
In case of judicial termination, various certificates will be required that are related to the grounds for termination of the gift agreement.

Timing and cost

In accordance with civil law, the statute of limitations for terminating a gift agreement is 3 years. The expiration of the three-year period begins from the moment when the person should have known or learned that his right was violated. When a deadline was missed for a good reason, the court may restore the missed deadline.

Good to know! Under certain circumstances, the statute of limitations may be extended. Such circumstances include an attempt on the life or health of the donor. In this case, the donee will be a participant not only in criminal proceedings, but also a participant in a civil case to cancel the gift agreement.

The cost of canceling a deed of gift depends on the estimated value of the donated object. The higher the price of the item, the more expensive it will be to terminate the transaction. In addition, you will have to pay a state fee of 300 rubles.

Agreement on termination of the gift agreement - sample

In what cases is a deed of gift contested, providing for the return of an apartment?

An apartment donation agreement may be declared invalid even before it is signed in the following cases:

An attempt was made to formalize a donation on behalf of a minor citizen (under 14 years of age) or a person declared legally incompetent.
The apartment is donated to an employee of a medical, social or educational institution on the initiative of grateful clients or their relatives.
The donated apartment is registered in the name of a government official as a reward for exceeding his working powers.
It is possible to terminate the transaction in court if the gift was made in circumvention of the existing Bankruptcy Law (on behalf of a legal entity, no earlier than six months before the signing of the agreement officially declared bankrupt).
The principle of gratuitous gifting is violated (the donor requires the recipient of the gift to perform some service in exchange for receiving real estate).
If the donor, after signing the agreement, suddenly died without having time to register the agreement. Registration authorities cannot take responsibility for processing such a transaction.

If the above grounds for canceling a gift agreement are expressly provided for by current legislation, then the legal norms on the basis of which all transactions, including agreements to donate an apartment, will be invalidated will be given below.

They are characterized by the fact that the parties, or one of the participants in the apartment donation agreement, did not want to perform such actions, or tried to disguise other agreements with the help of them. The law in this case defines such contracts as sham. At the same time, each of them is distinguished into a separate legal fact.

Imaginary transactions. They are characterized by the fact that the parties who signed the gift agreement do not actually receive any rights and obligations. For example, the donor remains to live in the apartment, pays utilities, and uses the apartment at his own discretion.
Gift agreements concluded under moral or physical duress. For example, one of the parties, wanting to receive real estate, uses its moral or physical superiority and forces the other party to sign an unfavorable gift agreement against the will of the apartment owner.
Transactions made fraudulently, or due to the difficult mental or financial situation of the donor.
This should include the deliberate actions of the recipient, who fraudulently forces him to give him an apartment, promising something in return, and after signing the contract does not fulfill his obligations. Or he takes advantage of a situation where a person urgently needs money for treatment, promising to transfer the required amount after registration of the apartment. But, in this case, there is no moral or physical pressure on the donor.
Sham agreements. In this case, the parties actually act as a seller and a buyer, but in order to avoid paying taxes and other obligatory payments, they act as a donor and a recipient.

It is important to understand that the process of terminating a deed of gift on the specified legal grounds presents a certain complexity. It consists in the fact that the plaintiff who applies to the court with such a statement of claim must collect a sufficient amount of evidence that should convince the court of the illegality of the donation transaction.

You can learn more about the conditions for challenging a deed of gift in this article.

One of the main questions regarding the process of canceling a deed of gift is whether it is possible to cancel a deed of gift for an apartment during the life of the donor. From established legal practice it follows that it is during the life of the donor that this is easiest to do.

This is due to the fact that he will be able to give the necessary explanations in court, and also point to irrefutable evidence. In addition, this process can not be brought to court, but can be resolved voluntarily with the gifted person.

Read about how to challenge a deed of gift after the death of the donor in this material.

There are two ways to challenge such a transaction when the donor is alive.

Voluntary order.
It involves sending the parties to the transaction to each other special letters - notifications, which will indicate that the donor, or the one who has become the new owner of the apartment, does not want to fulfill their obligations. But in order to terminate the agreement in this way, the law requires the occurrence of one or more legal facts specified in Article 578 of the Civil Code. But this does not apply to the case where the donor was deprived of the life of those to whom he transferred his property free of charge.
Judicial order.
This process involves drawing up a statement of claim and filing an appeal to the district court on whose territory the disputed property (apartment) is located. In this case, the plaintiff will be the one who donated the apartment, and the defendant will be the one who took it into his ownership. This method of protecting one’s rights applies not only to the cases specified in Article 578 of the Civil Code, but also when the transaction was fraudulent, feigned or violent. Naturally, if the donor is deprived of life, then the legal heirs will file a claim.

More details about canceling a deed of gift during the life of the donor can be found here.

It is important to know that in case of voluntary cancellation of the deed of gift, the mutual refusal of the transaction must be formalized by a notary.

Form of voluntary agreement to terminate a real estate gift agreement.

Form of claim for termination of the apartment donation agreement.

In order to consider this issue, you need to understand that ownership of any real estate does not begin from the moment of concluding an agreement (in our case, donation), but from the time of special registration.

We invite you to read: How to quickly and profitably get a mortgage for a secondary home

It means entering information about the ownership of an apartment into a special state register. Only after officials carry out such actions does a new owner appear for the real estate.

Now we will consider the question of the possibility of canceling the deed of gift when the registration of the new owner has occurred. There's nothing wrong with that.

If the transaction was terminated by mutual written consent of the parties, then the agreement is certified by a notary and submitted to the registration service. Its officials check the correctness of such an agreement, the presence of all details, including notarization, after which they make the appropriate changes to the register, and the apartment again belongs to the donor.

If the cancellation of the gift agreement occurred in court, then the original court decision must be brought to the registration service, which has entered into legal force, which must bear a seal, as well as the signature of the judge who made the decision. Officials will immediately re-register the real estate to the new owner.

It is important to know that if officials of the registration service refuse to register real estate according to the above documents, their actions can be appealed to a higher authority or court.

The procedure for terminating a gift agreement in court

If a party to a donation transaction wishes to terminate it, then the following procedure must be followed:

Submit a statement of claim to the court. To draw it up, it is possible to resort to the services of a lawyer.
Collect the entire package of required documents. The documents depend on what grounds for termination were chosen.
The court will make a decision based on the arguments of the parties.
If the plaintiff is not satisfied with the court decision, he can file an appeal.
If the court decision satisfied the interests of the party, then after the act comes into force, it is worth submitting documents to the relevant authorities to re-register the rights to the disputed object.

When concluding a deed of gift, it is worth remembering the following nuances:

The deed of gift can be terminated either by mutual agreement or through the courts. In addition, the transaction may be declared invalid.
In order to simplify the procedure for terminating a deed of gift, it is necessary, when signing the agreement, to indicate the conditions, the violation of which will entail the invalidity of the gift transaction.
Expenses incurred as a result of termination of the transaction are reimbursed either by the initiator or the parties equally.
If the deed of gift was certified by a notary, then the termination must be certified by a notary organization.
The limitation period is 3 years.

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Deadlines

The law establishes that filing an application to invalidate a gift agreement transaction is established for a period of no later than 3 years, starting from the moment the party discovers a violation of its rights. The limitation period for deeds of gift is of two types:

On declaring a transaction invalid – for a period of no more than 3 years.
Termination of the contract – for a period of no more than 1 year.

It is important to understand that after the deadlines established by law, it will be problematic to launch a case to liquidate the gift agreement transaction. Exceptionally compelling reasons with full evidence can be considered by the court after a delay.

After filing a claim in a timely manner, the court will accept all your documents for consideration. Within 30 days, the court will schedule a hearing on your requirements. The deadline for resolving issues depends solely on the complexity of the case and the prevailing circumstances.