Deadlines for accepting an inheritance. General and special terms for accepting an inheritance, actions for the actual acceptance of inherited property

I entered into an inheritance, but did not register ownership - what will happen?

Accordingly, when a person receives a certificate of inheritance, he must confirm his desire to own and use the item received.
And this, in turn, requires registration of property rights. If a citizen simply left a certificate in general documents and did not continue the re-registration procedure, no negative consequences will occur in relation to the individual himself - the heir. However, other heirs or third parties can take advantage of the illiteracy of their “rival” and try to recognize the thing as ownerless, since legally such a thing will not belong to anyone, which means that the general rules on acquisitive prescription apply to it. That is, relatives have the right to declare their right to something that has not been accepted by anyone.

What is acceptance of inheritance?

Inheritance practice has long been formed in Russia. However, not all citizens study the legislation or monitor its changes. Therefore, people often miss deadlines for filing documents and lose their inheritance. Let's look at a few key aspects.

An inheritance opens upon the death of an individual (Article 1113 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). What does it mean? Immediately after the death of the testator, the countdown begins for the transfer of property rights to the heirs. Relatives of the deceased citizen or applicants under the will are given 6 months to register the inheritance:

by law - according to the order of inheritance, i.e. from close relatives to the most distant;
by will - if the deceased left a testamentary disposition indicating the nuances of the transfer of property.

Interested parties prepare documents, determine territorial affiliation and submit papers to the notary. After six months, applicants for property will have to visit the notary again. By that time, it is necessary to make an assessment of the property - on its basis, a calculation of the tax is made, which is withheld from the heirs. After paying the state fee, the notary issues citizens certificates of the right to inheritance.

Is a certificate of inheritance a right of ownership?

Under no circumstances should these concepts be confused, since they have different legal natures.

Certificate of title to inherited property is a document issued by a notary office after opening an inheritance case and receiving complete information about the heirs, identifying a person who can freely apply to the registration authorities to acquire the status of owner of real estate. Accordingly, when talking about other things and objects, it is necessary to make adjustments to other subjects of state registration.

The cadastre, state number or other personal mark will be displayed directly in the document itself.

Division of property received by inheritance

Inheritance of property can be carried out by law and by will. Inheritance by law is carried out in two cases:

if there is no will;
if the testator did not bequeath all of his property, but only part of it.

The transfer of such property to the heirs occurs in the order of priority established by law. The inheritance is divided equally between representatives of the same line.

The division of inherited property under a will is carried out if the testator, having indicated the heirs, has not distributed specific property among them. Then it is divided between them in equal parts. But there is an exception here, which concerns the inheritance of a compulsory share. Its recipient can claim a share that is no less than half of what would have belonged to him if he inherited by law.

When, during inheritance by law, the inheritance passes not to one, but to several heirs, and when inheriting by will, it is bequeathed not to one, but to several persons without indicating in it what specific property is inherited by which of them, then it goes into the common shared ownership of these heirs .

After receiving a certificate of inheritance, which indicates the specific shares of each of them, the property can be divided between them in kind. The rules of such a section are regulated by Articles 1165 - 1170 of the Civil Code and the simplest way is to conclude an agreement between the heirs. It is enough to draw it up in simple written form and not have it certified by a notary.

Important

Please note that if the estate includes real estate (residential premises, land plots, etc.), then concluding such an agreement before receiving a certificate of inheritance is prohibited by law. But they can be divided both before and after state registration of ownership rights to them.

The division of movable property (vehicles, securities, money) included in the inheritance mass is possible even before receiving a certificate. But this can be done only after all the heirs of the common shared ownership of the inherited property have been identified.

If among their number there is an heir who was conceived during the life of the testator, but was not born at the time of division of the inheritance, then the property can be divided only after his birth. The law also protects the interests of minors and incapacitated (partially capable) citizens. If they are included in the circle of heirs, then when drawing up an agreement or considering a case on the division of inheritance in court, it is necessary to notify the guardianship and trusteeship authorities about this.

The priority right over other heirs to receive their share of the inheritance during its division is granted to those of them who, together with the testator, had the right of common ownership of indivisible property or constantly used it. Also, if the estate includes a residential premises (house, apartment or room), which cannot be divided in kind, the heirs who lived in it at the time have a priority right to receive their inheritance shares over those who are not the owners of this premises. opening an inheritance and having no other housing.

Is accepting an inheritance subject to conditions or reservations allowed?

An inheritance can include not only valuables, but also unwanted wealth - debts, loans, obligations and legacies. Of course, few people would like to pay other people's bills or fulfill obligations they do not want. There is a temptation to give up part of the property, i.e. accept an inheritance under a condition or with a reservation. Is this possible in practice?

The answer from the legislator is unequivocal - accepting an inheritance under a condition or with a number of reservations is prohibited (clause 2 of Article 1152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). If so, it remains to find out what are the conditions and what are reservations? It is very important not to confuse them with other terms.

What are the conditions?

A condition is considered to be a requirement that a participant makes in relation to the inheritance or other heirs.

The testator can write a will with the condition that the acceptance of the property will depend on the fulfillment of the owner’s last will. As for the conditions on the part of the heirs, the law excludes such a possibility. Applicants can accept the inheritance in its entirety or renounce their rights - just as completely and unconditionally. They cannot make any demands. For example, if applicants do not want to pay off the debts of the testator, they can simply refuse the inheritance - this is the most reasonable option.

Example:

Sivtsov left his brother a powerful motorcycle, equipment for repairs and a garage to store the vehicle. However, the heir's joy did not last long - he soon learned that his brother had bought a motorcycle on credit. The outstanding amount exceeded the mark of 300,000 rubles, of which a third were fines from the bank. After some thought, the brother of the deceased decided to inherit only the garage and equipment, and give up the motorcycle. Then he learned that this could not be done - the notary explained that the heir could not accept the inheritance under the condition that the debts of the deceased be excluded from it. Read: Are loan debts inherited?

What are reservations?

We found out above that accepting an inheritance with reservations is also unacceptable. The beneficiary may renounce the property completely or in favor of a specific citizen from among the heirs. It is prohibited to impose any conditions when renouncing property rights. Such transactions are easily challenged in court.

Example:

The plaintiff filed a statement of claim. The woman asked to recognize the refusal of inheritance as invalid. An additional requirement is recognition of ownership of a share of the property. Justification for the claim: after the death of her father, the heiress turned to a notary. The woman planned to accept the inheritance. The testator's property was also claimed by his wife and second daughter. The defendants suggested that the woman write a targeted refusal of the inheritance. In return, the beneficiary will make a will on it and provide the right to use the disputed apartment as an owner. The plaintiff agreed. Almost immediately she signed a waiver form with a notary. The defendant fulfilled part of the promise. She made a will in favor of the plaintiff. All this time, the applicant used the apartment together with the defendant’s relatives. However, recently these persons began to create unbearable living conditions for the woman. The sister's relatives stated that she lives in the apartment with "bird rights", and the will was canceled long ago. The testator's wife admitted the claims. She explained that the heiress’s refusal was voluntary. And she fulfilled her verbal promises and made a will for her two daughters. The court upheld the claim - refusal of inheritance under conditions is unacceptable.

(Decision of the Sovetsky District Court of Krasnodar dated July 17, 2012)

Inheritance procedure

In order for a citizen to understand for which objects it will be necessary to collect documents, it is important to remember the procedure for accepting an inheritance:

The heir discharges the deceased person from the apartment or house where the testator lived and receives the documents that will be required to determine the place of opening of the inheritance;
Collecting documentation about all the property that was owned by the testator and assessing their value;
Paying the state fee and submitting an application to the notary office;
Issuance of a certificate of inheritance and its registration;
Re-registration of rights to the new owner.

As you can see, many people forget about the last point, but it turns out to be no less important than the previous four stages.

Sometimes there are cases of things being damaged even before they are accepted by the heir. In this case, it will additionally be necessary to perform a number of actions related to finding the culprit and claiming compensation for losses. In this case, the plaintiffs will be all the intended heirs, or persons specified in the will.

In the future, if the guilty person refuses to voluntarily compensate for the damage, the claimant will need to contact bailiffs. That is why it is important to take care of the safety of future property and not to forget about basic precautions: security, prohibitions on transportation and other movement.

Mechanism for accepting inheritance

The essence of inheritance is set out in Art. 1110 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. She defines this process as universal succession, during which the property of the deceased passes to his heir at a time and unchanged. In practice, this means that the entire volume of rights and obligations due to a specific successor (even within one share) are inseparable from each other and cannot be transferred into ownership in parts, selectively or in stages. At the same time, from the composition of the hereditary mass, according to Art. 1112 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, some elements of the legal capacity of the deceased are excluded.

Rights and obligations that are closely related to the personality of the testator are not inherited:

moral rights;
intangible benefits;
obligation to pay alimony (with the exception of debt already existing at the time of death);
the right to compensation for harm caused to the health and life of another citizen, etc.

Acceptance of the property of the deceased is carried out in two ways: actually or officially.

The actual acquisition is considered completed when the following actions are performed in relation to the inherited property:

control;
content;
usage;
protection from attacks by third parties.

Even if the heir begins to repay the debts of the deceased or makes the actual acquisition of at least one object of inheritance, all other property within the framework of his allotted share will be considered accepted. But the ownership of such property is not subject to state registration due to the lack of a certificate of inheritance. And you can only get it through official registration with a notary. This is the main advantage of the second method of accepting an inheritance.

To carry out official succession, the heir will need to collect a package of documents, write an application for the issuance of a certificate of title and provide all this to the notary at the place of opening of the inheritance. From this moment, property rights and obligations are assigned to the successor. But theoretically (according to paragraph 4 of Article 1152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), their transition occurs earlier and coincides with the date of death of the testator, even if the inheritance was accepted later.

Deadline for receiving property by inheritance

An inheritance can be obtained by will or by law. In order to accept it and become the full owner of the inherited property, it is necessary to follow the appropriate procedure and deadlines for registration.

The opening of an inheritance is directly related to an unpleasant event - the death of a citizen (Article 1113 of the Civil Code), who left behind property that belonged to him during his lifetime as property. From this date, inheritance legal relations arise, which involve either acceptance by the heirs or rejection of it. The procedure and timing of inheritance are regulated by laws and regulations.

Thus, Article 1154 of the Civil Code establishes general and special deadlines for the registration and acceptance of an inheritance. In general cases, this period is six months from the date of death of the testator. In fact, the inheritance opens on the same day. But the period for its adoption, in accordance with Article 191 of the Civil Code, is counted from the day following the day of the occurrence of the specified event. The six-month period ends on the corresponding date of the sixth month (Article 192 of the Civil Code).

Example

The death of the testator occurred on February 14, 2015. On this day, the inheritance was opened at his last place of residence. The period for accepting the inheritance began on February 15, 2015, and expired on July 15, 2015 at midnight (24-00).

There are cases when the period for accepting an inheritance ends on a date that simply does not exist in a given month or it falls on a weekend or non-working day. Then, in the first case, the expiration date will be considered the last day of the month (clause 3 of Article 192 of the Civil Code), and in the second case it will be transferred to the next working day that follows it (Article 193 of the Civil Code).

If the testator was declared dead in court, then the day of his death and the opening of the inheritance will be considered the day when the corresponding court decision entered into legal force (Article 1114 of the Civil Code), and if the day of the testator’s alleged death is recognized in court, the date of death that the court will indicate in its decision. But in both cases, the beginning of the period for accepting the inheritance will be counted from the day the court decision enters into legal force.

Chapter 11 of the Civil Code provides general rules for calculating such deadlines, according to which the inheritance is considered accepted on time if the heir has submitted a corresponding application to a notary or sent it by post on the last day of the established period.

The right of inheritance may arise not only from the moment of death of the testator, but also on other grounds. For such cases, the legislation has established special deadlines for accepting an inheritance.

The reasons may be:

exclusion from inheritance of unworthy citizens (the decision is made in court, in the absence of heirs of the same line, the countdown of the six-month period begins from the day it enters into legal force for heirs of the next line);
application of the main heir to renounce the inheritance (the six-month period is counted from the date of refusal);
hereditary transmission - non-acceptance of an inheritance due to the death of the main heir (the inheritance must be accepted within the six-month period allotted by law, but if the remainder of it consists of less than three months, then it is extended to three months);
non-acceptance of inheritance due to inaction (other heirs who have acquired the right of inheritance can accept it within three months after the end of the six-month period);
the birth of an heir who was conceived during the life of the testator, and was born alive after his death.

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In practice, it often happens that heirs, for one reason or another, miss the deadline established by law for accepting the inheritance. You can extend it in two ways:

having received written consent from the remaining heirs;
by filing a claim with the courts.

For your information

When going to court, the heirs must not only indicate valid reasons for the absence, but also support them with appropriate evidence.

The legislation on inheritance of property provides for a certain period during which the heirs must submit a corresponding application and a certain list of documents, namely six months.

The beginning of the six-month period is the date of death of the testator. If the heirs, for some reason, were not informed about such an unpleasant event and actually missed the time for filing an appeal, the period for filing an appeal can be restored. An application for the restoration of procedural deadlines is submitted either in court or out of court.

If a citizen, for one reason or another, does not continue to re-register property rights in relation to himself, he can always continue the procedure a little later, since the certificate of inheritance does not have a statute of limitations.

As a rule, this category of citizens includes persons who live in inherited property. They believe that after receiving the certificate from the notary, they have completed all the necessary actions.

If registration is expected a long time after receiving the inheritance, the following actions should be taken:

Contact the Rosreestr Office and another state body for registration of movable property;
Provide copies of documents and originals for verification. After which the originals must remain with the applicant;
Pay the state fee;
Wait for the timing of consideration of the application and verification of property for collateral or other transactions;
Get a certificate.

If this or that object does not pass the inspection or the rights of a new owner have already been acquired for this property, a further “investigation” is required, which, upon completion, must be initiated in legal proceedings and submitted to court.

1) File a complaint with the notary chamber of the subject in whose territory this notary operates. 2) Appeal the notary’s refusal in court. 3) Include the property in the inheritance mass and recognize ownership of it through the court.

The first option is simpler and more profitable in terms of timing. The second loses to the first in terms of timing, and to the third in terms of results, so we do not recommend using it. The third may turn out to be more attractive than the first in terms of financial costs. There can be a lot of layouts here; you need to calculate it separately for each case. Below we formulate a few main points.

- children, including adopted children, spouse, parents, full brothers and sisters of the testator - 0.3% of the value of the inherited property, but not more than 100,000 rubles;

- to other heirs - 0.6% of the value of the inherited property, but not more than 1,000,000 rubles.

Fees for the provision of legal and technical services may vary depending on the entity. And in practice, sometimes depending on the particular notary. In Moscow, this amount is 5,000 rubles for each object.

Now let's do the math.

Suppose we are talking about inheriting an unregistered apartment worth 10,000,000 rubles. Consequently, for heirs of the first priority, the state fee for notarial action will be 30,000 rubles, for heirs of other priority – 60,000 rubles. The state fee in a court of general jurisdiction for a claim of 10,000,000 rubles is 58,200 rubles.

Thus, in this case, it is more profitable for the heirs of the first priority to act through a notary, and for the rest - through the court.

— state fee for a notary – 15,000,000*0.3/100=45,000—fee for technical. work – 5,000*3=15,000

Total: 45,000 15,000=60,000 rubles.

The state fee for the court, in turn, will also amount to 60,000 rubles - this is, in principle, the maximum amount of the fee for civil proceedings.

If there are 4 or more objects, then, again, it is more profitable to go to court. A similar conclusion occurs when shares in multiple objects are inherited.

When calculating, do not forget to pay attention to clause 5 of Art. 333.38 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, which stipulates cases of exemption from payment of fees for performing a notarial act. It must be remembered that this rule does not apply to fees for the provision of legal and technical services.

First of all, the refusal must be received in writing. An unfounded statement that the notary refused will not be enough. This rule applies to all options.

Based on the refusal received, it is necessary to prepare a complaint to the notary chamber to which the notary with whom the dispute arose is attached, outlining the factual circumstances of the case and justifying one’s position.

The complaint is reviewed within 30 days. And in this case, all disagreements must be eliminated - the notary will stop ignoring the provisions of the Methodological Recommendations. And after the expiration of the period established by law, you will be able to receive a certificate of inheritance.

According to paragraph 8 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated May 29, 2012 No. 9 “On judicial practice in inheritance cases,” in the absence of properly executed documents confirming the testator’s ownership of the property, the courts, before the expiration of the deadline for accepting the inheritance, consider the demands of the heirs for the inclusion of this property as part of the inheritance. And if a decision was not made within the specified period, there are also demands for recognition of property rights through inheritance.

We invite you to read: What documents are needed to inherit an apartment in 2020?

In other words, if you go to court before the expiration of 6 months from the date of opening of the inheritance, then only the requirement to include the property in the inheritance can be satisfied. We do not recommend following this path, just as we do not recommend challenging a notary’s refusal to issue a certificate of inheritance for unregistered property in court. The fact is that time and money will be spent on the trial, but everything will return to the stage of interaction with the notary.

Ways to accept an inheritance

Obtaining the opportunity to own the property of a deceased relative is possible after the subject has acquired the actions provided for by the legislative framework.

Methods for accepting an inheritance vary:

notarial, in the presence of a will, or according to the methods established by law;
through actual management and ownership of values.

When there are several legal successors, each of them has the right to independently exercise their will: agree to formalize the succession, or renounce this power. The person receives property, as well as debts, if any.

By will

Notarized wills are considered the best way to confirm the powers of the successor according to the property left to him by the testator.

The testator, when creating such a document, determines the conditions that are significant for him:

to which successors the values will go (any persons are indicated who do not necessarily have family ties with the testator, having any gender, age, citizenship of any country): cases are not uncommon when completely strangers become heirs, while relatives are deprived of the right to inherit. An exception will be made for subjects who have the authority to acquire the obligatory part of inherited values, amounting to more than half of the share provided by law (for minor relatives, as well as persons who do not have the opportunity to work due to certain circumstances);
what kind of property will go to a specific person;
proportions of division of objects in the presence of several heirs;
conditions for obtaining possessions.

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Obtaining property according to the grounds of a will is possible when there is a notarized document reflecting the last will of the deceased person. Several such documents can be left; the last one will be considered legitimate. The paper must be in written form, supported by the signatures of the testator and the authorized person, and the seal of the notary’s office.

Restrictions on the testator’s freedom of expression of his own will relate to the following conditions:

allocation of a mandatory portion of property to persons under the age of majority;
mandatory acquisition of a share of the succession by persons who are disabled during the last year, living together with the testator, when they were completely on his financial support (spouses, parents, other dependents).

The will is irrevocable; if the rights of these categories are violated, the receipt of values, according to the document, becomes possible after the distribution of a share to the relatives, determined according to legal grounds.

In law

The Civil Code reserves the right to divide the property of a deceased person among several heirs, according to the law, subject to the following conditions:

the deceased person did not write a will;
the document left by the testator was declared invalid;
the paper contains orders only regarding part of the property of the deceased;
the heir indicated in the text does not agree to receive such rights;
the heir under the will died before acquiring inheritance rights.

The legislation of the Russian Federation determines the totality of persons who have hereditary powers:

First priority: children, relatives or those who have undergone the adoption procedure, as well as those born after the death of the testator, spouses, parents or adoptive parents of the testator. Management of assets inherited by minor successors is carried out by their legal representative.
The deceased subject's siblings and grandparents. This queue receives rights on the condition that no one from the first was able to obtain rights, refused them, or was deprived according to legal grounds.
Uncles and aunts, great-grandparents. Each person has the same rights and acquires equal shares of the inherited property. With the exception of the inheritance received by the spouse of a deceased person, when his share is initially established, then the remainder is divided equally among other legal successors.