An inheritance dispute arises due to the acquisition of inheritance rights, inheritance division and other issues that arise in connection with this. A significant part of them is decided by the courts because of the reluctance of people to achieve mutual understanding.
Where does it all begin
It would seem that everything is simple: after the death of a person, the heirs turn to the notary. A notary opens proceedings, accepts a statement or statements if there are several heirs. The law allows potential purchasers to abandon the inheritance. And many do give up existing rights.
The notary accepts applications, collects documents, submitting requests to Rosreestr, banks, other organizations that could provide information about the property left after the deceased. Necessary papers or part of them can provide the heirs, simplifying the procedure for registration.
Legislation
The main provisions are contained in the Civil Code, the law "On the Basics of Notarial Activities". The clarifications of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are of great importance in the Resolution of the Plenum, which is of a general nature and in reviews of practices in which specific hereditary disputes are considered.
The Russians are not deprived of the right to inherit abroad. Similar rights are enjoyed by foreigners in Russia. However, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the action of local legislation in both cases.
Some citizens forget that the deceased had relatives - foreigners.
The law "On Private International Law" is applied, which regulates the ratio of legislative acts of the Russian Federation and foreign states if the case concerns a foreigner or part of the estate is located in the territory of another state.
The difference between probate and law
At its core, a hereditary dispute is a conflict between citizens applying for an inheritance. The essence of any dispute is the size of the share that each of them will get.
The law guarantees the right to choose to distribute property at its discretion or not to leave a will at all.
The difference is that the law establishes the order of inheritance by the degree of kinship. The property is distributed equally among the members of the same queue.
The will gives the opportunity to change heirs in places or even deprive them of their inheritance without explanation. At the same time, the law protects certain categories of heirs, as will be described below.
Disputes
An inherited dispute has many options. It arises both at the stage of filing an application, and at the time of division of property.
The law allows you to claim your rights after a long time. And the happy owners have to go to court and share what they considered for a long time their own.
An example of this can be high-profile hereditary disputes arising from property left after celebrities.
Disputes about the legality of the will
A will is a document in which a person’s will is expressed regarding his property in case of death. The law recognizes the will as lawful, subject to voluntary writing by the author. An equally important point is the design rules. The document is prepared in a notary's office. An exception is provided for when in danger, witnesses are allowed. If a person remains alive, then he should visit a notary public.
A will becomes a matter of dispute if:
- there is a suspicion that he was faked;
- the order of compilation is violated;
- the will violates the right to a mandatory share;
- the person was not aware of his actions or could not lead them.
This includes mental illness and difficult life circumstances in healthy people.
Invalidation of a document entails the division of an inheritance without a will.
Unworthy heirs
If the heir was found guilty of the death of the testator, attempted to kill him, tried with the help of fraud or violence, threats to get a share in the inheritance or increase it at the expense of other heirs, interested parties are entitled to ask the court to recognize him as an unworthy heir.
In the event of an unsuccessful attempt to kill, the testator has the right to leave such a person the right to inheritance, which is noted in the will.
Recognition of a person as unworthy is made in court. At the place of residence of the parties to the dispute, a lawsuit is filed from any of the interested parties.
The consent of the court with the claim leads to the exclusion of the defendant from the list of heirs.
Disputes about the share
This is a very extensive category of disputes. This may include disputes between the heirs of different lines and disputes about which property is distributed according to the will and which according to the law.
If only part of the property is distributed by will, then the remaining part is distributed according to the succession of the heirs.
Difficulties arise in the division of the inheritance, in which the spouse or spouse of the deceased person had a share. It takes into account the share that goes as a jointly acquired property and the share that is allocated as an heir on common rights.
An obligatory share is the part of the property that goes to socially vulnerable heirs: these are minor children, disabled citizens (55 years old women and 60 years old men, disabled people). Their interests often become the cause of a dispute. This is the case when the law seriously limits the testator’s will to dispose of the property.
It is rare if the resolution of hereditary disputes with a large volume of property and a considerable number of heirs is dispensed with without lengthy litigation.
What else go to court
In practice, there are several more types of statements:
- on the fact of acceptance of the inheritance;
- on the inclusion of property in the estate;
- on recognition of ownership of property;
- o restoration of the period for acceptance of the inheritance.
The fact of acceptance is established either in the course of the proceedings of a dispute in a lawsuit or a separate application.
The second option does not provide for the plaintiff or defendant. The citizen accepted the inheritance, but for some reason did not deal with its design, and the notary considered the evidence presented insufficient.
Inclusion in the inheritance is made by sending an application to the court. Similar cases are started if the testator did not manage to complete all the documents in his name. The application is submitted during the six-month period allotted to resolve the issue of whether to accept the inheritance or not.
Recognition of property rights through inheritance through the court is made for the same reasons. The difference is that a lawsuit is filed after the deadline for contacting a notary has passed.
That is how the judicial practice on hereditary disputes in which real estate (apartments, houses, land) and cars appear.
The restoration of the term for acceptance of the inheritance has a number of features, and they are described below.
Please restore the deadline
The question of extension arises in cases where the appearance of an inheritance was not reported for any reason, or a person, due to a serious illness and helplessness, could not file an application with a notary. Ignorance of the law, mild illnesses that do not prevent the appearance of a notary public, unwillingness to accept an inheritance are not considered good reasons.
It does not matter whether the matter is about inheritance without a will or with it, the rules on this subject are the same.
The lawsuit is filed with the court subject to the refusal of the other heirs to agree to admission to the inheritance, despite missing all terms.The time limit for filing a claim is limited to 6 months after circumstances disappear that prevented the person from declaring acceptance of the inheritance. Skipping a half-year period of time deprives any right to restore the term.
Time limits in the struggle for inheritance
Statute of limitations on inheritance disputes is a period of time allotted by law to protect rights and freedoms in a judicial proceeding.
The general rule takes 3 years. In cases of establishing fact, no statute of limitations is provided for. It is not in cases concerning the inclusion of property in the estate and on recognition of the right of succession if the lawsuit is filed due to incompleteness by the testator of the registration of documents for the property.
If the claim is based on a dispute, then statute of limitations applies to the establishment of a fact and recognition of the right, as well as to other claims.
In order not to get confused in terms, we must remember the moment of opening the inheritance - the day of the death of the testator. It is indicated on the death certificate. If the recognition of the fact of death has occurred in court, such shall be considered the day the court decision comes into force.
The deadline starts on the day after the corresponding event or action.
Do I need a lawyer
Registration of applications and inheritance rights is the competence of a notary public. The judge resolves the dispute on the basis of a lawsuit or application of one of the participants in the inheritance section.
A lawyer for inheritance cases is needed when applying to the court in order to draw up a lawsuit or application, collect documents to him and represent the interests of the client during the trial.
The need for a lawyer arises if it is necessary to write a complaint against a notary who works in bad faith.
It is advisable to contact a person who deals mainly with inheritance disputes and related issues. A specialist in a different profile may simply not know any subtleties.
It should be remembered that the high quality of services of a lawyer in inheritance cases and the substantial amount of the fee are not always present at the same time.