Inheritance rights. Civil Code

The system of inheritance law is considered one of the oldest legal institutions. It consists of a set of rules governing relations relating to the transfer of duties and capabilities of the deceased to successors. The foundations of inheritance law are closely interrelated principles of the will and protection of property interests. Consider this institution in more detail.

general characteristics

Inheritance rights are considered the most conservative of the current legal capabilities of individuals. Nevertheless, the changes that have occurred in socio-economic life have affected this institution. Apartments, land, other objects have become the personal property of people and are transferred to successors. The main regulatory act governing the relationship in question is the Civil Code.

The inheritance law applies not only to close relatives, but also to third parties, if the owner expresses a desire to make them his successors. There are a lot of shortcomings and gaps in the current regulatory acts. This leads to an increase in the number of controversial situations, complicates the activities of notaries, introduces confusion in the order in accordance with which the law of succession is implemented. The practice of applying the rules requires serious modifications to the existing rules. Of particular note is the transfer of the deceased's share in privatized apartments, in which not close relatives act as owners. In such situations, a will is drawn up.

Specificity

Inheritance is a specific legal concept. It is a set of legal opportunities and property obligations that belong to the deceased owner and are transferred to successors in the prescribed manner. In this case, we are not talking about the totality of any things or objects. The constitution guarantees marital-family and hereditary succession. It is inextricably linked to private property. Normative acts guarantee to individuals freedom of will. This allows people, at their discretion, to dispose of property after their death within the framework of the law. current standards protect the interests of minors and other disabled successors.

The concept

Inheritance rights should be considered in a broad and narrow sense. In the latter case, the concept implies the possibility of a person to be called to succession, as well as to dispose of his own property in the event of his death. In an objective (broad) sense, inheritance is a subsector of civil law.

Normative base

There are various sources of inheritance law. Some relationships are governed by federal law. For example, the Federal Law governing the activities of AO, LLC, production cooperatives and so on. Sources of inheritance law - this is the provisions of the UK, the Basics of norms on notaries. The guarantee of succession, as mentioned above, is established in the Constitution.

Civil Code: Law of Succession

The concept of succession is fixed in paragraph 1 of Art. 1110. In the process of inheritance, the property of the deceased owner is transferred to other persons as a whole. This order is general (universal). This means that the complex of legal opportunities and obligations of the owner passes to the successors in the same form at once. Thus, the law of succession is realized. Acceptance of an inheritance implies that the successor becomes the owner of legal capabilities and obligations from the moment the case is opened.This moment does not depend on the period of actual use of the property.

The date of registration of the accepted property rights does not matter, if this procedure is provided. The transfer of ownership as a whole means that the successor cannot refuse any part of it. For example, when accepting the rights to an apartment, he cannot but accept the rights and obligations under the copyright agreement. The universality of succession extends to almost all cases of property transfer. An exception is the situation when the owner transfers specific objects to specific individuals by testament, if after that there are no unallocated things. The inheritance may contain such duties and rights that the successor did not even suspect.

Classification

The following types of inheritance rights are available:

1. By will.
2. By law (general order).

A feature of the latter case is that it takes place only in the presence of a complex of legal factors. These include:

1. The death of the owner.
2. Acceptance of an inheritance by a successor.
3. The presence of a certain relationship between the owner and the person to whom the property is transferred (kindred, marital, etc.).

When inheriting by will, in addition to the first two factors, a document is required - the written will of the deceased.

Nuances

Regulatory acts provide for different circumstances in which the law of succession is exercised. Inheritance by law can take place if it is not changed by will and in other cases. However, it can occur if there is a written expression of the will of the deceased. This is the case if the will has deprived the inheritance of all successors of the inheritance by a will, without specifying other persons to whom his property may transfer.

In such a situation, paragraph 2 of Art. 1151. In accordance with it, the state becomes the heir, and property - escheat. The rules allow other cases of general application in the presence of a will. So, if the deceased disposed of only part of the property, the remaining share goes to the successors on a common basis. The person specified in the will may refuse to use his inheritance law. The Civil Code of the Russian Federation in such cases allows the transfer of property due to it to other persons, if they are indicated in the written will of the deceased.

Composition of property

What objects are inherited? The Civil Code of the Russian Federation contains Art. 1112. It states that objects passing to successors include things, other values, legal opportunities and property obligations that belonged to the owner on the date of his death. When determining the objects to which the law of succession applies, the Code establishes that their composition may include shares of a participant in a partnership in faith, LLC, a full partnership in the authorized capital, shares of a member of a consumer or production cooperative.

Exceptions

It must be said that inheritance rights do not extend to all legal opportunities and obligations that belonged to the deceased owner. Some of them, for example, may cease to exist with death, and some may go to other persons who are not successors. So, under paragraph 2 of Art. 1112 duties and rights related to the person of the deceased are not included in the composition of the inheritance. These include, for example, the ability to receive child support, compensation for harm caused to health and life, other intangible goods. In addition, the successors cannot count on receiving pensions, benefits for the deceased, as well as on duties and rights that belonged to him under the social contract. hiring, assignments, etc. The list established in Art. 1112 is not considered exhaustive.

Opening a case

A large number of circumstances that are legally significant for the participants of the relationship are connected with it.When opening a case, subjects of inheritance law are established. Along with this, the possibility of transmission is determined (Article 1156). As part of the inheritance case, the amount of property, the norms that apply to this case are established. In addition, the need to ensure the transfer of property is determined. In due time, appropriate notarial and factual actions are taken regarding the acceptance of the inheritance or the refusal of it. These circumstances determine the importance of a normative definition of the place and time of opening a case.

Important point

Opening time hereditary affairs stands the date of death of a citizen. This provision is enshrined in Art. 1114, paragraph 1. As a rule, the date is indicated in the death certificate. In case of refusal of the civil registry office to fix the fact of the death of a person, it can be established in court. In this case, the day of death will be considered the date specified in the decision of the court. Otherwise, the time for opening a case is established when a person is declared dead. In accordance with the general procedure, this date is the day the court ruling on recognition of the citizen as effective.

Controversial issues

Before the third part of the Civil Code was adopted, the legislation did not resolve the issue regarding the succession by persons inheriting one after another, when they died on the same day, but at different times. For example, during an accident, the husband died at the scene of the accident, and the wife died after a few hours in the clinic. The jurisprudence in dealing with such situations was rather mixed. In some cases, decisions were made according to which the successor was a person who died on the same day, but after a while. The sun deemed such decisions incorrect. Currently, this problem has been resolved at the legislative level. Under paragraph 2 of Art. 1115, persons who died at different times but on the same day are considered to be dead at the same time and shall not inherit one after another. The opening of the case is carried out after each of them and the relatives of each of them are called for succession.

Territorial issue

The place of opening the inheritance case is the last address of the owner. However, it may not coincide with the place of death of the person. If a citizen died in another city, during a trip, in a hospital, and so on, the opening of the inheritance will be carried out at his preferred or permanent residence until this moment.

Separately defined rules for cases where the last place of residence of the person who owned the property on the territory of Russia is unknown or it is located outside its borders. In such situations, the opening of the inheritance is carried out in the village where the objects belonging to the deceased are located. They may be located in different parts of a country or region. In such situations, the inheritance is opened at the location of the property or the most valuable share of the property. The value is set in accordance with market value.

Relationship Participants

A person can be a testator whose property, after his death, is transferred to other entities on the grounds provided for in regulatory enactments. It can only be an individual. The heir is the subject to whom the duties and rights of the deceased pass. It may be the person indicated in the will. The heirs can be Russian citizens, partially or completely incapacitated, including, as well as foreigners living in the Russian Federation. One prerequisite is established for successors. They must be worthy heirs.

Unworthy successors

Inheritance rights do not apply to persons referred to in Art. 1117. Successors who have committed willful acts against the deceased or his relatives are deemed unworthy.This category also includes entities that impeded the implementation of the last will of the owner, expressed by him in the will. In the latter case, the circumstances must be established in court. Successors are deemed undeserving if:

1. By their behavior, they contributed to an increase in the volume of the share due to them or tried to commit such actions.
2. They illegally sought to call them to inherit.

The successor to whom the obligatory share of the property of the deceased is also deemed to be unworthy. One of the prerequisites is the commission of deliberate illegal actions. A person must understand that his behavior is unlawful, anticipate the likelihood or inevitability of negative consequences, and at the same time wish them to occur. Parents of deceased children are not successors if they have been judicially deprived of their parents' rights and not restored to them on the date the case was opened.

Property Transfer

At the place of opening of the case, the successors file an application. It is provided to the notary public, authorized to issue the corresponding certificate. An application may be submitted in person or through a representative, and may also be mailed. This method of accepting the inheritance is considered the most common. The second way is for the successors to perform certain actions. They should indicate their actual acceptance of the inheritance. The list of actions is given in Art. 1153 (p. 2). It is considered open and can be supplemented by other legitimate facts and events. For example, if the heir paid the debts of the deceased, then this action can be regarded as an actual statement of acceptance of the inheritance. Moreover, his recognition as a successor can be challenged. The burden of refutation in this case will rest with the person concerned.

Term

The law establishes the general period within which the inheritance must be adopted. It is six months from the date of death. In case of missing the deadline, it is possible to restore it. It is made in court. The law establishes two conditions for the restoration of the term:

1. There are good reasons for missing.
2. Appeal to the court within six months, after the circumstances disappeared that prevented the appeal to the notary on time.

The validity of the reasons is determined by the court. The lack of successor information on the opening of the inheritance case will be considered an essential circumstance if he should not have known about the death of the testator. This, in turn, is determined taking into account the nature of the relationship between the deceased and the person claiming a share in the property.

Rejection of Succession

He is allowed under Art. 1157 (p. 1). The heir may refuse his share by indicating the persons in whose favor he does it, or not specifying them. The provision of Art. 1157 does not apply to escheated property. The waiver of the inheritance must be carried out within six months from the date of opening the case. After its completion, it cannot be changed or recalled. The successor has the right to refuse the already accepted inheritance. In this case, the restoration of the missed period in court is allowed.

However, a successor who has accepted the inheritance through actual actions may take this opportunity. If he submitted an application to the notary's office, the restoration of the missed period is not allowed. Legislation limits the circle of persons in whose favor it is permitted to abandon its share. It does not include unworthy successors. You can refuse in favor of the heirs by testament or by law. In case of violation of the prohibitions provided for in the norms, this action will be considered null and void.