Sometimes situations arise in our life when, after the death of lonely old people or in the absence of heirs, the question arises of who will own their property if there are no legal bearers. In this case, the law provides for such a thing as escheat. Unclaimed property, its inheritance - these are articles that are clearly spelled out in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
What is an escheated inheritance
In a legal sense, an escheated inheritance is property left after the death of a citizen, which, due to certain circumstances, has not passed into anyone else's possession. Reasons may include:
- Lack of legal inheritance bearers.
- The will states that the property does not pass to any of the heirs.
- Removal of legal heirs from inheritance.
- Heirs are not entitled to inheritance.
- Legitimate heirs constituted a waiver of inheritance.
- In the allotted time, no one claimed their right to inherit.
- If the deceased left his property in favor of the state.
If, for the above reasons, no heirs were found, then automatically the property of the deceased passes into the possession of the state, which cannot refuse to inherit, including not only property, but also debts and encumbrances. Such inheritance is called escheat, and its status is determined in accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Unclaimed property is the inheritance by law of property from the deceased by the state.
Descendants
The following shall have the right to inherit escheated property:
- Municipalities in the territory of which there is a real estate or a land plot with all its buildings or shares in a certain room or plot.
- The owner of all other types of escheated inheritance is the Russian Federation.
In this case, escheated property becomes the property of the municipality. Its registration as part of the social use fund begins.
Grounds for refusal to legal heirs
In accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, legal bearers may be denied the right to inherit if:
- The heirs intentionally committed illegal actions directed against the deceased or one of his heirs. If these actions were aimed at preventing the expression of the last will of the deceased as a testament. The category of such violations includes the murder or attempt on the life of the testator and his heirs, causing harm to health. This category also includes any actions that aimed at illegally inheriting or attempting to increase their or someone else’s share of the heirs illegally. The grounds for such a refusal are considered in court and enter into force on the basis of a judicial opinion.
- The basis for refusal of inheritance is the deprivation of parental rights. In such a situation, in the event of the death of the child, the parents. deprived of parental rights in court and not restored to them, do not have the right to inherit property belonging to their child.
The basis for declaring the legitimate heirs unworthy
Citizens who viciously shied away from helping and caring for the deceased, when he was in dire need of it, can also be removed from the inheritance. Such violations include: refusal to pay alimony for the maintenance of disabled elderly parents.Such a decision is made in court and takes effect on the basis of a court decision. A lawsuit is filed for consideration of such a petition from other applicants for the inheritance.
Order of inheritance of escheated property
The Russian Federation, like other heirs, enters into inheritance rights according to the same scheme:
- Appeal of the heir to the notary authority for:
- confirmation of the fact of death;
- confirmation of the last two places of residence of the deceased;
- the existence of grounds on which the fact of ownership of the property is confirmed;
- documents confirming escheated property as belonging to the deceased;
- Establishment of the estimated value of inherited property.
- The status of the bearer of rights must be confirmed by the power of attorney issued to the representative of the Russian Federation.
- After a period of 6 months after death, the bearer is issued a certificate of succession rights. The Russian Federation does not pay state duty, unlike ordinary citizens.
- After obtaining the rights to the inheritance, it is registered with the territorial administration of Rosreestr.
Execution of an escheat
The procedure for registration of escheated property:
- The Federal Property Management Agency or its subdivisions in whose territory the escheated inheritance is located receives a certificate of inheritance under the law of property from a notary. In some cases, when the heirs are deprived of the right to inherit, a court decision will be the document for the adoption of the inheritance.
- Further, the inheritance is transferred to the tax authorities, which are required to ensure the safety and record of the escheated inheritance.
- A notary submits to the Federal Tax Service a full list of escheat.
- If during the transfer by the notary of the list some part of the property was lost, then the Federal Tax Service, on the rights of the heir, may file a claim with the authority that was appointed to monitor the safety of the escheated property. Then the funds that will be compensated for the loss of property by the responsible authorities, at the request of the court from such proceedings will go to the budget.
- At the next stage, the escheat of property is assessed. For this, expert commissions are invited, which, after the process of inventory and evaluation, in accordance with the letter of the law, draw up the relevant acts on their implementation.
Valuation of inherited property
When the recognition of property escheats, there is a need for its assessment. The escort property is assessed by a commission, which includes representatives of the tax authorities and the organization that inherits and is a representative of the state. 
Such a commission is obliged to conduct an assessment of the inherited property within five days from the date of entry into the inheritance. In this case, the price is determined on the basis of which the property undergoes a full assessment. Evaluation experts compiling inventories of inherited property may also be involved, the list of which includes land and all the small property of the deceased. Even property such as animals, clothes, books and so on is inherited. On the basis of the inventory and the established cost at which the expert evaluates the described property, he draws up an act and estimates, which are the basis for the sale and, accordingly, for the acquisition of escheated property by third parties.
Realization of escheat
Realization of escheated property is carried out by tax authorities, while property expressed in buildings and land is donated to local governments. On the basis of the act of the appraiser, the procedure is determined in which the described escort property will be realized. The Civil Code of the Russian Federation prohibits the transfer of escheated property to the disposal or temporary use of third parties or employees of the tax authorities, as well as the tax organization itself.These rules exist to exclude the interests of the organization and the persons involved in its activities. Funds from the sold inheritance go to the state budget.
Revocation of escheat
If a situation arises in which escheat property is awarded for return to the heirs, then the money received from its sale must be reimbursed to the buyer when:
- a certificate certifying the status of the inheritance is invalid;
- court orders and acts in accordance with which the transfer of this property into the possession of the state was determined will also be declared null and void.
If it is not possible to return the inheritance due to circumstances, then its estimated value is reimbursed to the legal heirs from the state budget.
Restoration of inheritance rights to escheat
If the inheritance was found to be extinct at the end of the period specified in the law, during which the legal heir was not declared, and after he appeared, having a good reason for not having applied for the right of inheritance within the established period, you can restore your right to inherit . To do this, you must:
- apply to the court with a claim for the restoration of the right of inheritance;
- indicate the reason why no application for inheritance was filed under the law of escheated property during the established period;
- apply to court with a request to restore the period during which it was necessary to enter into the inheritance.
In this case, escheated property passes into the possession of the legal bearer for the right of inheritance.
In case of a positive court decision on restoration terms of inheritance it is necessary to file a statement of your rights with the Rosreestr or the Federal Tax Service, having filed a claim for the demand for the return of the property, or if it was already sold at that time, to return the estimated value from the state budget.
Escheat. Inheritance of duties
Along with escheating property, the state also accepts the inheritance of obligations and debts of the deceased. For example, if a person had outstanding loans, utility bills at the time of death, then the state, together with the acquisition of property, undertakes to pay debts for the deceased. In the event of such a situation, credit organizations or representatives of public utilities file lawsuits against the state represented by the State Register or the Federal Tax Service for the repayment of debt obligations of the deceased. By a court decision to satisfy such claims, funds from the state budget are allocated to pay for the obligations and debts of the deceased. The state has no right to refuse these obligations, debts and must pay them in full.
Inheritance of cash deposits in the bank
If the deceased had cash deposits in a banking institution, these deposits are considered as escheating property, the inheritance of which occurs in the usual manner, along with other types of inheritance. As in the case of real estate, cash deposits are inherited in the same manner. After the expiration of the time period in which it is necessary to exercise the right of inheritance, without having a bearer of such property, the state enters into the inheritance, taking possession of this money. In the case of recognition of cash deposits as escheat, they are transferred to the state budget.
After the death of the depositor, the bank does not have the right to recognize funds as its own, and is obliged to give the deposit to the legal heir or the state if it is recognized by the court as escheating property. Depending on the type of deposit and the conditions of its maintenance and collateral, it can be claimed from banks by the state at any time, not contradicting the conditions under which this contribution was made.
Unclaimed property, the inheritance of which passes to the state, is an indicator of the care and responsibility of the state for its citizens. So, it can carry both profit and costs, which are the responsibility of the state to its citizens.
