Any citizen has the right not only at his discretion to dispose of his property and cash accumulations after death, but also to keep his testament secret.
The legislative framework
The main principle of the secret of the will is the free expression of the will of citizens. It is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Moreover, the right to personal secret enshrined in the fundamental law of our country extends not only to the secret of the will, but also to all information of a personal nature.
Civil law contains rules that specify persons who are required to keep the secret of a document drawn up by the testator. The Civil Code of the Russian Federation also establishes liability for non-compliance with requirements. Similar norms exist in the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses.
Legislation Protected by Law
Information not subject to intravital disclosure:
- on persons included in the testamentary disposition as heirs;
- a list of testament property and cash deposits of the testator;
- changes made to the document during the life of the testator;
- information about the cancellation of the testamentary document.
A citizen who has drawn up a document during his life has the right to a secret will and must not notify anyone about it.
The entire text of the will of the document will be read to the present relatives only after death and in the presence of the corresponding certifying documents (death certificate).
The opening of the inheritance occurs from the moment of death. Entering the inheritance rights is possible only after contacting the notary's office of all interested persons (heirs of the deceased) within six months after opening.
A citizen is recognized dead if there is an opinion from a medical institution or by a court decision in accordance with the law.
Other methods of obtaining information on testamentary disposition are unacceptable.
Reasons for Confidentiality
Many older people express a desire to leave a will, not hiding it at all from those around them, including relatives.
At the same time, the testator often speaks out his will out loud (for example: “I will leave it to you, I will leave it to him ...”), for which, of course, it is impossible to condemn an elderly person. Oral expression of will does not give the right to inherit a property after the death of a relative, except in accordance with the law.
This is often the reason for the post-mortem debate between the relatives of the deceased. To avoid unpleasant disputes and pressure from relatives, there is a secret testament.
Who can read the secret information
The following persons are entitled to familiarize themselves with the public information of a citizen with secret personal information:
- Law enforcement agencies within the framework of the criminal case under investigation within the limits vested in them by law.
- Judicial authorities in criminal or civil proceedings.
The listed authorities are entitled to request data on the will of a citizen in person if such information is able to shed light on the circumstances of the case, which are important.
The structural bodies of the Federal Tax Service do not have the right to request information about the citizen’s inheritance and violate the secret of the will
But employees of units of the Federal Bailiff Service are required to request information from the notary about the existing heirs after six months after the death of the debtor or collector. Such actions are necessary to establish the succession of the deceased party to enforcement proceedings.
The provision of information by a notary is carried out only upon receipt of an official request.
Who does the disclosure ban apply to?
The secret of the will shall apply to all those present during the preparation of the document of citizens, with the exception of the testator himself. The testator himself can freely divulge the fact of compiling the document and the details of its contents, if it considers it necessary.
Persons obliged to keep a secret of their will include:
- A notary (official) who has certified the document with the rights granted to him by law, even after the termination of his professional activity.
- Witnesses attending the paperwork.
- Applier (person authorized to sign a will if the testator is not able to do it on his own).
- Translator invited for a citizen who does not speak Russian.
- Other notaries holding information by virtue of the performance of their duties.
All persons present during the preparation of the document are obliged to be warned of liability measures that can be applied to them when establishing the fact of disclosure of the will of the will and interpretations of the will.
Statutory liability
Personal information belongs to the category of intangible goods of a citizen by civil law, therefore, an encroachment by other persons on these goods is prosecuted by law.
For the disclosure of personal information, in particular violation of the will of the will, in our country responsibility is provided for within all branches of law in relation to both civil and officials:
- Administrative liability is provided by article 13.14 for the disclosure of restricted access information. Shall be punishable by a fine of four to five thousand rubles for an official, from five hundred to one thousand rubles for an individual citizen.
- Criminal liability is provided for violation of privacy and entails one or more of these penalties:
- fine;
- obligatory work;
- correctional work;
- deprivation of liberty;
- deprivation of the right to carry out certain types of activities or fill certain positions.
Similar types of punishments apply not only to officials, but also to civilians.
3. Civil protection of one’s rights for violation of the freedom of the will and confidentiality of the will shall be expressed in the recovery of non-pecuniary damage inflicted to the compiler in value terms. The amount of non-pecuniary damage is determined by the court regardless of the amount requested by the plaintiff. The decisive factors in determining the amount of non-pecuniary damage are the experiences suffered by the citizen and the consequences arising from this (for example, illness due to the deterioration of the state of mind of the citizen).
Protecting the contents of a will
It is possible to protect your will from encroachment on the disclosure of its contents if you draw up a testament in private form. In this case, the text of the document is known only to the testator, and the opening of the envelope with the will is carried out only after the death of a citizen.
Reducing the number of unauthorized persons present during the preparation of the document will significantly reduce the risk of disclosing secret information. The likelihood that the notary will commit a misconduct, risking his position, is not so great.
It is important to understand that the absence of a duplicate will in the hands of the testator does not indicate its absence in principle.