In Russia, as they say, “they don’t write wills.” There is no such tradition and practice. There is no need for lawyers to speculate about why this happened.
Let representatives of other social sciences figure this out. Our business is to state the fact: despite the fact that the legislation of the Russian Federation provides for inheritance, both by will and by law, the vast majority of inheritance cases are resolved legally, and not according to the will of the deceased.
It would be more accurate to say that this is the will of the testator - to leave the law and the heirs the right to deal with the property themselves, which is no longer needed by its owner. And the heirs themselves prefer this understandable and familiar method.
And since this is so, it is important to consider this issue in detail and explain to potential heirs (and this is virtually the entire population of the country) the essence and order of inheritance according to the law. Our article is devoted to this topic.
ATTENTION! Inheritance is regulated by law in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Specifically, articles No. 1152, 1143, 1144, 1145, 1148. In the article we will look at their provisions in detail and find out in what order relatives (and not always relatives) enter into inheritance rights.
Who is the first heir?
Among the huge line of relatives, at the death of each person, a special group of the closest ones stands out . These people are most likely to receive the abandoned property.
After my father's death
Important! Before the distribution of property begins, it is necessary to allocate the part of it that belongs to the wife of the deceased and will not be subject to inheritance.
If the father did not leave a will , the property will be divided between the legal heirs (Article 1148 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation):
- mother (the wife of the deceased father, if their marriage is formalized).
- His natural and adopted children.
- His parents (natural or adopted).
Then the rest of the property is divided equally among the first-degree relatives.
In the case where there are no such heirs, the property must be divided between representatives of the second priority .
If there are no people willing to receive the property in any of the inheritance lines, it will go to the state in full.
Read more about how to enter into an inheritance after the death of your father in this material.
After mother
The following people are considered legal heirs:
- father (legal husband of the deceased, if they were officially married).
- Her natural and adopted children.
- Her natural and adoptive parents.
Before distributing property into shares, it is necessary to allocate the husband's legal half from it . It is not subject to division and goes to him in full, which does not detract from his rights to a share of the inheritance.
Family ties must be documented . A common-law husband has no right to his wife's inheritance.
The parents of the deceased can count on their share only if they were not deprived of parental rights in court. The grandchildren of the deceased woman can inherit for the children by right of representation.
Find out more about the list of documents for entering into an inheritance after the death of your mother here.
Order of succession
The logic of inheritance by law is approximately the same in all countries. This is a kind of “ladder” - the closer the relationship, the greater the chances of becoming the heir of this or that person. If there are no close relatives, distant ones are sought. Sometimes even those who do not suspect the existence of the testator.
In Russia, there is no such practice - if the heirs themselves do not show up within six months, the inheritance will go to the state. But Western notaries can really “scour the whole world” in search of distant branches of the family tree. And people sometimes receive an inheritance without having any idea who it is from. But such situations belong rather to the category of mythical ones. Let's return to earth and to Russia.
The legislation of the Russian Federation provides for seven lines of inheritance, plus a conditional eighth - “disabled dependents of the testator.” The last line is not related. A dependent, that is, a person whom the testator fed and supported, can be anyone. Related queues are as follows:
- First: husbands/wives, fathers/mothers, children. Children are considered to be everything that exists - from all marriages, illegitimate, “abandoned”, those for whom the testator was deprived of parental rights, adopted, unborn. Husbands and wives - only relevant ones. Parents are both natural and adoptive parents. The exception is for parents deprived of parental rights. Along with parental rights, inheritance rights are lost.
- Second: brothers/sisters, parents of parents on both sides (grandparents)
- Third: siblings of parents (in other words, aunts and uncles of the testator)
- Fourth: parents of grandparents (that is, great-grandparents, which does not happen often, but is possible with a “generation shift” - when in one of the related tribes siblings or children from different marriages have an age difference of 20 years or more)
- Fifth: cousins/granddaughters and grandparents (that is, siblings of grandparents or grandchildren of siblings)
- Sixth: cousins, nieces/nephews, uncles/aunts (that is, children of cousins/brothers or cousins of parents)
- Seventh: not blood, but “social” relatives - stepmother/stepfather, stepsons/stepdaughters (that is, spouses of parents who did not adopt the testator and children of the testator’s spouses who were not adopted by him)
Thus, family ties are practically exhausted. If the heirs of the current line died before the testator, their right to receive the inheritance upon presentation passes to their heirs.
That is, grandchildren, great-great-grandsons, great-nephews, and so on can receive the inheritance.
Applicants for the obligatory share
Reference! First of all, incapacitated and incapacitated heirs from the first stage can claim the compulsory share.
They receive it if a will is drawn up, but their names are not in it. By law, they can count on no less than half of the portion that would have gone to them if the will had not been drawn up.
Read more about how the inheritance is divided after the death of a husband between his wife and children, son and daughter from his first marriage.
Reasons why first-priority relatives may be deprived of their rights
Still, there are special conditions under which heirs from the first stage may lose their part of the property:
- himself submits an application for refusal to the notary . It is not necessary to indicate a reason.
- Recognition of the heir as unworthy . This action can only be decided by the courts. The reasons must be very compelling and proven in court. This may be unworthy behavior: forcing other persons to give up their share, increasing the size of the personal part of the property by fraudulent means, refusing to care for the testator and support him during his lifetime.
- If the testator himself indicated in the will that he does not want to give part of his property to a certain person . The property will go to him only if he is a compulsory heir.
If a person himself does not want to receive a share of the property due to him, he does not have to write a refusal. He may simply not contact a notary and his rights will automatically be lost after six months.
Transfer of the right to accept inheritance, or Hereditary transmission
The transfer of the right to accept an inheritance (hereditary transmission) is one of the options for inheritance by law or by will.
What is hereditary transmission and what are its features?
The essence of hereditary transmission is as follows: if the heir , called to inherit by will or by law, died after the opening of the inheritance , without having time to accept it , the right to accept the inheritance due to him <*>. In other words, instead of the deceased heir, his heirs are called , to whom the right of the deceased heir to accept the opened inheritance of the testator passes.
Note! Inheritance by way of hereditary transmission must be distinguished from inheritance by right of representation, which occurs in the event of the death of an heir by law before the opening of the inheritance or simultaneously with the testator <*>.
Example Situation 1. The testator’s son died a month after his death, without having time to accept his father’s inheritance. The daughter of the deceased son of the testator, i.e. the latter's granddaughter will be called to inherit in place of her father by way of hereditary transmission. Situation 2. The testator had a son who died before him and left behind a daughter, i.e. granddaughter of the testator. She is called upon to inherit after the death of the testator (her grandfather) by right of representation.
Inheritance by hereditary transmission has the following features :
1. an heir who died after the opening of the inheritance and did not have time to accept it, must have been called to inherit during his lifetime on any of the grounds , i.e. either by will or by law. In other words, he should have had the right to accept the inheritance or refuse it, and at the same time did not have time to do either the first or the second.
Note: The rules on hereditary transmission do not apply when there was no call to inherit, the deceased heir was deprived of the right to inherit, managed to renounce the inheritance during his lifetime, etc.;
2. the right of a deceased heir to accept part of the inheritance as a compulsory share to his heirs in the manner of hereditary transmission does not pass <*>. This is due to the fact that the heir’s right to an obligatory share is closely related to his personality and is intended to protect his rights , and not the rights of possible heirs;
3. Inheritance by way of hereditary transmission occurs only when it is known for sure that the deceased heir, before the expiration of the established period for accepting the inheritance, did not accept it in any of the ways established by law.
Note! Accepting an inheritance is possible in two ways <*>: 1) by submitting to the notary at the place of opening of the inheritance an application from the heir to accept the inheritance or an application for issuing a certificate of the right to inheritance; 2) by actually taking possession or managing the inherited property (taking measures to preserve the property, making expenses at your own expense for its maintenance, etc.).
If the heir died after the opening of the inheritance, but managed to accept it , then hereditary transmission does not occur . In this case, the inherited property is included in the deceased heir’s own estate and is inherited by his heirs. That is, not the right to accept the inheritance that passes to the heirs of the deceased heir, but the inherited property itself. If the inheritance includes an obligatory share, then in such a situation it will be considered the inherited property of the deceased heir, and therefore will also pass to his heirs;
4. the right to accept an inheritance in the order of hereditary transmission is not included in the inheritance opened after the death of the heir who did not have time to accept the inheritance of the testator <*>. In other words, such a right does not become part of the inheritance left by the deceased heir. In this regard, the heir of the deceased heir can: - accept both the inheritance of the testator, the right to accept which instead of the deceased heir passed to him in the order of hereditary transmission, and the inheritance left to him as the heir of the deceased heir; - accept one of these two inheritances and refuse the other; - do not accept both.
Note: Acceptance of an inheritance through hereditary transmission does not automatically entail acceptance of an inheritance on a general basis, i.e. after the deceased heir, and vice versa.
Who can be the heir
The right to accept the inheritance due to the deceased after the opening of the inheritance to the heir who did not have time to accept it passes to his heirs <*>. The above norm does not contain more precise instructions. Therefore, in this case, one should be guided by the general rules on the calling to inheritance. In accordance with them, inheritance by will is carried out first . Inheritance by law occurs <*>: - when there is no will or - the will does not determine the fate of the entire inheritance; - in other cases established by the Civil Code and other acts of legislation adopted in accordance with it.
It follows from this that if the deceased heir: - all property was bequeathed , then the right to accept the inheritance in the manner of hereditary transmission passes to the heirs under the will ; - only part of the property bequeathed or a will was not drawn up , then the right to accept the inheritance passes to his heirs by law in order of priority.
Thus, heirs can be called upon to inherit instead of a deceased heir by way of hereditary transmission, in contrast to inheritance by right of representation, both by law and by will .
How much property is inherited?
In the case of inheritance by hereditary transmission, the heir of a deceased heir may receive no more than what the deceased heir would have received if he had been alive and inherited part of his inheritance left by the testator. That is, the heir of the deceased heir is given the right to accept only that part of the inheritance that was due to the latter.
If the deceased heir has several heirs, then the share that would have been due to the deceased heir if he had been alive is divided between them .
Example A testator has three heirs - two daughters and a son. The testator did not leave a will. Therefore, inheritance is carried out by law. All heirs are heirs of the first stage <*>. Each of them claims 1/3 of the inheritance. Two daughters of the testator accepted the inheritance, and the son died after the opening of the inheritance, without having time to accept it. However, the son left two children. In accordance with the rules of hereditary transmission, two grandchildren of the testator (children of the deceased son of the testator), who will inherit instead of his son, will also be called to inherit after the testator, along with his two daughters. A total of four heirs are summoned. In this case, the testator’s two daughters will each receive 1/3 of the inheritance, and the grandchildren will divide among themselves the share due to their father (also 1/3), i.e. each of them will receive 1/6 (1/3 / 2).
What are the deadlines for accepting an inheritance?
As a general rule, an inheritance can be accepted within six months from the date of opening of the inheritance <*>. The right to accept an inheritance belonging to a deceased heir is exercised by his heirs on a general basis <*>.
Thus, the beginning of the period for accepting an inheritance in the order of hereditary transmission is calculated according to the general rules - from the date of opening of the inheritance , to which the deceased heir was called upon to accept.
The end date of this period depends on how much time has passed between the day of death of the testator and the day of death of the heir. This is due to the fact that the heirs of the deceased heir exercise their right to accept the inheritance during the remaining part of the period for accepting the inheritance after the death of the heir. Moreover, if the remaining part of the period is less than three months , it is extended to three months <*>. Thus, the heirs of the deceased heir in any case have at least three months .
Example Situation 1. Citizen O. died on November 25, 2017. His heir, citizen E. (son), died on February 13, 2018, before he could accept the inheritance. In accordance with the procedure for hereditary transmission, citizen E., the wife of citizen E. (son of the testator), was called to inherit. Due to the fact that at the time of the death of citizen E. more than three months remained before the expiration of the six-month period for accepting the inheritance, the period for accepting the inheritance for citizen E. will be the same as that of her husband, citizen E. Situation 2. Citizen G. died 01/02/2018. His heir, citizen N. (wife), died four and a half months later, before she could accept her husband’s inheritance. In accordance with the procedure for hereditary transmission, Citizen E., the daughter of Citizen N., was called to inherit. By the time of Citizen N.’s death, about a month and a half remained before the expiration of the six-month period for accepting the inheritance, which is less than three months. In this case, the remaining period for accepting the inheritance is extended to three months.
After the expiration of the period for accepting the inheritance, i.e. If is missed , including an extended one, the heirs of the deceased heir may be recognized by the court as having accepted the inheritance . This is possible if the court considers the reasons for missing this deadline to be valid . In particular, the court will establish that the deadline was missed because the heir did not know and should not have known about the opening of the inheritance. the condition must be met : such an heir went to court within six months after the reasons for the omission ceased <*>.
Note: An inheritance can be accepted by the heir of a deceased heir without going to court, subject to the consent of all other heirs of the main testator <*>.
How is responsibility for debts distributed?
As noted above, the heirs of a deceased heir can: - accept the inheritance in the order of hereditary transmission, but refuse the inheritance left by the deceased heir, and vice versa; - accept both inheritances or refuse both the first and the second.
In this regard, it is necessary to distinguish between the rights and obligations of the heirs who accepted the inheritance: - in the order of hereditary transmission ; - immediately after the deceased heir .
This is due to the fact that each of the inheritances includes objects that are separate from each other and have different owners: - when inheriting by way of hereditary transmission - those that belonged to the testator; - when inheriting directly after a deceased heir - belonging to him.
Liability for the debts of the testator and the deceased heir is also differentiated. As a general rule, each of the heirs who accepted the inheritance is liable for the debts of the testator within the limits of the value of the inherited property transferred to him <*>.
When inheriting by hereditary transmission, you should pay attention to the following <*>:
1) the heir who accepted the inheritance as a result of hereditary transmission is liable to the extent of the value of this inherited property for the debts of the testator to whom this property belonged. At the same time, he is not liable for the debts of the deceased heir ;
2) an heir who received inherited property either directly as a result of the opening of the testator’s inheritance , or in the order of hereditary transmission , is not liable for the debts of the deceased heir , from whom the right to accept the inheritance was transferred to him. At the same time, he is liable for the debts of the testator within the limits of the value of the inherited property received on both grounds .
Thus, the inheritance received by the heir through hereditary transmission cannot be used to repay the claims of creditors for repayment of the debts of the deceased heir.
If the main representatives are not included in the document
When drawing up a will, the testator can deprive any relatives of the right to inheritance and give it to complete strangers. But they may disagree with this and try to challenge their rights in court.
Reasons for this may be:
- the will was drawn up with gross errors.
- It was issued under pressure from the outside, and not voluntarily.
- The document was drawn up by an incompetent person who was not aware of his actions. This is prohibited by law.
- Among the items of the will there is property that the testator does not own.
Important! A testamentary document may be contested in whole or in part. To go to court, you must write a statement and indicate in it the reason for the need to reconsider the case. You also need to submit documents that will serve as evidence.
It can be:
- witness statements.
- Results of the examination carried out posthumously.
- Certificates of arrears of alimony.
- Any other documents and certificates from institutions that will confirm the reason for revising the will.
It is quite difficult to challenge a will in court; you need to provide a lot of evidence of its illegality. But if there is a serious reason for this, then it’s worth a try.
Who can be disinherited?
Legal heirs may initially not have the right of inheritance, or may lose it during the registration of the inheritance. Only a court can deprive an heir of this right.
We list the legal cases of deprivation of heirs' rights to inheritance under the law:
- Inheritance to children is a parent's right. Consequently, parents who have been deprived of parental rights by the court are also deprived of this right.
- Heirs who committed illegal actions towards the testator (caused him physical and/or psychological suffering) are considered unworthy and are deprived of the right to inherit by law.
- Adult children who did not fulfill the child support obligations to their parents that the court imposed on them are deprived of the right to their inheritance.
- If there was no court decision on child support, and the children simply refused to help their elderly parents, despite extreme need, the relatives who did this for them can sue. Such behavior is considered grounds for declaring the heir unworthy and depriving him of inheritance rights.
- Heirs who attempted to illegally obtain the right to inheritance, or intended to increase the size of their share to the detriment of the interests of other heirs, may also be considered unworthy and excluded from the number of heirs in the queue.
If you still have questions regarding this topic and you did not find answers to them within the framework of this article, ask them to a lawyer on our portal.
On the Prav.io portal you can find a lawyer who will help you protect your rights during a confusing and complex dispute between relatives about inheritance.
If a will is not made
- If the spouses have not officially registered their relationship , then it will be difficult to prove in court the right of inheritance of one of them, but this can be done. To do this, it is necessary to provide undeniable evidence that the couple lived together and acquired property jointly. Testimony from neighbors and other relatives and the availability of receipts from stores will help with this.
- If one of the blood parents of an adopted child has died , then he has no right to inherit from him. The exception is cases when, by a court decision, the child has maintained ties with his natural parents or one of them. An adopted child can inherit property after the death of his adoptive parent.
- Disabled dependents of the testator can claim an inheritance if they were dependent on him for at least a year and lived with him all this time.
Features of inheritance by children
Attention! A minor child cannot accept an inheritance on his own due to his incapacity (except for those cases when he is married or has been emancipated by decision of the guardianship authorities). Therefore, his guardian or parent takes over the property for him.
- A child has the right to his share of the inheritance, even if his parents divorced or were never married. To do this, the deceased must be listed as a parent on the birth certificate.
- Even if a child under 18 is not included in the will or his share in it is too small, the law restores justice. He gets that part of the property that is due according to the rules of the obligatory part (Article 1149 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Read more about the will of a mother or father for an apartment for a minor child here.
- A minor (or his guardian for him) has no right to refuse to receive his share without the permission of the guardianship authorities.
- A teenager from 14 to 18 years of age can enter into an inheritance with the consent of his representative by law.
Read more about the procedure for transferring property from parents to a son or daughter here.
