Distributing the property left behind after the owner's death among family members is not an easy task. During the process, many questions often arise. After all, each situation is individual. The text of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation talks about how the inheritance is divided after the death of a husband between his wife and children.
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The legislation defines a clear procedure for dividing inherited wealth, according to the order of kinship. But in life there are many nuances. The purpose of this article is to show how property division occurs in different everyday situations.
Family Code of the Russian Federation on inheritance acquired during marriage
According to the Family Code of the Russian Federation, all property acquired during marriage belongs equally to both husband and wife. Jointly acquired property includes:
- Material assets: money, jewelry, bonds;
- Real estate, movable property: houses, apartments, cars;
- Business.
In addition to valuables acquired over the years of married life, citizens also have personal property:
- Inherited and donated apartments and houses;
- Real estate and cars purchased before marriage.
During a divorce, spouses cannot claim the personal property of the other half.
However, if a man dies, his wife receives ½ of the joint property, and the second part is subject to inheritance.
In addition, the personal property of the spouse after his death is also transferred to his heirs.
The transfer of property rights to legal successors is carried out on the basis of:
- Wills of a deceased man;
- In the order of priority established by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
In accordance with Article No. 1119 of the Civil Code, every citizen has the right to dispose of property at his own discretion. For example:
- Leave without inheritance close relatives who are the primary claimants to property;
- Bequeath the entire inheritance to one person;
- Transfer all property to third parties;
- Divide the property equally among all family members.
A will is a document that a citizen draws up during his lifetime. It contains information about the distribution of property between heirs. The will of the deceased excludes disputes and conflicts between relatives during the division of property.
Article No. 1149 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation prohibits disinheriting the following categories of citizens:
- A spouse who has been declared incompetent by the court;
- Own children under 18 years of age;
- Parents and adult children with disabilities;
- Citizens who were under the care of the deceased for 12 months before his death.
Chapter No. 63 of the Civil Code describes the procedure for transferring property rights to heirs. According to regulatory legal acts, the main contender for a man’s property is his wife. However, there are exceptions: a woman will not be able to inherit property if the court finds her an unworthy recipient. Litigation is initiated if:
- The wife refused to care for her seriously ill husband;
- The woman committed an administrative or criminal offense against the testator or other heirs, wanting to take possession of all the property.
In addition to the widow, the main heirs are:
- Blood and adopted children of the deceased;
- Mother and father;
- Citizens who were dependent on a deceased person.
Joint property and inheritance
In marriage, spouses have joint property, which includes not only real estate, but also bank deposits, shared income, and so on. Common property does not include items of personal consumption (with the exception of jewelry), as well as real estate received as a gift, inherited or as a result of privatization.
After the death of the testator, the widow retains the rights to her share (50% of the total property), and the share of the deceased is included in the object of inheritance. Thus, the wife first receives her legal marital share of the common property (this right is prescribed in Article 256 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), and then a share of the inheritance.
The spouse has the right to draw up a written refusal of her part of the joint property. In such a situation, the object of inheritance becomes all property acquired by the family during marriage.
How is property divided between the spouse and children?
If the deceased did not leave a will, the distribution of property rights occurs in order of priority. According to the Civil Code, the spouse receives 50% of the jointly acquired property. The remaining part of the valuables is divided equally between the children and the official wife of the deceased.
For example, if three children were born in a family, each of them will receive 1/8.
The first-priority heirs include all the children of a man, regardless of what kind of marriage they were born into - official or civil. Adopted and illegitimate children can count on part of the property. If the child is born within 300 days of the man's death, he will also qualify for the inheritance. In addition, the heirs of the 1st stage are stepdaughters and stepsons who lived with the deceased man.
There are cases when a property cannot be divided into shares. There are several ways to distribute property rights:
- The apartment or house is sold, and the proceeds are divided among the heirs;
- By decision of all family members, the property is transferred to one heir free of charge;
- One legal successor receives the living space, and he pays monetary compensation to the remaining relatives.
To distribute the inheritance without conflicts and in a short time, relatives can enter into a voluntary agreement. It indicates the size of the share that will go to each of the applicants. For a document to have legal force, it must be certified by a notary. If the relatives of the deceased cannot reach an agreement, they can resolve this problem in court.
Distribution of inheritance shares
If the deceased person did not leave a will, the inheritance is divided between the wife and children in order of priority. Determination of shares occurs individually, depending on the circumstances. For example:
Igor Sergeev has a son and daughter who are direct heirs of the property. During his lifetime, the man made a will, according to which his son should receive a house worth 5 million. However, the daughter filed for disability and, according to the law, became a contender for her father’s inheritance. After the death of Igor Sergeev, the girl will receive 25% of the value of the house.
Example 2
Citizen Alexander Mukhin is married and has one child from his first marriage and two from his second. After the man’s sudden death, the property was divided without a will in the following order: his wife received 50%, and the rest was distributed between the children and the widow.
Changing the inheritance share
As was said, all the valuables of the deceased are divided equally between close relatives. However, there are exceptions provided for in Article No. 39 of the RF IC. According to the regulatory legal act, in some cases, heirs can go to court and change the size of their share.
You can change the share of the inheritance if:
- One legal successor is raising a minor child, and the second heir has no children;
- The direct heir is incapacitated or has a disability;
- One of the legal successors is recognized as an unworthy recipient;
- The primary heir abuses alcoholic beverages and drugs.
How are inherited funds divided?
If the deceased person had money in an account or securities, they are divided in the same way as real estate. It is worth noting that half of these values belong to the spouse and are joint property. A woman has the right to contact a notary office with a request to allocate her marital share. The notary will issue a certificate of ownership for half of the bank deposit. The remainder is divided equally among all heirs.
Liability for the debts of the deceased
In addition to real estate, money and cars, relatives also receive the debts of the deceased person. The heir who received a large share of the property must understand that the bank will require him to repay the main part of the loan.
All liabilities of the deceased are divided in the same order as the estate.
Property division
The issue of division of property after the death of the testator is resolved quickly if there is a will. According to the document, all relatives will receive the share specified in it. If the division of property occurs according to the law, then in the absence of a testamentary document, the property is distributed among relatives as follows (the sequence is prescribed in Article 1142 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation):
- The first priority heirs after the death of the husband are: wife and children. They will get their share anyway. Also included in the first priority are disabled people and relatives who are dependent on the deceased person.
- The heirs of the second stage are the elderly mother and father of the testator.
- Thirdly, a cousin/sister, etc. can participate in the division of property.
If the deceased has no relatives other than his wife, then the right to inheritance after the death of her husband goes to her. If there is no wife and there is a child, all property goes to him. If there are no relatives in the first line, a relative from another line can claim the inheritance.
In general, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation reflects that the total number of inheritance lines is eight, but it is extremely rare that they receive the opportunity to receive the property of the testator.
Algorithm for entering into inheritance
Within six months after the death of a person, his relatives must declare rights to the inheritance. To do this you need:
- Visit a notary and write an application;
- Pay the state fee;
- Receive a document confirming the transfer of ownership of the property;
- Obtain a certificate of ownership of the property or its share.
Until the moment of inheritance, relatives cannot make legal transactions with the property of the deceased person.
In the Civil Code there is the concept of “actual acceptance of inheritance”. For example, after the death of her husband, a woman does not visit a notary, but continues to live in a shared apartment, pay for housing and communal services, and make repairs. If there are no other heirs, the property automatically becomes the property of the widow.
Documents for receiving inheritance
Before visiting the notary, the heirs must prepare a package of documents. It includes:
- General passport;
- A certificate from the place of residence confirming that the legal successor lived with the deceased;
- Certificate of relationship with the testator.
The list of documents depends on which relative applies to the notary’s office. For example, the wife will need to present a marriage registration certificate and a certificate of death of her husband. In addition, the notary can request documents for an apartment, car, or land.
State duty
Each legal successor is obliged to pay the state a certain amount of money for entering into an inheritance. The payment is not fixed, but is expressed as a percentage. Thus, heirs of the first and second stages pay 0.3% of the received share of the property. Distant relatives are charged 0.6% .
The Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes the maximum amount of state duty. For primary legal successors it is 100,000 rubles , for other heirs - 1,000,000 rubles .
Division of inheritance during divorce
The notary cannot always independently allocate the marital share and exclude it from the inheritance mass.
If at the time of opening the inheritance the marriage between the testator and his spouse was dissolved, the allocation of the marital share of the testator's former spouse is possible only through a judicial procedure.
The fact is that a notary can allocate the spousal share of the surviving spouse , that is, only if at the time of death the testator was in a registered marriage. If we are talking about the share of ’s former spouse , then the notary may refuse to accept his application for the allocation of the marital share and explain to this person the right to file a corresponding claim in court, and the court will determine the shares of all heirs taking into account the allocation of the plaintiff’s spousal share.
Children from different marriages
Regardless of when the child was born and in what marriage, all of them are considered equal heirs. Unlike wives or husbands. Read more about this here.
Example : The deceased Maria Ivanovna had three husbands, each of whom had a child. In addition, she is not divorced from her last husband, but lives with her partner, whose relationship is not legalized. After her death, property jointly acquired with her legal spouse is divided in half, and 50% goes to him. The remaining half and the woman’s personal property is divided into 3 parts according to the number of children. The partner and the first two husbands receive nothing.
What do wives inherit after the death of their husbands?
In the event of the death of one of the parents, the child automatically becomes the heir. The husband's share is divided between the children and the wife. The mother becomes the administrator of the accepted inheritance until the child reaches adulthood. The property assets inherited by will or without one at the time when the inheritance is divided are:
- apartment, house;
- plot, dacha;
- car, garage;
- securities;
- jewelry and furniture;
- personal belongings;
- interior items;
- cash savings;
- business and investment income;
- debts.
The last point requires special attention. When an inheritance is divided, in addition to valuables, responsibility is transferred in the form of an obligation to repay the testator's debts. This applies to debts for utilities and other obligatory payments. But this should not be confused with fines. Punishments imposed on the deceased do not pass on to his successors.
How to challenge a spousal share?
When the surviving spouse applies to a notary, by default ½ share in the joint property is allocated. But other heirs may not agree with such a division.
In order to increase the deceased’s share in the joint property of the spouses or to recognize the divided property as personal, it is necessary to go to court. The applicant in the process can only be an interested person (heir, creditor). The defendant is the surviving spouse.
In order for the court to satisfy the plaintiff's demands, it is necessary that he present irrefutable evidence that this property is the personal property of the deceased.
For example, it was purchased with donated money or personal funds of the deceased.
The procedure for dividing property according to law
In cases where there is no will, it is declared invalid, or the heirs have abandoned the property, the heirs by law are called upon to inherit in order of priority.
The legal spouse and children are included in the circle of first-line heirs and inherit in equal shares.
In what cases does inheritance take place by law? Read more in the article:
Inheritance by law: order of succession (scheme)
What rights do common-law spouses have?
The most difficult case is when the inheritance left by a common-law husband is divided. If you find yourself in such a situation, contact a lawyer for advice. Only they can help achieve justice. No one shares with his common-law wife. According to the law, people living together outside of marriage are not relatives. This fact means that there are no rights of inheritance between a common-law wife and husband. As a result, the property is divided without the participation of the woman.
A similar situation arises in relation to ex-spouses. The dissolution of a marriage leads to the elimination of inheritance rights. Having children together is another matter. The fact of paternity is confirmed by making appropriate entries in the child’s passport and birth certificate. If this requirement is not met, it is extremely difficult to prove the fact of relationship, and in some cases it is impossible. When something is divided after the passing of loved ones, you cannot do without lawyers in court. You will have to collect evidence, write demands, file a statement of claim, participate in court proceedings, and seek execution of the decision.
When division has to be made, the jointly registered child is the heir. In this case, the property is divided between him and the other children. The wife also has the right to share, even if the spouses do not live together. Having a marriage certificate is a leading document that determines the right not to share with anyone unless there are special conditions. A will is the only reason to deprive the formal wife of the right to participate in the process when the time comes for division.
The so-called "extraordinary" heirs
There is also a special category of heirs who can join any line called to inherit and receive an equal share with them. This:
- disabled relatives indicated as part of one of the lines of inheritance (from 2nd to 7th), provided that they received constant maintenance from the testator (i.e. they were his dependents) during the last year,
- disabled dependents who were already mentioned in the 8th line of heirs. If none of the heirs of the previous seven orders accepts the inheritance, then they will receive it in full.
But if closer relatives have declared their rights, then such dependents will inherit only a share equal to the rest of the heirs.
Please note that not only disabled people are now recognized as disabled, but also citizens who have reached pre-retirement age (i.e. women - 55 years old, men - 60 years old).
Therefore, such an unexpected situation may arise, for example: the children accepted the inheritance after their father, but he also had a cohabitant who was 55 years old, she did not receive a pension and for the last year she lived on the testator’s money.
Having proved her dependency, such a cohabitant can legally oblige the children to give her an equal share of the inheritance.
Refusal of share
Any of the heirs has the right to refuse their share. The refusal can be drawn up in favor of any of the relatives, regardless of which line he belongs to.
You can only renounce the entire share; you cannot partially transfer the rights to use the property due under the will. To refuse, it is enough to draw up a statement in which the persons in whose favor the heir refuses the share are registered.
There are many reasons for such an act, ranging from the presence of debts on inherited property and ending with the reluctance to incur additional costs for maintaining the property.
Civil marriage
A situation often occurs in which a man and a woman live in a civil marriage without officially registering with the registry office. In this case, after the death of his common-law wife (her status is recognized by law as a “cohabitant”), the man has no rights to her property. The woman's children, her parents, or even her official husband, if she has one, will inherit. The only option is to make a will, but even in this case, the cohabitant will receive only part of the property, if there is an official husband (if they are not divorced).
