Termination of an annuity agreement with lifelong maintenance (Lifetime annuity agreement)

Lifetime maintenance agreement with dependents.

A lifelong maintenance agreement
is one of the civil legal forms of providing for citizens and belongs to the institutions of civil law associated with the alienation of certain property for a fee (or free) in order to obtain a stable permanent income in the form of rental payments.
Under a rent agreement, one party (rent recipient, alienator) transfers ownership of property to the other party (rent payer, acquirer), and the rent payer, in return, undertakes to periodically pay rent to the recipient in the form of a certain amount of money or in another form. Unlike contracts of sale and exchange, where the parties immediately receive what they owe from the counterparty, an annuity contract is a long-term contract. By its legal nature, an annuity agreement with lifelong maintenance is compensatory
, unilateral (since after the conclusion of the agreement, the annuity payer is assigned maintenance responsibilities, and the annuity recipient acquires the right to maintenance) and real, since the moment of concluding the agreement is associated with the transfer of property. The recipient of the rent can be any individual (both disabled and able-bodied) who own a residential building, privatized apartment or other property of significant value as private property.

The annuity payer is an individual or legal entity that has the ability to provide lifelong maintenance, in particular care and provision of necessary assistance.

The lifelong maintenance agreement must determine the price of the property being alienated, as well as carefully specified responsibilities of the rent payer: for example, providing the alienated person, until the end of his days, with the right to live in the residential building that is being alienated (a specific part of the house or other comfortable housing provided for permanent residence), providing him with the necessary help and care, and also determined the monetary value of all types of material support provided monthly. This assessment is subject to indexation. Of course, it is impossible to provide for the solution of all everyday issues in a contract, therefore, if a dispute arises between counterparties, it must be resolved in accordance with the principles of fairness and reasonableness.

An annuity agreement has a certain similarity with a lifelong maintenance agreement, since they are united by the common goal of acquiring maintenance by the annuitant (alienator) at the expense of the property they own.
These agreements are concluded in notarial form and are subject to state registration. At the same time, there are certain differences between these agreements:

1. the annuity agreement can be concluded both for a certain period and indefinitely; the very nature of the lifelong maintenance agreement provides that it is valid during the life of the alienator;
2. under a lifelong maintenance agreement, the property is transferred into the ownership of the acquirer for the provision of maintenance in the form of food, care, etc., and under an annuity agreement, the annuity recipient receives pleasure from the counterparty, as a rule, in the form of money, although this does not exclude the establishment of annuity in the form counter transfer of property, performance of work or provision of services;
3. The acquirer fulfills the obligations under the lifelong maintenance agreement constantly, that is, as a rule, he provides daily care and supervision of the person and requires maintenance. Under an annuity agreement, rental payments are paid, as a general rule, at the end of each quarter;
4. for late payment of rent, the payer is obliged to pay interest to the recipient; the essence of the lifelong maintenance agreement excludes this form of liability;
5. the annuity recipient has the right to terminate the contract if the annuity payer is overdue for payment by more than a year. Under a lifelong maintenance agreement, the recipient has the right to demand termination of the agreement at any time if he proves that the acquirer is improperly fulfilling his obligations;
6. if a lifelong maintenance agreement is terminated with the death of the alienator, then the payment of annuity is not limited to the life of the annuitant, since his rights under the fixed-term agreement can pass to the heirs.

How to challenge a transaction while the recipient is alive?

Before going to the district court, you must complete a number of actions:

1. First you need to send the other party a proposal to terminate the contract. If you do not receive a response within the period specified in the contract or in the proposal sent, or within 30 days (if there are no deadlines in the contract/appendix), you have the right to go to court to demand termination of the contract (clause 2 of Article 452 Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
2. You should contact the district court at the place of residence of the defendant, or the district court at the location of the property (if the claim specifies a demand for the return of the property to the annuity recipient). When going to court, a statement of claim is filed there.

Competently drafting and filing a claim

The application must include:

1. Name of the court where the claim is filed (without any abbreviations).
2. Plaintiff's details (contact details - telephone, email, postal code, address; last name, first name, patronymic).
3. Data of the defendant (similar to the data of the plaintiff).
4. Own requirements as an applicant, amount of claim (expected compensation), amount of state duty. Maintain the reasonableness of the requirements and their adequacy in order to increase the chances of a successful outcome of the case.
5. A brief but sufficiently detailed description, without lyrical digressions or excessive emotionality, of the current situation that served as the basis for filing a lawsuit.
6. Confirmation of the existence of a violation (witness testimony, references to articles or relevant provisions in legislation can be used as evidence);
7. List of documents attached to the claim.
8. Date of writing the application, signature with transcript.

Documents to be attached to the statement of claim:

• a receipt confirming payment of the state fee;
• copies of the claim and other documents for the defendant, third parties;
• annuity agreement;
• document calculating the amount of recovery;
• confirmation of violation of the contract by the defendant (testimony of witnesses, copies of regulatory legal acts);
• documents that can prove attempts to solve the problem without legal proceedings (proposal to terminate the contract, if any - refusal);
• documents for property subject to rent.

The application, as stated above, is submitted to the district court at the defendant’s place of residence. This is done in accordance with the requirements of jurisdiction and jurisdiction outlined in Article 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.

The ability to competently draw up and maintain documentation will help you achieve a fair decision from the judge.

Costs of filing a claim

When filing a claim, you will need to pay a state fee and attach a receipt for its payment to the statement of claim. The amount of the fee depends on the value of the claim, and it depends on how much you are demanding as recovery.

For example, you demand the defendant to reimburse you 500,000 rubles. This will be the cost of the claim. The following information will help you calculate the cost of the state duty (clause 1 of Article 333.19 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):

• up to 20,000 rub. — 4% of the claim price, but not less than 400 rubles;
• from 20,001 rub. up to 100,000 rub. — 800 rub. plus 3% of the amount exceeding RUB 20,000;
• from 100,001 rub. up to 200,000 rub. — 3,200 rub. plus 2% of the amount exceeding RUB 100,000;
• from 200,001 rub. up to 1,000,000 rub. — 5,200 rub. plus 1% of the amount exceeding RUB 200,000;
• over 1,000,000 rub. — 13,200 rub. plus 0.5% of the amount exceeding RUB 1,000,000, but not more than RUB 60,000.

Also, if it is necessary to return real estate (this is only possible after both parties have entered into an agreement to terminate the contract, which provides for the return of real estate to the rent recipient), the transfer of ownership is registered in Rosreestr (Article 131 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Article 9, Part 1 Article 14, Article 15 of the Law of July 13, 2015 No. 218-FZ). The fee for completing the state registration process is 2,000 rubles.

On our website there are other interesting publications dedicated to life annuity, for example, you can find out the differences and what are the pros and cons of a life annuity with and without maintenance.

Legal proceedings, reimbursement of costs

During legal proceedings, each party has the right to use the services of lawyers. During the hearing, testimonies of the plaintiff and defendant, the prosecution and defense, and witnesses are heard, the case materials and documents brought by one of the parties as evidence are reviewed. As in any civil proceeding, if you disagree with the judge's decision, you have the opportunity to appeal to a higher court.

Reimbursement of legal costs is possible only if the decision is made in your favor (clause 1 of Article 98 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation), and the wrong party compensates for the damage to the one who turned out to be right. This situation is completely justified, and in the event of a successful outcome of the case, you will receive both the amount of recovery and reimbursement of expenses for paying state duties, receipts of which were attached to the claim.

How to write a life annuity agreement?

A lifelong maintenance agreement is subject to mandatory notarization, and an agreement under which real estate is transferred to the rent payer is subject to mandatory state registration.
In the event of the death of the alienator, the annuity payer is obliged to bury him “even if this was not provided for in the lifelong maintenance agreement. If part of the alienator's property passed to his heirs, the costs of his burial must be fairly distributed between them and the acquirer.

The rent payer does not have the right, until the death of the alienator, to sell, donate, change property transferred under a lifelong maintenance agreement, enter into a pledge agreement regarding it, or transfer it into the ownership of another person, since when certifying the lifelong maintenance agreement, the notary imposes a ban on this property.

Loss (destruction) or damage to property transferred to the acquirer is not grounds for terminating or reducing the scope of his obligations to the alienator.

How to terminate a life annuity agreement?

A lifelong maintenance agreement is a typical aleatory (risk) agreement, since at the time of its conclusion the parties do not know the balance of rights and obligations.
By a court decision, the care agreement may be terminated: 1) at the request of the alienator or a third party in whose favor it was concluded, in the event of failure or improper performance by the acquirer of his duties, regardless of his fault;
2) at the request of the acquirer.
In case of termination of the lifelong maintenance agreement

in connection with the non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment by the acquirer of obligations under the contract, the alienator acquires ownership of the property transferred by him and has the right to demand its return.
Expenses that were made by the annuity payer for the maintenance and care of the annuity recipient
are not refundable. The court may reserve the acquirer's ownership of part of the property, taking into account the length of time during which he properly fulfilled his obligations under the contract, if the contract is terminated due to the impossibility of its further performance by the acquirer on grounds that are of significant importance.

Termination on a voluntary basis

The procedure for voluntary termination is the same for both types of annuities. This requires, first of all, an agreement between the two parties. One of them sends the other party a proposal to terminate the contract. Having received a response within the prescribed period, the parties must write an agreement.

It should indicate:

1. payer data (last name, first name, patronymic, contact details, place of residence);
2. similar data of the annuity recipient;
3. amount paid per month;
4. start date of the contract;
5. the amount paid (received) for this period;
6. indicate that both parties to the legal relationship have no claims regarding each other;
7. put the date, signatures of both parties with a transcript.

To enter into legal force, the agreement requires notarization and state registration.

How to challenge it in court?

Only the annuity recipient can file a claim for termination of this agreement - at this stage he is legally protected. If the payer seriously violates the terms of the contract by not making required payments or not providing proper care, then this is the basis for starting legal proceedings.

First you should try to resolve the issue peacefully. First, a proposal to terminate the contract is sent, and if there is no response within the period specified in the contract (or within 30 days in the absence of such) or a refusal is received, it is advisable to contact the district court at the place of residence of the payer, that is, the future defendant . You can familiarize yourself with the legal process, the procedure for drawing up and submitting documents, paying state fees, and going to court at the beginning of this article.

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