According to the current Article 1216 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, inheritance is the transfer of rights and obligations (inheritance) from a deceased natural person (testator) to other individuals (heirs).
Yes, according to the legislation of our country, inheritance can occur by will or by law. The inheritance includes all rights and obligations that belonged to the testator at the time of the opening of the inheritance and did not cease due to their death.
The following are not part of the inheritance: rights and obligations intimately tied to the person of the testator, including personal non-property rights, the right to participate in associations and membership in citizen associations, unless otherwise provided by law or their founding documents, the right to compensation for harm caused by injury or other health damage, rights to alimony, pension, assistance, or other payments established by law, as well as the rights and obligations of a person as a creditor or debtor, as provided by Article 608 of the Civil Code of Ukraine.
First and foremost, individuals wishing to accept the inheritance must contact a notary, who will undertake the responsibility of registering the inheritance case for the deceased, i.e., the testator, and will organize, manage, and oversee the entire inheritance process. It is essential to contact a notary as soon as possible to avoid missing the inheritance entry deadline, which is six months from the testator's death; otherwise, you may have to resort to filing lawsuits and seeking legal advice in the future.
All heirs who manage to contact a notary office must initially submit a personally signed statement of acceptance of the inheritance to the notary. If there are partially incapacitated, incapacitated, or underage children among the heirs, the statements for them must be written by their legal representatives (parents, guardians).
Yes, if the individuals entitled to inherit possess a properly registered will of the deceased (testator), the inheritance process will follow the rules of inheritance by will. In this case, the presence of family relationships among the participants of the inheritance case is not a mandatory condition.
However, in the absence of a properly registered will, the inheritance process will be carried out by law, where only individuals who were unquestionably in family relationships with the deceased will be heirs.
"Never say you know a person until you've shared an inheritance with them" is a famous quote by Swiss writer, theologian, poet, and physiognomist Johann Caspar Lavater. And he was right, as disputes among heirs are a common phenomenon.
The category of inheritance cases is one of the most complex categories in civil jurisdiction since it combines a significant number of interconnected legal relationships, encompassing several distinct areas of civil law, including family, residential, land, tax, and even corporate (business) law. Considering the intricate and extensive nature of cases in this category, every experienced lawyer should also be competent in all the mentioned areas of jurisprudence.
Resolving complex inheritance issues is a challenging task even for a qualified attorney. Only a lawyer with sufficient theoretical and practical experience in addressing legal issues arising in the inheritance process can ensure the best outcome.
Such professional attorneys are found at the "Monarch Business Consulting" legal company, which is why our company can guarantee assistance even in the most complex inheritance cases.
free "verbal" consultation for up to 10 minutes, without document review, by appointment only, available only on Fridays.
unlimited duration verbal consultation, without document review, by appointment.
unlimited duration verbal consultation with document review, by appointment.
development and writing of a non-property claim statement in an inheritance case.
development and writing of a property claim statement in an inheritance case.
development and writing of procedural documents in an inheritance case, including objections, response to a statement of claim, reply to a response, and so on.
development and writing of a draft settlement agreement in an inheritance case.
development and writing of a petition/motion in an inheritance case for certain procedural actions, such as securing a claim, retrieval of documents, annexation of documents, summoning witnesses, involving experts, conducting court examinations, and so on.
development and writing of a statement for separate proceedings in an inheritance case.
development and writing of an appellate complaint against a ruling, decision, or judgment of the first instance court in an inheritance case.
development and writing of a cassation appeal against a ruling, decision, or judgment of the first instance and/or appellate court in an inheritance case.
development, writing, filing of a statement of claim, as well as attorney's participation in court during the hearing of an inheritance case to resolve a non-property dispute based on the submitted claim.
development, writing, filing of a statement of claim, as well as attorney's participation in court during the hearing of an inheritance case to resolve a property dispute based on the submitted claim.
additional fee for services on the second and subsequent court days.
transportation expenses, travel costs, postage expenses, and court fees are not included in the service cost.
- The partner of the company is a professional practicingattorneyin Ukraine, the founder and managing partner of the Law Firm "Marusish and Partners," with extensive experience in senior legal positions in several well-known Ukrainian banks, such as "UkrSibbank" and "UkrEximBank."
- The lawyer's main areas of expertise include the defense and restoration of rights, freedoms, guarantees, as well as the interests of citizens, foreigners, or stateless persons in the fields of commercial, migration, criminal, and military law. They skillfully provide defense for individuals in banking and credit disputes and offer legal assistance in cases involving personal bankruptcy.
- The partner of the company is a professional practicing lawyer in Ukraine, the founder and managing partner of the Law Firm "Shevchuk Tetiana Volodymyrivna," a former state servant who previously served as an assistant to a judge in the cvil division of Vinnytsia district court of Vinnytsia regiont, with over 3 years of service.
- The lawyer's main areas of expertise include the defense and restoration of rights, freedoms, guarantees, as well as the interests of citizens, foreigners, or stateless persons in the fields of civil, inheritance, and family law. They adeptly provide representation for individuals and offer legal assistance both in court proceedings and during communication with local self-government authorities.
- The partner of the company is a professional practicing attorney in Ukraine, providing legal services on an individual basis. They are a former law enforcement officer and hold the rank of police сaptain. They served as an officer in the Main department of the National police of Ukraine in Odessa region for over 10 years. They are also a reserve officer, holding the rank of lieutenant in the land forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
- The lawyer's main areas of expertise include the defense and restoration of rights, freedoms, guarantees, as well as the interests of citizens and stateless persons in the fields of criminal, administrative, military, and labor law. They skillfully provide defense for individuals and offer legal assistance in cases related to administrative offenses.
- The advisor of the company is a professional practicing lawyer.
- The lawyer's main areas of expertise include providing legal services and representing the interests of individuals, legal entities, and entrepreneurs in court practices such as family cases, banking and credit disputes, inheritance cases, civil cases, disputes related to real estate, administrative and labor disputes.
- The partner of the company is a professional practicingattorneyin Ukraine, the founder and managing partner of the Law Firm "Marusish and Partners," with extensive experience in senior legal positions in several well-known Ukrainian banks, such as "UkrSibbank" and "UkrEximBank."
- The lawyer's main areas of expertise include the defense and restoration of rights, freedoms, guarantees, as well as the interests of citizens, foreigners, or stateless persons in the fields of commercial, migration, criminal, and military law. They skillfully provide defense for individuals in banking and credit disputes and offer legal assistance in cases involving personal bankruptcy.
- The partner of the company is a professional practicing lawyer in Ukraine, the founder and managing partner of the Law Firm "Shevchuk Tetiana Volodymyrivna," a former state servant who previously served as an assistant to a judge in the cvil division of Vinnytsia district court of Vinnytsia regiont, with over 3 years of service.
- The lawyer's main areas of expertise include the defense and restoration of rights, freedoms, guarantees, as well as the interests of citizens, foreigners, or stateless persons in the fields of civil, inheritance, and family law. They adeptly provide representation for individuals and offer legal assistance both in court proceedings and during communication with local self-government authorities.
- The partner of the company is a professional practicing attorney in Ukraine, providing legal services on an individual basis. They are a former law enforcement officer and hold the rank of police сaptain. They served as an officer in the Main department of the National police of Ukraine in Odessa region for over 10 years. They are also a reserve officer, holding the rank of lieutenant in the land forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
- The lawyer's main areas of expertise include the defense and restoration of rights, freedoms, guarantees, as well as the interests of citizens and stateless persons in the fields of criminal, administrative, military, and labor law. They skillfully provide defense for individuals and offer legal assistance in cases related to administrative offenses.
- The advisor of the company is a professional practicing lawyer.
- The lawyer's main areas of expertise include providing legal services and representing the interests of individuals, legal entities, and entrepreneurs in court practices such as family cases, banking and credit disputes, inheritance cases, civil cases, disputes related to real estate, administrative and labor disputes.
Certainly! The legislator has provided for the possibility to contest a will! However, contesting a will is only possible through the legal procedure of filing a lawsuit in court.
Yes, the right to bring a lawsuit to challenge the validity of a will arises only after the testator's death. Only a person whose rights and legal interests have been violated by the will can file a lawsuit to declare the will invalid or partially invalid.
Typically, such lawsuits are filed by individuals who have lost their right to inherit under the law due to the existence of a will or the revocation of a prior will in their favor by a subsequent will. The judicial review of a will contest can only begin after the estate has been opened. Therefore, if necessary, you should file a complaint to declare the will invalid in court.
The possibility of declaring a will void is provided for in Part 2 of Article 1257 of the Civil Code of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as the CCU), according to which a will can be declared void if it is established that the testator's expression of will was not free and did not correspond to their true intentions.
Analyzing judicial practice, such a fact should be interpreted in light of Articles 225 and 231 of the CCU and may consist of:
- A will made at a time when a person did not understand the significance of their actions and/or could not control them (to establish such a mental state of a person at the time of making the will, a posthumous forensic psychiatric examination is necessary, and the expert's conclusion is important evidence, although it does not automatically lead to the will being declared void, as such a decision is made by the court, taking into account all the available evidence together);
- A will made by a person against their true will due to physical or mental pressure applied by another person.
The entire will or its part (individual disposition) can be declared void. The invalidity of a particular disposition in the will does not necessarily result in the entire will being declared void.
Additionally, according to Part 1 of Article 1257 of the CCU, a will is void if it is made by a person who had no right to the property, as well as a will made in violation of the requirements regarding its form and attestation (Articles 1247 and 1248 of the CCU).
Regarding void wills, they include:
- Wills made by a natural person who lacks full legal capacity;
- Wills made through a representative;
- Wills attested by an unauthorized person in violation of the requirements set by law;
- Wills attested by an unauthorized person;
- Secret wills attested by a notary in violation of the requirements set by law (Article 1249 of the CCU);
- Wills attested in the absence of witnesses in cases where their presence is mandatory (Article 1253 of the CCU);
- A will disposing of property specified in a hereditary contract (Article 1307 of the CCU).
Please note that there is no need to go to court to establish the nullity of a will since the duty to verify the nullity of a will lies with the notary.
If the notary, when opening the estate, determines that the will is null and void, they will refuse to issue a certificate of the right to inherit. However, if the actions of the notary do not comply with the norms of the law, there is a possibility to challenge them in court.
