How to draw up an application to establish the fact of acceptance of an inheritance

Acceptance of an inheritance is the procedure necessary to receive it. To accept the inheritance, the applicant must submit a corresponding application to the notary within 6 months after the death of the testator.

Investigating the circumstances of the case, the notary sometimes comes to the conclusion that there is insufficient evidence indicating that the heir actually accepted the inheritance. This can happen if there is a dispute between the heirs, lack of documentary evidence of the fact of acceptance of the inheritance, or lack of registration of ownership in the name of the testator.

In all these situations, the notary does not have the right to independently establish the actual entry into inheritance rights and formalize them properly. This problem can be resolved in court. You should file an application with the court to establish the fact of acceptance of the inheritance. If there are no claims from third parties, it is considered within the framework of special proceedings.

The role of the application to establish the fact of acceptance of inheritance

In accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the heir can receive the inheritance that remained after the death of the testator, or he can refuse this opportunity. In the first case, the law gives the heir several options:

Document the entry into property rights. To do this, you must contact a notary no later than 6 months from the date of death of the testator and write an application. If documents are submitted in a timely manner, the applicant will receive a certificate of right to inheritance.
In fact, come into your own. This option requires no documentation. It is acceptable only for inheritance by law and for those who do not plan to sell or donate inherited housing.

The first option is the most preferable, since only after its implementation can you freely dispose of the acquired property.

As a result, an application for acceptance of an object passing through the order of inheritance can have two varieties:

submitted to the notary within the period allotted by law for entering into inheritance rights;
filed as a claim in court when this deadline is missed to establish the circumstances of the entry into rights - in fact.

The form and methods of presenting these options differ. In addition, they are provided in different places and under different circumstances.

Actual acceptance of inheritance: signs

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides for 2 ways to accept an inheritance: by submitting an application to a notary and after the fact.
The actual acceptance of an inheritance is carried out through the possession and use of property as one’s own (for more details on actions that are signs of acceptance of an inheritance, see Part 2 of Article 1153 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Judicial practice has also developed a point of view on the signs of actual acceptance of an inheritance. For example, these are considered:

for residential premises - moving in and/or open residence of the heir, payment of utility bills;
for the land - its cultivation;
incurring expenses for inherited property, for example, insurance, payment of taxes;
payment for funerals from the inheritance mass (clause 36 of the resolution of the plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation “On judicial practice in inheritance cases” dated May 29, 2012 No. 9).

The above circumstances can be confirmed:

accommodation in an apartment/house - a certificate from the quarterly officer or from the operating organization;
repair of an apartment, car, dacha - with a contract and a certificate of work performed under it;
incurring other expenses - receipts for payment.

IMPORTANT! It is necessary to comply with the deadline provided for in Art. 1154 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, that is, during the specified period, perform the required (see above) actions, and after its expiration, contact a notary or court.

Application to establish the fact of acceptance of inheritance through the court

If the heir did not want or was unable to complete the necessary papers in a notary office on time, but actually took over the rights within the established period, he is still the new owner of the object. However, such a person has the right only to use and own it, and only the owner can dispose of it.

That is why the need to confirm entry into inheritance rights often arises precisely when the received property is intended to be sold or exchanged.

Without a paper on property rights or a court decision establishing the fact of entry into inheritance, this will be impossible.

The parties will be able to draw up an agreement and sign it, but not register the transfer of rights.

It is necessary to go to court only if the deadline for contacting a notary has expired.

Thus, a lawsuit is filed only in a situation where there was no timely entry into rights and documentation of this event. This fact must be confirmed through the court and secured by a decision.

If the deadline set by law was missed, then a claim is filed to restore this deadline and only if there are justifying reasons and their evidence.

How to write an application to the court to establish the fact of acceptance of an inheritance?

An application to establish the fact of acceptance of an inheritance begins with determining the type of legal proceedings in which it is subject to consideration. Among them are two:

Special order . In this case, an application for recognition of the fact of inheritance is submitted in the absence of a dispute about the right. Namely, when there are no other direct heirs who have properly taken measures to accept the inheritance.

To draw up an application in special proceedings you need:

In the header we indicate the court, district (city), magistrates do not consider applications of this type
Submitted at the place of residence of the Applicant, from the parties we write Interested parties, most often a government agency that has the right to inherit escheated property if no one applies for inheritance
State duty 300 rubles
Requirement to establish the fact of acceptance of inheritance

Claim proceedings . A statement of claim is being prepared here, since it is assumed that there is a dispute between you and other heirs. When other heirs are against you.

In the header we also indicate the district (city) court
Submitted at the place of residence of the Defendants in the case, indicate all the heirs who apply for registration of the inheritance, select the address for one of the parties to the case. Do not forget that in the case of inheritance of real estate, the rule is to file a lawsuit at the location of the home, land, office or other object.
The state duty is paid based on the price of the claim, i.e. from the value of the inheritance object
The requirement to establish the fact of acceptance of the inheritance simultaneously with the recognition of the right to inheritance and other requests to the court

USEFUL : watch the video with recommendations for filing an application to the court

Some nuances of applying

A claim to court to confirm the actual acceptance of property by inheritance is filed in a form strictly established by law.

The text of the claim should be written clearly, concisely, but as completely as possible.

The application must be supported by documentary and other evidence. That is why it is necessary to attach:

Receipt confirming payment of the state duty. Without a receipt attached, the claim will be left without consideration or rejected.
Documents and any other evidence determining the validity of the fact that a person has entered into an inheritance in fact.

The main task of the applicant is to prove that he accepted the due property on time and in accordance with all the rules. To do this you can attach:

witness statements. For example, neighbors that the applicant lived in the inherited apartment, looked after it, repaired it, etc.;
utility bills;
receipts confirming repairs and other papers.

Such a claim may be filed at any time after the expiration of 6 months, as determined by law. There is no limitation period for the rights of an heir.

Based on the results of the consideration, the court will make one of the following decisions:

Will satisfy the claim. In this case, instead of a certificate from a notary that was not received in a timely manner, the heir will have a court decision in his hands. It is accepted by all authorities in the event of sale, division, exchange of real estate, etc., and acts as an alternative to a certificate;
Refuse satisfaction. Such a decision can be made if there is insufficient evidence and if there is an unfinished dispute regarding the object.

It is better to draw up and file a claim with the participation of a lawyer, since mistakes cannot be made in it. The court may not accept or leave such a claim without progress until the errors are corrected.

Fact of acceptance of inheritance: establishment in claim and special proceedings

Theoretically, the fact of accepting an inheritance can be proven by documents to a notary. In this case, he is obliged to issue a certificate of the right to inheritance (clause 37 of the Methods of Recommendations for Registration of Inheritance Rights, approved by the board of the Federal Tax Fund on February 28, 2006).

However, in practice, actions to actually accept an inheritance do not always leave a sufficiently convincing documentary trail. Often the 6-month deadline for accepting an inheritance is also missed. In this regard, the heir has to establish the fact in court according to the rules of special proceedings (see Chapter 28 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation), which requires filing an application to establish the fact of acceptance of the inheritance.

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Statement of claim to establish the fact of acceptance of inheritance

Points to consider when filing such a claim:

the plaintiff must have the right to inherit by law and/or will (appeal ruling of the Supreme Court of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic dated June 22, 2016 in case No. 33-1049/16);
the plaintiff must have documents confirming that the object of the dispute belonged to the deceased (appeal ruling of the Rostov Regional Court dated June 1, 2016 in case No. 33-8908/16);
acceptance of the inheritance in fact within a 6-month period must be confirmed by documents (appeal ruling of the Moscow City Court dated 06/06/2016 in case No. 33-2180);
regardless of who is included in the will, those whom the law defines as obligatory heirs will also inherit; they always have the right to a share in the inheritance (determination of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated September 29, 2015 No. 5-KG15-84).

IMPORTANT! If the testator died without formalizing his inheritance rights, but having taken measures to accept the inherited property, his heirs can lay claim to such property (Definition of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated December 22, 2015 No. 18-KG15-235).

The statement of claim to establish the fact of acceptance of the inheritance is drawn up in accordance with the requirements of Art. 131–132 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.

Attached to the claim:

receipt of payment of the state duty (according to the rules of clause 1, part 1, article 333.21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
copies of documents confirming the death of the testator, relationship with him, or wills, if there is one;
copies of documents confirming that the plaintiff accepted the inheritance in fact before the expiration of the period for accepting the inheritance;
written refusal from a notary (preferably).

Situations of probable refusal of a claim to establish the fact of acceptance of an inheritance

It is not always possible to prove the actual acceptance of an inheritance in court. A proven fact does not always have legal consequences for the plaintiff.

Common reasons for claim denial:

refusal of the inheritance given by the plaintiff in advance, as a result of which the actual acceptance of the inheritance has no legal significance (appeal ruling of the Moscow City Court dated October 22, 2015 in case No. 33-38743/2015);
the absence in the repair contract of an accurate description of the repair object, as a result of which the court does not recognize as proven the fact of incurring expenses on the inherited property (decision of the Moscow City Court dated December 22, 2015 No. 4g-13531/2015);
absence of the plaintiff’s data in receipts for payment of expenses for maintaining the property, for example, payment on behalf of the deceased testator (cassation ruling of the Moscow City Court dated February 24, 2015 No. 4g/2-1553/15).