How to find out whether a will has been revoked or not

How to find out about inheritance?

A will is a legal document containing the instructions of the maker (the testator, or testator) regarding the property left behind.
The testator must have legal capacity , which usually means he or she has reached the age of majority.

But if a person was addicted to alcohol, drugs or gambling, or could not understand his actions due to mental disorders, the court could declare him incompetent .

Then the will is declared invalid .

Most often, a person signs a will in the presence of a notary , then it is certified by a seal and entered into the register.

In special situations, the signature can be affixed by the head physician of the hospital , the commander of a military unit and some other persons.

The will names the people who receive or lose property . The deprivation can be written directly, or the person may not be included in the description of the heirs. Then there is still the possibility of obtaining unmentioned property.

The law also provides for a number of relatives a mandatory share of the inheritance , regardless of the wishes of the testator.

These are:

1. children under adulthood or disabled;
2. parents or spouse who are unable to work;
3. disabled people supported by the testator.

They receive at least half of what is required by law. After the will has been fully drawn up, the testator is free to change it, cancel it or rewrite it.

Why look for a will?

The heir’s lack of information about the existence of an expression of will results in the impossibility of entering into inheritance.

Possible situations:

1. The heir is an outsider . He may not know the testator's family members or may not have information about the death of the owner. Therefore, the testator must take care of transferring the order to the potential heir. Otherwise, the relatives of the deceased citizen may simply hide the fact that the administrative document was drawn up.
2. The heir is a relative of the deceased. Relatives usually have access to documents or personal belongings of the deceased person. But failure to contact a notary in a timely manner will result in loss of property rights.

Example. Citizen M. transferred his property to his brother. A year later he died. The son found out about his father's death and came to the city. He held his parent’s funeral and took the keys to the apartment from his uncle. The young man found an order in the documents and tore it up. Within the prescribed period, he submitted an application to accept the inheritance. The brother of the deceased man could not contact the notary, since he was the heir of the 2nd line. However, he knew where the declaration of will was drawn up. Therefore, I turned to a notary and took a duplicate of the document. Later, the man filed an application to become a driver. The testator's apartment went to him. The son was left without an inheritance.

Peculiarities

These include:

• Both a person's property and his debt . The heirs are obliged to either agree to the inheritance of both points, or to renounce everything. Debts are also transferred to one person in case of voluntary consent;
• It is possible to stipulate a condition according to which, if a person died at the time of disclosure of the will or renounced his share, it will be transferred to another person mentioned in the will;

Read about who the heirs by right of representation are in the article.

• The will can stipulate a condition that must be fulfilled in order to receive the inheritance;
• The inheritor may be assigned a property obligation in relation to another person or a number of persons , for example, granting the right to reside in the inherited apartment. Also, the testator may indicate by his will other duties to be performed by the heirs;
• If several people inherit movable property, they can usually decide for themselves how it will be used. But a will can determine this issue in advance >;
• If the testator owns a non-privatized apartment, then he does not have the right to pass it on by inheritance. However, members of his family may live there.

According to the ongoing reform of inheritance law, some more features appear.

It is worth paying attention to the following:

1. From September 1, 2020, it will be possible in a will to oblige the heirs to do something not related to public benefit , for example, indicate a burial place.
2. From July 1, 2020, amendments will come into force allowing spouses to draw up one will for both >;
3. Then it will be possible to conclude an inheritance agreement . This document is signed by the testator’s relatives, government organizations and other legally authorized persons.

According to it, the future heir is obliged to fulfill certain conditions during the life of the testator or after his death. When concluding such an agreement, you can be sure of the existence of an inheritance, but what is included in it will become known only after official disclosure.

How to find out if there is a will - help from a lawyer

To determine the distribution of property after his death, a person makes a will.

But since, for various reasons, people are not aware of not just the contents of the will, but also its very existence, the heirs may have problems taking over their rights.

In this article, we will figure out how to find out if there is a will and how the help of a lawyer in Moscow will help defend the rights of an heir under a will.

Basic provisions

In Russia, the secrecy of a will is maintained. Therefore, the seemingly simple question “is there a will” can only be answered by the testator.

All other participants in the process of drawing up and certifying a will are required to keep the information received secret. But if the testator has passed away, then searching for a will is the first step.

Indeed, in most cases, the document is drawn up in 2 copies, and only one of them is handed over to the notary. The second is returned to the testator.

This is exactly what you should look for if the heirs have access to the place where the deceased kept his own important papers. As a rule, all persons included in the will know its location.

But in a number of cases, the heir either does not know about the existence of the document, or the will itself is carefully hidden from him by the heirs at law, who did not find their names in the document. After all, if the heir under the will does not apply for the inheritance in time, then the persons who inherit by law will claim it.

It is quite difficult to challenge the “delay” in court, because compelling valid reasons are needed to restore the deadline for entering into an inheritance. And “not knowledge,” alas, is not that.

Alexey Zh turned to a lawyer for help. The man’s grandfather died, who, according to the man, bequeathed him an apartment in Moscow. But Alexey only has a photocopy of the will in his hands, not certified by anyone.

The man asked what to do if the heir by law (Alexey’s mother) in every possible way prevents his son from receiving the inheritance, because she wants to move into the apartment herself. The woman refused to issue the Death Certificate of grandfather Alexei, as well as a number of other documents. She did not open the inheritance case herself.

A notary without a Certificate does not open an inheritance case, and the civil registry office, due to the lack of documents confirming the relationship, refuses to issue a duplicate document. The lawyer suggested going to court to confirm the man's inheritance.

The court, in this case, will independently request all the necessary documents and, if there are grounds (a will), will determine Alexey as the heir.

But recently, a unified register of wills has been operating in Russia, which greatly simplifies the search. To obtain the necessary information in most cases, it is enough to simply contact a notary. Moreover, if the inheritance case is open, then documents about death or relationship with the deceased will not be required.

How to search for a will through a notary

A fairly common question is how to find out whether there was a will after the death of the testator, has a simple answer: contact a notary. Moreover, you can search for a will through any notary.

The unified will register provides access to the database everywhere in Russia. If the heir is outside the country, he has the right to contact the embassy or consulate to obtain detailed information.

The notary who is looking for a will will tell you whether such a document really exists and which notary has endorsed it. But in some cases, an “outsider” notary may refuse, especially if there is no reliable information about the opening of an inheritance. In this case, you should contact a specialist at the place of residence of the deceased.

In some cases, the place of residence of the deceased does not coincide with the place of storage and certification of the will. For example, a testator could make a will and then move to another city. But the search should start from the last place of residence. If you do not know exactly which notary serves the area in which the deceased lived, you can contact the notary chamber.

But the opening of the inheritance will be an important circumstance. Without this action, the notary will not reveal either the fact of the will or its contents. An inheritance is opened only upon provision of a Death Certificate of the testator. If the inheritance is open, then the will can be searched using the online database of testators.

How to find out if there is a will for inheritance via the Internet

When opening an inheritance, the notary checks the existence of a will. And having discovered this, the specialist can independently notify the heirs known to him, even through the public media. Also, the relevant information is supplied to a unified online system, which is reflected in the register.

Access to the register is possible via the Internet, on the website of the Federal Notary Chamber. To find the place where the will is kept, all you need to do is:

• go to the website of the federal notary office;
• select “Find a notary”;
• in the loaded page, select “Search for heirs”;
• then follow the system prompts.

In this way, you will be able to find a notary who is handling the inheritance case.

But is it possible to find out whether there is a will if the case has not yet been opened? It is not yet possible to do this via the Internet. In the future, however, with some degree of probability such a service will be implemented on a single website of the State Services. In other cases, you will have to go directly to the notary.

What documents will be required

The package of documents is determined by the situation. If the inheritance is not open, then you will need:

• heir's passport;
• confirmation of death from the registry office;
• certificate of last place of residence;
• application for acceptance of inheritance.

It is believed that the will must also be provided to the notary. But if the heir does not have this paper, then the will does not need to be provided. The notary will independently verify the information received.

If the inheritance case has already been opened, then you can get by with 2 documents - an identity card and an application for acceptance of the inheritance. If the applicant is included in the will, he will be recognized as an heir. If the applicant is not in the will, and the applicant has no other rights to the inheritance, then the notary will refuse to recognize the citizen as an heir.

Are you interested in the question of how to find out whether potential testators have left a will in your address? Consult with a site lawyer for free by phone or online.

Source: https://Pravda-Zakona.ru/article/kak-uznat-est-li-zaveschanie-pomosch-yurista.html

Where is the will kept until death?

The deed of the testator's last will is drawn up in two copies, one of which remains with the notary, and the other with the testator. The notary keeps the document for 75 years and, in case of resignation earlier, transfers the will to another notary. Only after the expiration of the established period is the paper sent to the state archive.

The copy issued to the testator can be located anywhere, but most often - among his personal belongings, possibly together with other documents. It can also be transferred to another person, for example, an executor of the will, who, after the death of the testator, carries out his instructions regarding the distribution of property.

In accordance with Articles 1127 and 1129 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, not only a notary has the right to certify a will. In unusual situations, the following persons acquire this authority:

• the head physician of the medical institution (his deputy or the doctor on duty);
• captain of a ship flying the flag of the Russian Federation;
• director of a nursing home (chief physician);
• head of an expedition, Antarctic station or field base;
• commander of a military unit (in the absence of a notary at its location);
• warden;
• random witnesses (in emergency situations).

This means that the document can be stored with them, although the likelihood of this is low: clause 3 of Art. 1147 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes that the person who certified the will is obliged to send the paper to the notary at the place of residence of the deceased at the first opportunity.

How to find out if you have a will for inheritance

» Registration of inheritance September 09, 2020

How to find out if there is a will: where to look for it, where to apply

There are certain difficulties in the process of obtaining information about whether a will was left by a deceased relative. Often, relatives of the deceased do not have information about who will inherit property under the will and even whether such a will was drawn up by the deceased.

The absence of the obligation to register a will in a unified register does not allow many relatives of the deceased to determine what their will was for the disposal of property and how to find out about the existence of a will.

Practice shows that most testators inform their relatives of the location of the will. The absence of cohabitation and close family ties may result in a complete lack of information about the place where the will is kept. In this case, interested parties should start searching for a will, otherwise the six-month period will be missed and the inheritance will pass into the possession of the heirs by law.

Procedure

The testamentary document is prepared in two copies. One document is transferred to the testator for storage. The second copy is located within the walls of the notary's office. During the search process, the heirs must use any of the most convenient methods that will facilitate the search for the document.

Inspection of personal belongings

A number of primary actions include inspecting things in the apartment where the deceased lived. The search should start from the places where the relative previously kept the most significant documentation. It is in such places that testamentary documents are most often found.

Help in finding a will can be provided by those persons who have lived with the deceased for the last time. We should not forget that relatives who could receive their share of the inheritance according to the law are unlikely to be interested in discovering the will. Such relatives are interested in the heir skipping the six-month period and accepting the inheritance themselves.

Contacting a notary

How to find out about a will if the search for the document in personal belongings was unsuccessful?

As a second step, a trip to a notary may be taken. When choosing a notary office, it is worth taking into account the place of last registration of the testator.

data-ad-slot=»7049046472″> The inheritance case, if it exists, will be held in the notary office that is located in the corresponding area of ​​residence of the testator.

The lack of information in the notary's office is not a reason to give up, because the certification of a testamentary document can be performed not only by a notary, but also by a number of specialists who are charged with the authority to certify documents (including a will).

Request to the notary chamber

The absence of search results for a will at the place of residence and in the notary office serving a certain area cannot be a reason to complete the search.

In order not to waste a lot of time and effort, an interested person can send a request to a notary chamber operating within a region, district or region.

Submitting such a request is an effective method of searching for a will for those persons who live far from the place of last residence of the deceased.

Where to find the right notary

When contacting a notary operating within the territorial limits of residence of the deceased, you must have:

• own passport
• death certificate
• documents on kinship (certificates and other documentation).

Contacting the notary chamber

As one of the extreme measures associated with searching for a will, one can consider sending a request to the notary chamber, which operates within a certain area or district.

This body is one of those specialized bodies in which all transactions made with property are recorded.

You can contact the notary chamber by sending a postal message or as a result of personally transmitting a request. In each case, copies of the following documents must be attached to the request:

• personal passport
• death certificates
• documentation confirming the relationship.

The response of the notary chamber operating within a certain administrative-territorial unit must be considered as the final document on the presence or absence of a will.

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How to find out if there is a will for inheritance

A will is a document expressing the last will of a deceased person, which has become widespread in Russia only in recent years. Increasingly, not only older people, but also young people who own any property began to leave orders for the distribution of their inheritance among relatives. But relatives are not always aware of the existence of a last will, so the question of how to find out whether there is a will for inheritance is quite relevant.

What you need to know about searching

In the Russian Federation there is no single register where all documents expressing the last will of the deceased are entered. Therefore, it is quite difficult to find out where the will is kept and whether it has been drawn up at all. Since the document is a one-sided transaction that the testator enters into, it can be changed or even canceled at any time. No one will know about this fact except the testator himself and the notary who executed his will.

It often happens that none of the relatives know about the inheritance only because the notary is not aware of the death of his client. This is why a potential heir must personally take certain steps to find out whether the deceased left a will and whether he or she is included in the document. After all, if he does not declare his rights before the expiration of 6 months from the date of death of the testator, according to the law, the property will pass to his closest relatives. Sometimes the period for entering into inheritance rights may be changed. For example, this is possible when an official renunciation of property is carried out in favor of a certain person. In this case, the time is reduced to 3 months. In case of violation of the deadlines established by law, it is possible to restore rights to inherited property with the help of the court. However, it is worth considering that the court must be provided with sufficient grounds to open an inheritance case. And to do this, you need to find out where the document expressing the last will of the deceased is located, and also make sure that you are really mentioned in it.

Where to start

When deciding how to find out whether a deceased relative has a will, you should keep in mind that two copies are always prepared. One of them is kept by the testator, the other remains with the notary who executed the document. In order for a lost will to come into force, it is enough to find any of them.

The place where you should start your search is the testator’s house. As a rule, the testator keeps a document expressing his last will in his personal papers. Relatives living in the same house as the testator may be aware of its existence. However, when trying to find out from them whether a will exists or not, you should take into account that they are first-degree relatives of the deceased, which means they will receive the property if the lost will is not found. Therefore, you should not rely too heavily on them when trying to find this document.

Search for a notary

If a document could not be found in the deceased’s apartment, another way to find a lost will is to find the notary who drew it up. Finding out about the likelihood of the last will of the deceased should begin at the place of his last registration. Each district is assigned a separate notary who provides legal support for citizens living in its areas. If the area is large, it is usually divided into several specialists; look in the directory to see who exactly is responsible for the testator’s area. To find out whether an inheritance case is open, just contact any of them.

So, how can you find out about an inheritance from a local notary? You must provide it with:

• document confirming your identity
• death certificate of the testator
• document - confirmation of your relationship with him (as a rule, this is a birth certificate or an officially registered marriage).

It should be taken into account that every citizen has the right to express his last will by contacting any notary. His choice does not depend in any way on his place of registration. Therefore, if the lost will could not be found by specialists at the place of residence, this is not yet proof that it does not exist.

Also, when deciding how to find out whether there really is a will for inheritance, it is important to take into account that not only a notary has the right to certify the last will of the deceased. The following has the same right:

• chief physician of the hospital where the testator was treated before his death
• the head of the nursing home where he lived in his last days
• military leadership
• the head of the expedition and other officials, in accordance with Article 1127 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

If the deceased was away from home in recent days, it is worth contacting the institutions where he stayed to find out whether there was a will.

Making requests

How to find out about a will if the first two options did not produce results? You can continue your search by visiting all notaries in the locality. However, it would be more reasonable to make a request to the notary chamber at the last place of residence of the deceased. This is a higher authority where each notary submits information about completed transactions and where it can be much easier to find. This search method will significantly save time and effort, and the result will be better. To obtain the necessary information, you must write an application in the prescribed form and also attach the required package of documents:

• document proving your identity
• testator's death certificate
• confirmation of relationship with him.

Also, contacting a notary chamber is the best way to find out about the existence of a will if you are far away and cannot come. In this case, the request, together with copies of supporting documents, is sent by registered mail.

The response time of the notary chamber is no more than 2 months.

What else you need to know about a will

Before deciding whether to look for one at all, it is very important to determine the level of likelihood of receiving an inheritance. After all, only two people know what is written in the document: the testator and the notary. In this case, the second one does not have the right to disclose information:

• until the death of the testator
• persons not mentioned in the document.

A will can be open or closed. In the first case, the entire document is disclosed to relatives. In the second case, each heir will be familiar with only that part of the will that mentions the property that was given to him; the rest of the document must remain a secret for him.

In addition, you can think about how to find out whether a will has been drawn up only after the death of the testator. Only if there is a death certificate, notarial authorities have the right to open testamentary cases. Otherwise, it is a violation of privacy rights and is against the law.

It is also important to note that the notary is not required to notify anyone of the existence of the will, including those named in it. He can do this if certain relatives have contacts, but it is important to note that this is an entirely voluntary procedure. If the expression of the last will of the deceased is lost, searching for it is the sole responsibility of those claiming to receive the inherited property. And it is they who should think about how to find out whether an inheritance case has been opened and from whom to look for a will.

Possibility of challenging a document

Like any document, a will can be challenged. But how can you find out whether there is an inheritance and whether the will is valid? To recognize a document as legal, it must be drawn up without errors and taking into account all legal norms. You should also exclude the possibility:

• declaring the testator incompetent
• drawing up a will under any pressure (this includes mental and physical violence, as well as blackmail, threats)
• the testator being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, in a state of shock or affect at the time of execution of the document.

Challenging a will is only possible through the court if there are sufficient grounds. It should be borne in mind that it is possible to challenge not only the entire document, but also certain parts of it.

Thus, every potential heir has the opportunity to obtain information about the existence of a will. The procedure will not cause unnecessary trouble if you know exactly how to proceed. The main thing is to comply with the deadlines for declaring your authority to receive property. If they are observed, the next step in entering into an inheritance will be to register your rights to it.

How to find out if there is a will for inheritance

According to Russian laws, any adult capable citizen can act as a testator. While the testator is alive, the contents of his will must be kept secret, so often relatives do not know about the existence of this document. The need to maintain the secrecy of the will on the part of the notary and witnesses is spelled out in Art. 1123 Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

How can I find out where the will is kept and to whom the testator registered his property? Relatives have three options: look for the document in the personal belongings of the deceased, contact an authorized local notary, or make a request to the regional notary chamber.

Summary of the article

In the personal belongings of the deceased

According to current legislation, a will does not need to be registered in a unified register; this complicates the search for a document. Especially for distant relatives who rarely communicated with the deceased.

Heirs should take into account that if they do not enter into inheritance rights after 6 months after the death of the testator, then all bequeathed property will go to the state or heirs by law. This could be an apartment, a car, shares, etc. The deadline for entering into an inheritance can only be extended by a court decision if there is a good reason for missing the deadline (for example, illness).

The will is always drawn up in two copies and must be notarized. According to the current regulations, one copy is given to the heir, and the second is transferred for storage to the notary’s office.

Initially, when searching for a will, you need to examine the personal documents of the deceased. It is more likely that the will will be found at home. In some cases, you can count on the help of relatives of the deceased who lived in the same apartment with him. Although they are not always interested in making this document public and may create obstacles in its search. Sometimes relatives may deliberately hide a document, because it may deprive them of the right to inherit by law.

Read also:  Transfer of ownership during a mortgage

Request from a notary

When the search for a will in the apartment of the deceased was unsuccessful, the potential heir can contact a notary. Where can the second copy of the will be kept? Initially, it is worth paying a visit to the notary, who is assigned to the territory where the deceased lived in recent years. Usually, each notary is assigned certain streets or there is a distribution of plots by last name.

According to the law, notaries themselves must make efforts to find heirs. They publish this information in the media, but the heir simply may not see this message.

When visiting a notary, you must have a death certificate, a passport and documents indicating the presence of family ties with the deceased (marriage or birth certificate). It will be more difficult to obtain information in the absence of family ties.

Although the powers of a local notary include the registration of inheritance cases of citizens from the territory under their jurisdiction, Russians have the freedom to choose a notary office. A citizen has the right to leave a will in absolutely any notary office, even in another city.

Therefore, if the will was never found by the notary at the last place of residence of the deceased, this does not mean that this document is missing.

Heirs should take into account that a will can be certified not only by notaries, but also by other officials. These are, for example, chief doctors, the director of a nursing home, heads of a military unit or expedition. In such situations, the heir may not even know about the existence of a will unless the testator first notifies him about it.

If you know that the deceased was in the hospital in the last days of his life, then you can go there to search for a will.

Request through the notary chamber

Heirs have the opportunity to submit a request for the existence of a will to the notary chamber. This is a higher authority to which information about all notarial matters in the region is transmitted.

A request through the notary chamber is a fairly convenient way to obtain information, as it allows the heirs not to have to go through all the notaries in the city. Thanks to such a request, you can obtain information about the existence of a will extremely quickly.

You must provide the same documents to the notary chamber as when applying to a notary. To search for a will, you need to contact the notary chamber in the region in which the deceased lived (this is a regional or district institution). The request may be submitted in person or sent by mail accompanied by copies of all supporting documents.

If a will is found, but your name is not listed there, then notaries have no right to disclose the list of heirs. You will find out about them later after the division of property.

It is important to understand that during the life of the testator, no one at the notary’s office will provide information about the existence of a will. Thus, you can start searching for a document only after the death of the testator.

conclusions

Thus, searching for a will is a rather complicated process. The presence and contents of the document can be found out only after the death of the testator. During his lifetime, no one will give this information, otherwise he will break the law. The best option is one in which the testator himself notifies all heirs of the presence of a will and indicates the place where it is stored. But such situations do not always occur.

A timely search for a will will allow you not to miss the deadlines for entering into an inheritance.

How can I find out if a deceased person has a will?

Finding out whether a deceased relative left a will is very problematic in Russia today. During his lifetime, everyone who was present when the will was drawn up has no right to disclose either the fact of its existence or the contents of the document.

The notary, translator and witnesses are obliged until the day of opening of the inheritance to keep secret information about who the person decided to bequeath his property to. You can try to find papers only after the death of a relative. But how do you find out if there is a will for inheritance? And where to look for this document if the deceased did not tell about the place of its storage?

Unfortunately, legislation in Russia does not provide for the recording of all wills in a single state register. And this sometimes becomes a problem for heirs. If the testator did not say where the document is kept, then they have to search for it themselves. Moreover, if the person who is indicated in the will as an heir does not know about its existence and misses the six-month period, then all bequeathed property (apartment, house, cottage, car) will go to the closest relatives of the deceased. They will enter into rights as heirs by law.

To prevent this from happening, you need to take several steps to search for inheritance documents.

Important. The will is drawn up in two copies. The first of them is issued to the testator, and the second remains in storage in the notary's office. To register an inheritance, it is enough to find any of them.

Step 1. We are looking for a testator in the apartment

First you need to carefully examine the things in the apartment of the deceased relative. You need to look especially carefully in places where important documents were usually kept. The will may well be found there.

Relatives who lived in the same apartment with the deceased usually know well where the will is kept. But they are heirs at law and are unlikely to be interested in the will being found. Sometimes they even deliberately hide the document.

Step 2. Go to the notary

If the search is unsuccessful, then you need to take the next step. You must contact the notary at the place of last registration of the testator, taking with you:

• your general passport
• death certificate
• documents confirming your relationship with the deceased.

For the latter, it is enough to show a marriage or birth certificate.

It is within the competence of the notary, who is assigned to the area where the deceased lived. and includes the management of all inheritance matters. If the plot is large enough, then it can be divided between several notary offices (by street names or surnames). In this case, it is enough to contact any notary in this area to obtain all the information you need.

Important. According to the laws of the Russian Federation, its citizens are allowed to draw up a will for their property with any notary. And the place of residence does not play any role. Therefore, you should not stop searching, even if the document was not found in the notary office at the last place of registration of the deceased.

In addition, not only notaries, but also the chief doctors of medical institutions and the management of nursing homes have the right to certify a will. Sometimes a person simply cannot visit a notary’s office or call a notary due to health reasons. And then the will is certified by one of the above persons. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify whether the testator was in the hospital on the eve of death or whether he was placed in a nursing home. If so, it's worth visiting these establishments and talking to their staff.

Step 3. Send a request to the notary chamber

If the will was not found either in the apartment of the deceased or in one of the notary offices at the place of his residence, then the next step must be taken. You can continue your search blindly, visiting all the notaries in the city one by one, but it is easier and more reasonable to send a written request directly to the notary chamber of the region, territory or district.

Data on all transactions concluded by notaries in this administrative territory is recorded here. Taking such a step will be more effective than going through all the notary offices in the city one by one. The same papers are submitted to the chamber as for a notary:

• death certificate
• general passport
• documents on relationship with the deceased.

It makes sense to send the same request to the regional chamber even when the heir lives far from the last place of residence of the deceased. Copies of the above documents must be attached to the request.

Important. The search for a will can only begin after the person’s death. Before this, any attempts to find out what property was bequeathed to whom are strictly prohibited by law.

Summary

We tried to answer the question as fully as possible: “How do you find out if a deceased person has a will after his death?” As we see, in 2017, finding out whether a will has been left is a very troublesome matter and requires moral costs. But if you do everything according to the algorithm proposed above, then the efforts can be reduced to a minimum.

How and where to find out about the presence of a will?

For a person who is closely related to the testator, it is sometimes extremely important to know whether there is a will. This issue becomes especially relevant in families where there are a large number of potential heirs with whom the testator did not have normal relations during his lifetime. Therefore, we offer some information on how to find out whether there is a will in cases specified by law.

Preliminary searches

It is important to understand that the law prohibits notaries from disclosing any information about the presence or absence of testamentary documents. At the same time, those who are interested in whether it is possible to find out whether there is a will during the life of the heir should remember:

• the will is drawn up in two copies
• the list of persons participating in this process is determined by law
• the testator is free to dispose of the will as he pleases
• the number of wills is unlimited
• No one except the testator has the right to disclose the details of the will until his death.

Therefore, before finding out whether there is a will for an inheritance, it is advisable to carefully ask the testator himself. Information obtained from other sources will be illegal, and the people or officials who disclosed it may be held accountable.

At the same time, future heirs do not have the right to demand that the potential testator disclose his will if he does not wish to do so. The ideal option in this case is for the testator to independently inform the potential heir about the existence of such a will.

You can even provide a copy (or original) of the relevant document. The presence of such a document in the possession of an outsider does not in any way limit the right of the testator to further change or cancel it.

What to look for after the death of the testator?

Now a little about where to find out whether there is a will immediately after the death of the owner of the property. Here you need to understand that other potential heirs, if they see this document and do not find their names in it, will be extremely uninterested in the real heir knowing about it. And, as judicial practice shows, you shouldn’t count on their integrity.

Therefore, to find out whether a will has been left, you should:

• check where documents were kept by the deceased
• take into account the circumstances and place of death
• find out where the testator last lived and the presence of notary offices in this place.

Before you find out whether there is a will after death, you need to collect all the documents necessary to begin the inheritance procedure. This list should include:

• heir's passport
• property documents
• death certificate
• documents confirming relationship.

All this will form the basis before finding out whether there is a will of the deceased person. It is important to remember that the inheritance case will be opened within six months from the date of death. And if during this period a will is not discovered, then all inheritance will be carried out according to the law.

Where to look for a will?

Now there are some practical points on how to find out whether the deceased left a will. First of all, it is legally established that a will must be certified by a notary (this is a general rule). This is usually done at the person’s place of residence, or at the location of his property.

Finding out a list of notary offices in your district will not be difficult. But in order to contact them for information and receive a positive response, you will need to provide a copy of the death certificate. Otherwise, they will simply refuse to consider your appeal, citing the secrecy of the will.

Another way to find out whether a will has been drawn up is to make a request to the notary chamber. It is advisable to resort to such a step in the case when there is a need to find out whether there is a will for an apartment in a big city, where the number of notary offices, even in one area, can be significant.

In all this, it is important to understand that the testator can:

• make a will in any city
• cancel or change it at any time
• not to disclose its contents until his death
• inherit property to a stranger.

At the same time, the presence or absence of a will will not affect certain categories of citizens in terms of receiving their share. These include minors who are supported by the testator.

What if without a notary?

When considering the question of how to find out whether there is a will or deed of gift, one should take into account where and how the testator died. The fact is that according to the law, in addition to a notary in certain cases, the following can also confirm the authenticity of a will:

• chief doctors
• expedition leaders
• ship commanders
• commanders of military units
• colonial commanders
• two certificates (if the document was drawn up in emergency situations).

In each specific case, if a document of a testamentary nature was drawn up outside a notary’s office, it may also be necessary to confirm the fact that the person was in that particular place at the time of death or the drawing up of the will. These may be certificates confirming such legal facts. And in case of emergency situations, judicial proof of such facts may be required.

Remember, to figure out whether there was a will, the potential heir has no more than six months. After this, even if you find the document, returning the inheritance divided by law may turn out to be very problematic.

Sources: www.nasledstva.net, nasledstvanet.ru, ru-act.com, expert-nasledstva.com, advopravo.ru

Next:

• How to receive inherited money from Sberbank
• What is better to arrange a gift or inheritance?

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Which notary should I contact?

How to find out which notary to contact to enter into an inheritance? In the event of the death of the owner, the inheritance case is opened at the place of last registration of the deceased. If there is an expression of will, the inheritance case is opened at the place where the document is stored.

If there are several recipients, then the inheritance case is opened with the notary whom the first of the heirs contacted. Other relatives must submit an application to the same notary office.

How to find out which notary has opened an inheritance case?

Since 2020, this can be clarified through the online service. To do this you need:

• go to the website of the Federal Notary Chamber or follow the link https://notariat.ru/ru-ru/help/probate-cases/;
• fill out the search form;
• Click on the “Find Case” button.

You must enter your full name in the search form. the testator, his date of birth and death. If the information is contained in the register, the online service will provide information about the notary who is handling the case.

What to do with a will

After the document is found, the heir must contact the notary with a statement within the prescribed period. In it, the citizen must express his opinion regarding the property of the deceased. The heir may accept the property or refuse to accept it simply or in favor of one of the other recipients.

Important! The will is verified against the unified register. After which the notary puts a mark on the form indicating its validity. The same procedure is carried out in relation to a document found at the deceased’s home, in a hospital and other places.

If a document is closed and hidden, is it possible to inquire about its existence?

In the case of a closed will, each heir has the right to learn only about that part of the property that is bequeathed directly to him.

How to find out if there is a will of the deceased without the help of a notary?

In addition to the notary, the following have the right to confirm the authenticity of the will:

1. Ship commanders.
2. Heads of the colony.
3. Chief doctors.
4. Heads of expeditions.
5. Chiefs of military units.
6. Managers of nursing homes.

That is, those people who led the institution where the deceased citizen spent the last days of his life.

It must be remembered that if the will was drawn up without the help of a notary, then documents are also required confirming that the testator was in the places where it was drawn up.

How does a notary find out about the death of the testator?

Interested parties in acquiring an inheritance are relatives and close people of the deceased. To register an inheritance, they need to contact a notary's office with an application to accept the inheritance. A death certificate is provided as proof of the opening of an inheritance. This is how the notary learns about the death of the testator.

If there are no interested parties, after six months the property becomes the property of the state, that is, it becomes escheat. If the heirs missed the deadline for accepting the inheritance for good reasons, they will be able to restore it by going to court.

Can a notary hide data?

Based on Article 61 of Federal Law No. 4462-1 “On Notaries” dated February 11, 1993, the notary’s duties include notifying the heirs about the opening of the case.

Article 61 of Federal Law No. 4462-1 “On Notaries”. Notification of heirs about the opened inheritance

A notary who has received a message about the opening of an inheritance is obliged to notify about this those heirs whose place of residence or work he knows.

The notary can also summon the heirs by placing a public notice or reporting it in the media.

He can notify interested parties in two ways:

• by personally notifying about this (if the contacts of the heirs are known);
• by posting a public announcement (in the media).

In accordance with the Fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation on notaries, approved by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated February 11, 1993 No. 4462-1, concealment of such information is fraught with deprivation of a license.

How can a non-relative find out about a will?

For an applicant relying on an inheritance under a will, access to the death certificate of the deceased may be closed by the heirs by law. In this case, he needs to apply for a duplicate certificate at the registry office. But if there are no family ties with the testator, he can receive a copy of the document only through a request sent to the authority by a notary, lawyer, or representatives of the justice authorities.

How to find out whether a will has been revoked or not

Hello Svetlana! Article 61 of the Fundamentals of the Legislation of the Russian Federation on notaries imposes on the notary the obligation to notify the heirs whom he knows about the opening of an inheritance; the notary must not notify the persons in whose favor it was drawn up about the cancellation of the will. Your will could be revoked or changed in two ways - by ordering it to be revoked or by making a new will. If you believe that the will has been revoked, you should contact the notary who certified the will in your favor. Based on Art. 58 of the Fundamentals of the Legislation of the Russian Federation on notaries, a notary, in the event of receiving a notice of cancellation of a will, as well as receiving a new will that cancels or changes a previously drawn up will, makes a note to this effect on a copy of the will kept by the notary and in the register of registration of notarial actions. In this regard, if the testator has taken steps to revoke the will with this particular notary, then such a mark will be put on the will or a certificate will be issued. If the will and disposition were made by another notary, it should be taken into account that, on the basis of Art. 5 Fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation on notaries, a notary in the performance of official duties, as well as persons working in a notary office, are prohibited from disclosing documents and disclosing information that has become known to them in connection with the performance of notarial acts, including after resignation or dismissal, for except in cases provided for by these Fundamentals. Accordingly, if your will was canceled by means of a new will in favor of another person, then the notary has no right to issue you a certificate of a will made in favor of someone else. You can receive an order to revoke the will in your favor, for which you need to ask for this document in writing. The notary who certified this order to cancel the will must issue a certificate or a written reasoned refusal within 10 days, which you have the right to appeal in court within 10 days from the day you became aware of the refusal to perform a notarial act. Based on Part 3 of Art. 1130 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, in the event of invalidity of a subsequent will, inheritance is carried out in accordance with the previous will. Also, if you invalidate the order to revoke the will, you will be able to inherit under your will. Wills and orders to revoke wills are often challenged under Art. 177 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on the basis that the testator, although he was legally capable, was at the time of making the will or order of revocation in a state where he was not able to understand the meaning of his actions or direct them. Also, wills and orders to revoke wills under Art. 168 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, if these transactions did not comply with the law. Thus, you should check the information provided by your neighbor, and then, after consulting with an experienced lawyer, decide on your further actions. So, based on your question, there is reason to believe that the state of health of your neighbor will allow us to raise the question of the invalidity of the new will or the order to revoke your will.

Where to look and where to contact?

You can search:

1. At the place of residence of the deceased.
   Most often, evidence of the last will is kept at home by elderly people. Necessary:
   • carefully inspect cabinets, safes and storage rooms;

   look into a box or bag with important documents.

2. If there is no will in the house of a deceased person, you must contact the notary office located at his place of residence.
   The notary will have to present a document confirming blood relationship with the deceased, depending on the family ties. You must also have a death certificate with you, a copy of which the notary will require for further work. If a deceased relative made a will with a notary at the place of residence, the inheritance case will be opened on the day of application.
3. If the nearest notary office does not have the document, you need to look for it in other offices in the city. Any notary can tell you how to find out about the existence of a will and where it can be stored, where to go and what documents to collect.
   In order not to visit all the notaries in order to search for a document, it is advisable to contact the notary chamber of the region of the Russian Federation where the deceased lived.

   By law, all notaries must report to the chamber on the transactions they have completed during the entire period of their work.

4. In addition to a notary, a will can be certified:
   • the chief physician of the hospital where the deceased was treated;

   commander of a military unit;

5. head of the expedition.

If the deceased was in one of the above institutions before his death, you can go there;

6. After the introduction of a unified register of wills, any person can find out about the existence of an inheritance case using the full name of the deceased person.
   It is also possible to inquire about which notary certified this document and where it is located.

How can I find out if there is a will?

In the Russian Federation, finding the documentary will of a deceased testator is very problematic. The thing is that there is simply no general register that would contain information about such documents.

If the search is pointless, and potential heirs do not know how to find a will after the death of a relative, it is advisable to contact a notary at the place of registration of the deceased.

You need to prepare a certain list of documents:

• passport;
• ID of the deceased;
• certificate of death of the testator;
• a certificate from the place of registration of the deceased;
• papers that confirm the fact of relationship.

It is important to know that not only a notary, but also the chief physician, ship captain, and prison director have the right to certify such documents. It all depends on where the testator passed away. Therefore, in an appropriate situation, it is advisable to contact the head of the institution where the death was recorded.

If a notary or authorized person cannot give an answer, you will have to contact the notary chamber. This is the highest authority where information about all legal matters is stored. If you apply, you must also provide all the listed documents.

Search in the testator's apartment

The easiest way to find out whether a will was left is to look for it in the testator's apartment. Quite often, such papers are stored with other documents of the deceased. As a rule, the will is located along with the papers that determine the ownership of the property being transferred.
If the will was not found along with the general pact of documents, it is recommended to look for it from close relatives, the lawyer of the deceased or his proxies. In addition, you need to find out whether the deceased had a safe deposit box or safe in one of the banks.

Often this is where documents are stored, the safety of which is of particular importance. However, in this case, potential heirs will first have to obtain permission to open the cell. To do this, you need to contact bank employees or representatives of its administration. When searching for a will in an apartment, there is one fact to consider.

If relatives lived in the same house or apartment with the testator and know about the existence of a document drawn up not in their favor, it is likely that they are hiding the document. After all, they are least of all interested in its discovery, since according to the law, all the property of a deceased relative should go to them in six months.

Contacting a notary

If you still cannot find the will at home, you need to contact a notary. Many heirs have no idea how to find out which notary holds the will. Everything is simple here.

You need to contact a lawyer who is responsible for the area of ​​residence of the deceased . That is, it is necessary to visit a notary at the place of registration of the deceased. Quite often, searches for a lawyer are completed successfully.

This can be explained by the fact that all actions of the notary, which are aimed at working with the last will of the deceased, are recorded and must be registered. If the will was drawn up a long time ago, a record of its existence and location is still preserved.

If it was not possible to find a will at the district notary, the relatives of the deceased can be helped by specialists working in the areas where the deceased previously lived (they moved to another house or apartment). Therefore, it is advisable to visit all notaries who are associated with the former places of registration of the deceased.

Expert opinion

Irina Vasilyeva

Civil law expert

When contacting a lawyer, you must provide a passport proving your identity, as well as a death certificate of the testator.

How to find out whether a will was left during the testator’s lifetime

Relatives of older people are wondering how to find out if there is a will for an apartment or valuables. But the notary, translators, witnesses and persons with access to the electronic system databases do not disclose information. If they violate the secrecy of the will, the citizen who made it will go to court and receive compensation for moral damage. The notary will be expelled from the Federal Chamber, and he will not be able to continue his professional activities. Thanks to strict punishment, the likelihood of secrets being revealed is minimal.

It happens that relatives do not know whether the testator is alive. The notary should not clarify this nuance: clarify the information yourself by contacting the registry office.

Where and how to look for a will during the testator’s lifetime

To find out whether a relative has drawn up a will, carefully ask him a question. Information obtained from other sources is considered illegal. But you have no right to demand an answer if the current owner refuses to inform you.

How to find out if there is an inheritance?

Knowing about the death of a person and having the assumption that he could leave an inheritance, the citizen first of all turns to the notary, who is assigned to the area of ​​residence of the deceased. The list of government offices is publicly available on the Internet.

The ways to obtain an extract about existing and possible property for inheritance are as follows:

• Request to Rosreestr. Rosreestr is the answer to the question “how to find out if there is a will for an abandoned apartment.”
• An extract from the Federal Tax Service is the answer to the availability of bank accounts and savings.
• Request to the traffic police regarding vehicle issues.

It is possible to attract a private company that will search for all property eligible for inheritance.

By last name

The operation to search for an inheritance by name is available online. To begin with, they go to a website that provides this opportunity, then fill out all the required windows and begin searching for a case among those available in the database.

In response, the system provides a list of property, a list of heirs and a notary who has everything documented.

Offline, such a procedure is possible by personally contacting a notary or as an action by private companies.

Outside Russia

Dealing with an inheritance left by foreign relatives is more difficult. It is possible to find property here by contacting the consulate of the country in which the relative had registration or citizenship, or by contacting private owners.

Relatives here should not be trusted. Statistics say that in 30 percent of cases, death is hidden.

This is important to know: Cancellation and modification of a will: invalidity of a will

How to find out if there is a will?

There are 2 ways to find out about the existence of a will:

1. Search for a will at the place of the testator's last residence. When concluding a will, one copy remains with the notary, and the second is given to the testator and is often kept at home in documents. If possible, you can independently search for the will in the apartment. A search is also possible if the deceased drew up a document in an emergency situation.
2. Contacting a notary. You need to contact any notary office in the country. If a notary assures you that there is no will, this does not mean that there is no will at all. The deceased could simply not register it, in which case the first option will suit you better.

Algorithm of actions at the stage of clarifying information with a notary:

• contacting a notary office;
• preparation of the necessary documents (original and copy of your passport, marriage/birth certificate, as confirmation of family ties, death certificate of the testator);
• writing a petition to open an inheritance;
• familiarization with the list of property;
• acceptance or refusal of one's share.

At the stage of opening an inheritance, the notary checks the universal database, where he specifies information about the existence of a will. After this, the will is opened, checked for compliance with the law and read to the heirs. If the will is not annulled or declared invalid, then the distribution of property occurs on the basis of an administrative document.

How to find out if there is an inheritance?

Upon learning of the death of a relative, the heir must contact the notary's office located at the registered address of the deceased testator.

Ways to obtain information about inherited property:

• ordering an extract from Rosreestr about all real estate owned by the testator (a copy of the deceased person’s passport will be required);
• sending a request to the Federal Tax Service to obtain information about the bank deposits of the testator;
• Traffic police – obtaining data on vehicles;
• attracting private companies that provide paid services for searching for the testator’s valuables.

By last name

You can obtain information if you only know the last name of the testator in the following ways:

1. Personal application to the nearest notary office. Having only the original of his passport with him, a person writes a written application to clarify the data on the death of the testator. The notary, using access to a unified system, checks information about the existence of a will and the death of a relative. You can obtain detailed information only after providing the original document on the person’s death.
2. Contacting a private company that provides inheritance tracing services. The company operates on the basis of a contract signed with close relatives or strangers and receives a monetary reward.

Outside Russia

In the event of the death of a testator permanently residing outside of Russia, finding an inheritance turns out to be quite difficult.

Potential heirs can use one of the following methods of acquiring valuables:

• personal application to the country's consulate with documents confirming relationship (valid for a total period of 6 months);
• attracting a private company to search for inheritance (doing work outside Russia is more expensive than providing services in the Russian Federation).

You should not rely on foreign relatives, since in 30% of cases facts of deliberate concealment of the death of the testator are recorded.

How to find out if there is a will for inheritance?

You can find out whether there is a will for inheritance in the following ways:

• search in the testator's belongings;
• contacting a notary;
• request to the notary office.

Searching through the belongings of the deceased

A copy of the will is usually transferred to the testator for safekeeping. The exception is a closed posthumous disposition of property. It is kept by a notary. Such a document is transmitted in sealed form.

When inspecting an apartment or house, you should pay attention to the places where the deceased kept valuables and documents. If a will is not made for a relative, the document may end up in the custody of strangers with whom the testator was on good terms. For example, from neighbors, friends, acquaintances. Therefore, it would not be superfluous to interview these people.

See also: How to return a phone to a store?

In some cases, persons living together with the testator may deliberately hide the existence of a will. This is due to the fact that if an heir under the will does not appear, the property will go to the legal successors.

Contacting a notary

You can make a will:

• In any notary office;
• In a government institution under certain circumstances. A person has the right to independently write a document that can be certified by the official managing the organization. For example: captain of a ship - if the testator is on a long voyage;
• the chief physician of the hospital - if the testator is in serious condition in the hospital;
• director of the prison - in case of serving a sentence;
• unit commander - during military service;
• director of a nursing home - when the testator lives there.

If the will could not be found in the belongings, then you should contact the nearest notary office or institution where the deceased citizen recently stayed (for example, a hospital).

When applying you must provide:

• passport;
• a document confirming the death of the testator;
• document on relationship (if available).

The applicant writes an application to provide information about the will. If such a document is discovered, the notary informs the applicant about it. If the will is drawn up in favor of other persons, the notary provides an answer, but does not indicate the persons to whom the property is left.

Request to the notary chamber

The Chamber of Notaries unites all notaries. They report on the notarial actions performed. The request can be submitted in person. Then, to do this, you need to contact the address of the notary chamber of the subject where the deceased lived. The second option is to write a request and send it by mail. In the first case, original documents are provided. The second contains certified copies.

You will need:

• passport;
• a document certifying the death of the testator;
• document of kinship.

After verification, the applicant is informed about the presence or absence of a will in his favor.

How to find a will by last name online

In 2020, there are many options for seeking a will. However, it is still impossible to obtain information online.

The law establishes the secrecy of a will, so information about the existence of a document is confidential, even after the death of the owner.

However, to help heirs, there is a new service for finding the notary who opened the inheritance case. Such information can help if there is more than one heir.

One of the recipients of property under a will contacts a notary. The specialist opens a probate case and enters data into the register. After which other heirs, by expression of their will, can receive information about the place of opening of the inheritance.

The service is located on the website of the Federal Notary Chamber. It is easy to use, so the heir does not need to have special knowledge.

Data required to use the service:

• FULL NAME. deceased;
• Date of Birth;
• Date of death.

This is what the service looks like

What you need to pay attention to:

1. The testator's data must be entered in strict sequence, full name.
2. If you do not have accurate data on the birth and death of a citizen, you may not enter such information. The service will provide a list of all testators with such data.

1. The service does not contain data on the presence/absence of expression of will.
2. If the site does not provide information about the testator, then the inheritance case has not yet been opened. This means that other heirs did not apply to the notary’s office to receive the property.

The service will not help you find an order. However, he will assist in finding the notary who opened the inheritance case.

How to find out if there is a will after the death of a relative?

Death and money are two sensitive topics that many people don't like to discuss, but succession planning is an important part of managing your finances.
For those with assets, probate planning is an important step in the process, while those receiving or expecting to receive an inheritance should also seek specialist financial planning advice. By using financial products and tax laws in estate planning, people can protect both their financial interests and those of their heirs.

They can also prevent rifts between heirs by ensuring that everyone is informed of what to expect when the will is read.

Many financial planning services offer estate planning guidance for those wishing to distribute their assets after death, as well as for heirs and potential heirs.

People with complex family relationships, such as remarriages and stepchildren, often need individual estate planning to ensure their assets are distributed according to their wishes.

Likewise, when people inherit a large amount of money, they may not be ready to invest in the inheritance.

As a result, the heir may end up spending the inheritance recklessly because he or she is unaware of his or her options.

Good succession planning will take into account the needs of family members as well as their specific situations.

For example, in some families it may make sense to create a generation-skipping trust that provides inheritance protection while still giving family members access to money.

Additionally, an heir facing serious tax consequences may choose to disclaim the inheritance to pass it on to other heirs, leaving the money in the family.

Finally, by creating specific trusts with careful instructions about how money is distributed, those leaving money to heirs can prevent inherited money from being lost to heirs who are financially responsible.

It's always a good idea for families to talk about succession planning to prevent conflict and hurt feelings. Including family members in estate planning can also make the process more efficient.

If parents become aware of the financial situations and needs of their children and grandchildren, they can make better decisions about dividing assets or using certain types of trusts.

Family members may also express their desire to purchase family heirlooms, real estate, or other assets.

These items can then be specifically left to these family members in the will to prevent disputes later.

Succession law is an area of ​​law that deals with how an heir's property will be distributed or passed on to heirs after his or her death.

Not only will the law of inheritance differ depending on the country, but it may also differ depending on the state in the country or the religion in the country.

In some jurisdictions, these laws replace the last will, while in others they provide for the division of property only in the absence of a will.

In Russia, the presence of a will means that before death a person drew up some kind of agreement (contract), in which he prescribed all the property and heirs.

If there is no such document, then the law specifies special queues into which it is distributed.

During probate, the deceased's last will and testament is taken into court for review. If the deceased did not leave a will, the inheritance law of the state in which the deceased died will apply and the estate will be passed on to the heirs through intestacy.

Intestacy refers to the legal rules that determine who receives the assets of a deceased person and what percentage they receive.

How to check?

It is almost impossible to find out about this during the life of the testator. The document can be changed or even canceled without the knowledge of any other persons except the testator himself and the notary with whom the will is kept. After the death of the testator, the fact of his last will can be found out from the federal register or by contacting notaries.

Who is it registered to?

The full name of the heir indicated in the will can only be found out by the heir himself when contacting the notary who is in charge of the inheritance case.

Before the creation of the Federal Register of Wills, it was often practiced that if one of the heirs discovered a copy of the will first, he was interested in hiding the very fact of its existence. Especially if the document was not drawn up in his favor.

But now an open free register records data on all transactions concluded by notaries in all regions of the Russian Federation. Therefore, after the death of the testator, it is advisable to first request information from the registry.

Authentication

Based on Article 42 of the Federal Law No. 4462-1 of February 11, 1993, video filming is allowed when a will is signed and certified in the premises of a notary’s office.

The video recording can be evidence when the heirs challenge the will. The validity of a document is in question if:

• it is prepared with errors;
• written under pressure (psychological or physical);
• the testator was in an inadequate state when he wrote the document;
• the testator is declared incompetent.

A document can be declared invalid not only in its entirety, but also in its individual parts, but in any case only through a court.

The heir declares his rights to the inheritance within 6 months from the date of death of the testator. If he misses the deadline, he can restore his rights only through the court.

To deal with inheritance, you should submit a package of documents to a notary office or first create an online request in the federal inheritance service. To enter into an inheritance, a six-month period is provided. If deadlines are missed, you should go to court.

How to find out about an inheritance

To briefly summarize what was written earlier: since an inheritance that is not due by law can be transferred only by will, in order to find out that it awaits you, you need to find out about the existence of a will. This can be reported by:

• the testator himself is still alive;
• his relatives or loved ones to whom he told about the document;
• notary or notary chamber.

But you shouldn’t just wait to be informed about the inheritance that has opened. It is quite possible that you will have to try to find out about it and check it yourself.

This should be done as quickly as possible, since the entire process of registering an inheritance must be completed within six months from the date of death. Although, if you were not informed about the fact of death, then you can renew the period for inheritance through the court. It will be more difficult to do this if you knew about the death, but not about the inheritance. This is unnecessary hassle, so sometimes it’s worth checking to avoid it.