HEREDITARY AFFAIRS

When and why do applicants for inheritance need not only a notary, but also a lawyer?

The death of a family member or relative who has grounds to bequeath his movable and immovable property to you does not always entail an appeal only to the notary bureau.

The notary starts an inheritance case: assigns a number to the documents brought by the applicant for inheritance (even if there is only one such document), starts a folder, puts down the date, registers the fact of treatment in the register of hereditary cases in the EIS.

Then events develop, most often, in two ways. Based on the information provided, the notary will establish an algorithm for the distribution of property between applicants and issue them the appropriate certificates. A testamentary act or a court decision will be the determining factor here.

Perhaps the applicants will want to draw up an agreement on the division of property themselves, as a result, the paperwork will accelerate and become a formality without tricky moments. If an agreement cannot be reached, the case is referred to the court. The trial, as our practice shows, can be delayed.

At the end of the process, the inheritance case is closed and transferred to the archive of the notary bureau for a 10-year period. The notary puts down the date, indicates the number and list of documents, — if necessary, the case can be resumed.

If the implementation of the inheritance right does not raise difficult questions.

During the first visit to the notary, you will need a will or a death certificate, possibly a court decision recognizing the owner of the property as deceased. In the future, the list of documents required by the notary may vary depending on your situation and be sufficiently detailed.

It is not always the presence of only one applicant for inheritance means that taking possession of the deceased's property will be extremely simple. It is important to remember that you can legalize your inheritance rights 6 months after the death of a relative. If you do not do this on time, you will have to go through separate lawsuits, proving the weight of the circumstances that prevented you from meeting the deadlines.

When and at what stage a lawyer is required to participate in an inheritance case.

The understandable desire to save on legal services becomes the reason why inheritance applicants often turn to a lawyer only when the contradictions between relatives have become insurmountable, or when the applicant for inheritance has been led to a dead end by the abundance of legislative and by-laws.

On the one hand, the inheritance procedure is clear and structured even in the absence of a will. On the other hand, people who have never encountered the field of jurisprudence before often get lost, not seeing the opportunity to meet deadlines, overcome legislative incidents, collect documents that are not clear to them. There can be a lot of such documents, moreover, sometimes it takes visiting another region and working with archives to get them. Sometimes the reason for a visit to a lawyer is a misunderstanding of the applicant for inheritance: why the notary refused to accept the application.

In our practice, cases prevail when the deceased owner of the property did not leave not only a testamentary act, but also documents confirming his property rights. Here, to defend the interests of the heir presumptive, a virtuoso mastery of the regulatory framework will be required.

The second common situation is that there are several heirs, and the object of inheritance is specific or insignificant, in other words, it is problematic to divide it. It is often impossible to avoid a trial here, and the lawyer's qualifications and experience come out on top.

Remember, the role of a lawyer is not limited to representation in court. The best option is to settle the conflict at the stage of pre-trial proceedings: in this case, you will save time and avoid spending on court fees.

You can contact a lawyer at any stage of an inheritance dispute. Assistance can be different: from consulting and issuing recommendations to appealing against illegal actions of a notary. A lawyer can insist on extending the terms of the inheritance procedure, appeal against existing contracts and wills, challenge the refusal of inheritance.

Rationally instruct the lawyer to collect the required documents and prepare petitions and statements. Sometimes it is difficult to directly establish the fact of your relationship with the deceased. It is often difficult to determine the mandatory share of those entering into inheritance rights.

If it is impossible to draw up a peace agreement on the division of inherited property between you and other applicants, a lawyer will defend your rights in court, will act as a defender of your pre-emptive right to inheritance.