Inheritance

Losing loved ones is an unbearable pain for anyone.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, such losses have become far more frequent. Yet, despite the grief, it is important to see to accepting the deceased person’s estate in good time. Inheritance is made more complicated by the fact that many Ukrainians are abroad because of the Russian Federation’s military aggression, and by the martial law in force in Ukraine. The matter has many nuances, but in this article I will try to set out a clear procedure for Ukrainians who are abroad when they come to accept an inheritance.

First of all, we need to establish what is actually passed on by inheritance.
Inheritance is the transfer of rights and obligations (the estate) from a natural person who has died (the testator) to other persons (the heirs) (Art. 1216 of the Civil Code of Ukraine). It follows from this provision that, when a person dies, the heirs share not only the assets but also the debts of the deceased, including loan obligations, unpaid maintenance, utility bills, court-ordered debts and so on. The estate includes all the property that belonged to the deceased on the day of death: movable and immovable property, money, deposits and also, as we have said, debts. It is important to remember that you may not accept only part of an inheritance, nor refuse just the part made up of debts. Inheritance may take place by law or by will. You can inherit under a will if the testator, during their lifetime and while of sound mind, made a will through an authorised person in favour of those to whom they wished to leave their property and rights. If there is no will, the heirs inherit the rights and obligations by law. The law sets out five classes of heirs on intestacy, and if there are no heirs in a given class, the right to inherit passes to the heirs of the next class. Now let us turn to the inheritance procedure itself, which consists of two consecutive stages:

• accepting the inheritance (done by submitting the relevant application to a notary)

• formalising the inheritance rights and obtaining the certificate of inheritance.

So what steps should you take to come into an inheritance while you are abroad? In this case there are two options.
The first is to have the heir’s signature on the application to accept the inheritance certified by a notary, followed by an apostille (or consular legalisation). The application is translated into Ukrainian, and the translation is also certified by an authorised translator. The heir’s application, together with its certified translation, is then sent by post to the notary’s office at the place where the succession is opened, which is the deceased’s last place of residence. It is important that the application is posted in time, that is, before the six-month period for accepting the inheritance expires. An application is considered sent in time if the authenticity of the person’s signature has been certified by a notary and it was posted before the six-month period ran out.
Please note that the application to accept an inheritance cannot be submitted by a representative of the heir acting under a power of attorney: failing to meet the formal legal requirement to submit the document in person may result in the application being treated as never submitted. The second option for Ukrainians abroad is to apply to Ukraine’s consular and diplomatic missions in the foreign country. At the request of a Ukrainian citizen, the consul (or the authorised secretary for consular matters) certifies the authenticity of the signature on the application to accept the inheritance and adds their own signature and official seal, after which the heir must send the application to Ukraine by international post. It is important that you go to the consul in person; otherwise, notarial certification of the signature will be required for the application to be registered. Certification of the signature is not needed if the heir appeared before the consul in person and submitted the application. In that case the consul establishes the heir’s identity and verifies the authenticity of their signature, notes this on the application and records the name of the identity document, its number, date of issue, the issuing authority and the heir’s year of birth.
If you choose the second option, however, you need to bear in mind the consulate staff’s workload, which affects how quickly the procedure goes, so there is a risk of missing the six-month deadline for submitting the application to accept the inheritance. The law sets no formal requirements for the application to accept an inheritance. Even so, it is advisable to state in it:

1. The surname, first name and patronymic of the notary, or the name of the notary’s office, to which the applicant is applying;
2. The address of the notary or notary’s office;
3. The applicant’s surname, first name and patronymic, passport details, address of residence and of registration, and contact details;
4. Information about the testator’s death (surname, first name and patronymic, date of death, last known place of residence);
5. The property forming part of the estate that the applicant knows of;
6. The wish to accept the inheritance;
7. Information about the other heirs (surname, first name and patronymic, passport details, address of residence and of registration, contact details).
   Download a SAMPLE of the application.
   In addition, the following must be attached to the application:
8. A copy of your identity document;
9. A copy of the testator’s death certificate;
10. A document confirming the testator’s last place of residence.

For the second stage – formalising the inheritance – you need to gather the following documents:

1. The application to accept the inheritance;
2. The testator’s death certificate – original;
3. A certificate showing the deceased’s place of registration: where, and with whom, they were registered at the time of death;
4. Documents proving ownership of the deceased’s property;
5. The heir’s passport and Ukrainian taxpayer registration number (RNOKPP);
6. Payment of the notary’s fees and the state duty. Also, if the property is inherited under a will, the deceased’s will must be added to the set of documents.

If not, you will need documents proving the family relationship: a birth certificate, a marriage certificate.
The heir may appoint a representative, a trusted person who will handle all the procedural matters. Their powers must be set out in a notarised power of attorney, which can also be drawn up abroad at a consular office.
That person will then be able to gather all the documents needed to formalise the inheritance on your behalf, visit the notary and carry out other legally significant acts. It is better, though, to choose a lawyer as your representative: it is usually easier for them, and such a representative will easily establish a working relationship with the notary.
Once the process is complete, the certificate of inheritance can be received in the same way as the application was sent to the notary, by post.

If you need professional advice or help with an inheritance matter, you can always contact us by phone on +393802071437 or write to us at our e-mail address