Inheritance by will

Inheritance by will is one of the main forms of property transfer after the death of a person in Ukraine. It is regulated by Chapter 85 of the Civil Code of Ukraine , which establishes the rules for drawing up a will, its execution and distribution of inheritance among heirs. According to Art. 1233 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, a will is a personal disposition of an individual in the event of his death . Thus, a will is a document in which an individual determines to whom and how his property should pass after death. A will has legal force only after the death of the testator, during the life of the testator this document can be changed or canceled.

In order for a will to be valid, it must meet the following requirements:

• The will is drawn up in writing and certified by a notary public or another authorized person (for example, the chief doctor in a hospital, the commander of a military unit, the head of a village council, etc.).
• The will must be drawn up personally by the testator . It is not allowed to draw up a will through a representative or proxy.
• Only a person with full legal capacity can be a testator.

The testator has the right to appoint as heirs both relatives and outsiders, or even legal entities or the state. Despite the freedom of the will , the law obliges to leave a share of the property for certain categories of persons who have the right to a mandatory share in the inheritance (children under 18, disabled parents or spouses).

Advantages of inheritance by will :

• The testator can clearly determine how his property will be distributed , avoiding controversial situations.
• The possibility of appointing an executor of the will , the narrator can specify the person who will carry out his will, which will ensure the effective distribution of the inheritance.
• In contrast to inheritance by law, in inheritance by will, the succession of heirs is not taken into account .

In order to accept the inheritance, the heirs must submit an application for acceptance of the inheritance to a public or private notary within 6 months from the day of the opening of the inheritance (the death of the testator, or from the day she is declared dead). The application for acceptance of inheritance is submitted personally by the heir at the notary's office or by mail to the notary's address, but in this case the heir's signature in the application must be certified by another notary. The application is submitted to the notary at the place of inheritance opening - the testator's place of residence. The notary opens the inheritance case, checks the content of the will and takes the necessary actions to issue a certificate of the right to inheritance.

Please note that during the period of martial law on the territory of Ukraine, if the place of opening of inheritance is located in the occupied territory, then the application is submitted to any notary public. In addition, if the heir is abroad, he can make an application for acceptance of inheritance at a consular institution or at a local notary, with subsequent sending by post to a notary in Ukraine, while the date of submission of the application will be considered the day of sending, and not when the notary receives the application . The only thing is, if you certify a statement at a foreign notary, depending on the country, you may need an apostille or consular legalization and a notarized translation into Ukrainian, which is better to consult with a Ukrainian notary in advance.

If you still missed the 6-month period , it can be renewed through the court, but only if there are valid reasons :

• long-term illness of the heir, which is confirmed by medical certificates;
• difficult working conditions, which, in particular, are associated with long business trips, including foreign ones;
• serving a sentence in places of deprivation of liberty;
• stay of the heir in the service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Inheritance by will is an important legal mechanism that allows the testator to dispose of his property according to his will. At the same time, the will must be drawn up in compliance with all the requirements of the law in order to avoid its appeal or invalidation. In addition, the preparation and submission of an application for acceptance of inheritance has many nuances, so we recommend that you consult a specialized lawyer before starting legal actions.

Templates that may be useful:

- will (Ukrainian), universal;

- marriage contract between spouses ;

Inheritance by will is one of the main forms of property transfer after the death of a person in Ukraine. It is regulated by Chapter 85 of the Civil Code of Ukraine , which establishes the rules for drawing up a will, its execution and distribution of inheritance among heirs. According to Art. 1233 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, a will is a personal disposition of an individual in the event of his death . Thus, a will is a document in which an individual determines to whom and how his property should pass after death. A will has legal force only after the death of the testator, during the life of the testator this document can be changed or canceled.

In order for a will to be valid, it must meet the following requirements:

• The will is drawn up in writing and certified by a notary public or another authorized person (for example, the chief doctor in a hospital, the commander of a military unit, the head of a village council, etc.).
• The will must be drawn up personally by the testator . It is not allowed to draw up a will through a representative or proxy.
• Only a person with full legal capacity can be a testator.

The testator has the right to appoint as heirs both relatives and outsiders, or even legal entities or the state. Despite the freedom of the will , the law obliges to leave a share of the property for certain categories of persons who have the right to a mandatory share in the inheritance (children under 18, disabled parents or spouses).

Advantages of inheritance by will :

• The testator can clearly determine how his property will be distributed , avoiding controversial situations.
• The possibility of appointing the executor of the will , the narrator can specify the person who will carry out his will, which will ensure the effective distribution of the inheritance.
• In contrast to inheritance by law, in inheritance by will, the succession of heirs is not taken into account .

In order to accept the inheritance, the heirs must submit an application for acceptance of the inheritance to a public or private notary within 6 months from the day of the opening of the inheritance (the death of the testator, or from the day she is declared dead). The application for acceptance of inheritance is submitted personally by the heir at the notary's office or by mail to the notary's address, but in this case the heir's signature in the application must be certified by another notary. The application is submitted to the notary at the place of opening of the estate - the place of residence of the testator. The notary opens the inheritance case, checks the content of the will and takes the necessary actions to issue a certificate of the right to inheritance.

Please note that during the period of martial law on the territory of Ukraine, if the place of opening of the inheritance is located in the occupied territory, then the application is submitted to any notary public. In addition, if the heir is abroad, he can make an application for acceptance of the inheritance at a consular office or at a local notary, with subsequent sending by mail to a notary in Ukraine, while the date of submission of the application will be considered the day of sending, and not when the notary receives the application . The only thing is, if you certify the application at a foreign notary, depending on the country, you may need an apostille or consular legalization and a notarized translation into Ukrainian, about which it is better to consult with a Ukrainian notary in advance.

If you still missed the 6-month term , it can be renewed through the court, but only if there are valid reasons :

• long-term illness of the heir, which is confirmed by medical certificates;
• difficult working conditions, which, in particular, are associated with long business trips, including foreign ones;
• serving a sentence in places of deprivation of liberty;
• stay of the heir in the service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Inheritance by will is an important legal mechanism that allows the testator to dispose of his property according to his will. At the same time, the will must be drawn up in compliance with all the requirements of the law in order to avoid its appeal or invalidation. In addition, the preparation and submission of the application for acceptance of inheritance has many nuances, so we recommend that you consult a specialized lawyer before starting legal actions.

Templates that may be useful:

- will (Ukrainian), universal;

- marriage contract between spouses ;