Oksana Savytska
the United Voices in Action program’s lawyer

Inheriting property in Ukraine after the full-scale invasion can be a complex and challenging process. Here are some of the key challenges that heirs may face:

Inheritance is carried out by law or by will. If there is no will or it is invalidated, the right to inherit is granted to the legal heirs in succession. This order is determined by the Civil Code. After the full-scale invasion, Ukrainians who had left the occupied territories or territories where hostilities are taking place often faced the problem of inheritance after the death of their relatives. Let’s find out why and how to solve it.

Failing to meet the six-month deadline for submitting an inheritance application is a frequently encountered issue. Should this occur, and the legatee is unable to provide proof of shared residence with the deceased at the time of their passing to the notary, the remaining option is to pursue a court case.

It’s also common to encounter obstacles when trying to verify familial relationships and mistakes in personal and property documents. These matters are typically settled through litigation as well.

The imposition of martial law has also impacted the inheritance acquisition process. For instance, during peaceful times, applications were to be made only at the deceased’s final place of residence or the site of inheritance initiation. If this location was uncertain, the application could be made at the location of the real property. Nonetheless, during martial law, the government initiated the principle of extraterritoriality for IDPs: any notary in Ukraine can initiate a case at the request of the applicant, regardless of the site of inheritance commencement. In this circumstance, one must wait until the timeframe for inheritance acceptance has lapsed, that is, 6 months.

Some notaries deny issuing inheritance certificates to IDPs, contending that inheritance cases should be transferred to their associates in the area where the deceased resided at the time of their passing. The primary reasoning is that the oblast where the deceased resided during their death is not temporarily occupied. It could be a liberated area or belong to the areas where active warfare is underway.

Due to this, numerous IDPs have had to travel back to their abandoned homes to find a notary. Such professionals are scarce, waiting times are long, and service fees are exorbitant.

Such practices infringe on the rights of inheritors, as during martial law, any notary in Ukraine can initiate an inheritance case at the request of an IDP. A transfer is only permissible if the inheritance case is listed in the Inheritance Register. Essentially, if multiple potential inheritors apply concurrently, the notary who first registers the application will manage the case.

On May 22, 2023, revisions to the Civil Code were implemented. These explicitly state that the site of the inheritance initiation is the location of the first application submission. Therefore, based on this, a notary is obliged to commence an inheritance case and register it in the Inheritance Register following the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers.

In order to minimize complications during inheritance formalization, adherence to the deadlines and processes stipulated by law is crucial. Regrettably, not everyone possesses this knowledge. Thus, it’s crucial for inheritors to identify and address the issue at the earliest to avoid lengthy court battles.

IDPs approach the lawyers of the United Voices in Action program for a range of different requirements. They most commonly require assistance in securing or reinstating various social benefits, document procurement, labor rights protection, and processes for travel abroad. And indeed, in receiving an inheritance.

We offer IDPs free consultations on any legal matters. We also aid in the drafting of inquiries, appeals, and complaints. Moreover, we clarify the provisions of existing legislation to local authority representatives and providers of administrative and social services to internally displaced individuals. To avail of legal support from the United Voices in Action program, one needs to complete an online application form, providing contact details and the nature of their request.

Source: Rubryka.