After the death of each person, a certain property remains, which is distributed among all the heirs. They can be established by law or by the direct owner of the property during his life, for which he made a will. But often, some recipients of values are unworthy of property due to their behavior. Therefore, many citizens have a question, how to recognize the heir unworthy, so that he could not get even a part of the hereditary mass. The procedure can be performed through a notary or a court, but there must be really good reason and evidence for this.
Who is the unworthy heir?
He is represented by the recipient of the property of a deceased citizen, who due to his behavior is recognized as unworthy of receiving values. This includes greed, the use of fraudulent schemes to receive money, or the commission of other illegal actions, the main purpose of which is the appropriation of the property of a deceased person.
All of the above actions must be proved by official documents, so unfounded charges will not be accepted by the court.
Misconceptions about such heirs
There are many myths regarding how to recognize an heir unworthy. The main such misconceptions include:
- poor relations with the deceased testator cannot become the basis for restricting a citizen in his rights;
- maintaining an immoral lifestyle does not in any way affect the process of registration of the inheritance;
- living in another city or country cannot be used as a reason for depriving a person of an inheritance;
- the lack of material assistance from a person in relation to the deceased owner of the property also does not allow depriving him of values.
Often, citizens who do not want to share the property of a deceased person try in various ways to discredit other recipients of values. If the heir is deemed unworthy, then he loses the right to receive the values of the deceased relative, so they are distributed among the remaining heirs. But there really must be good reason for this process.
Causes
How to recognize an heir unworthy? There must be significant reasons for this, to which the reasons include:
- committing unlawful acts against the testator during his lifetime;
- the use of fraudulent schemes for the appropriation of property of a deceased citizen;
- concealment of various testamentary documents in order to receive as much of the hereditary mass as possible;
- loss of parental rights if the testator is a child;
- refusal to fulfill the conditions of a life-long maintenance contract drawn up with the deceased owner of the property;
- deprivation of life of the owner of values.
In addition, this includes the situation when a testator formally removed a specific citizen from inheritance during his lifetime. Only in the presence of the above reasons can a person be deprived of the opportunity to claim hereditary property.
When are claims not satisfied by the court?
Every person who wants to deprive the inheritance of a particular citizen, must know whether it is possible to recognize the heir unworthy for one reason or another. There are certain situations in which the requirements will not be satisfied. Therefore, the court will refuse the plaintiff under the following conditions:
- use of property without obtaining a certificate of inheritance from a notary public;
- committing various acts prohibiting the use of values by other heirs;
- violation of the agreement on the basis of which the division of values was carried out;
- hiding information that the testator has died;
- prohibition of communication of the testator with other relatives;
- fictitious marriage;
- the declination of the deceased owner of the property to an immoral lifestyle.
It is almost impossible to prove the above facts with official documents. If the lawsuit contains these reasons, then the court will not consider such a case.
Who can file a lawsuit and when?
The requirement to recognize the heir as unworthy may be put forward by other recipients of values, as well as by third parties who cannot receive the inheritance.
You can go to court during the lifetime or after the death of the testator, but the plaintiff must have official evidence of his innocence.
If the owner of the property is still alive, then the lawsuit may be filed on the basis that the heir violates the contract for life maintenance or does not transfer child support. The claim is drawn up and submitted not only by the testator himself, but also by any other interested person. The owner of the property himself may recognize his children or other relatives as unworthy of inheritance.
After the death of a citizen, other heirs may apply to the court, who wish in this way to increase their part of the inheritance. Before filing a claim, it is important to make sure whether the heir can be deemed unworthy on the basis of existing reasons and evidence.
The procedure for recognizing a citizen as an unworthy heir with the help of a notary
When choosing a notary, a simplified procedure is implemented, on the basis of which one person is excluded from the list of assignees. How to recognize an heir unworthy with the help of a notary? The procedure is performed only under the condition that production is still underway by a specialist.
Therefore, an open hereditary case is required, which is accompanied by the following symptoms:
- not all people received inheritance certificates;
- five years have not passed since the death of the testator.
How can an heir be deemed unworthy through a notary public? For this, sequential actions are performed:
- initially it is necessary to obtain a court decision, on the basis of which it is established that a particular person was deprived of parental rights or committed illegal actions in relation to the owner of the property;
- a statement is formed for the notary, on the basis of which the particular heir is deemed unworthy, and for this a simple written form is used;
- confirmation is transmitted to the authorized person that the citizen is unworthy of receiving the inheritance, submitted by a court decision.
If the procedure is carried out before the opening of the inheritance case, then in order to recognize the heir in the will unworthy, other documentation is attached to the application:
- death certificate of the owner of the property;
- sv-va about the death of other successors who are priority or equal;
- grounds confirming that the applicant may claim the inheritance represented by a will or documents indicating the existence of family ties between him and the testator;
- statement of acceptance of property or testamentary denial.
The received documentation is attached by a notary to the existing open inheritance case. Additionally, even a new business may be opened for them, where the necessary changes will be initially made. Under such conditions, a person is excluded from the list of people who can receive the values of a deceased person.
How to act in court?
How to recognize a person as an unworthy heir? Most often, this process is implemented through the courts. The judicial procedure is used to close the inheritance case. Under such conditions, all citizens have already entered into their rights, so they use the values received from the deceased testator. Usually only cases are considered, in which it is established that one of the heirs did not fulfill material obligations to the deceased citizen.
Disagreements between citizens are resolved during the proceedings. A plaintiff may be another heir or a consignee. When making a decision, the court focuses on different information:
- previously issued court decisions, on the basis of which alimony was collected from citizens or the fact of malicious evasion from transferring funds was established;
- an act drawn up by the bailiffs and confirming that the heir has a debt of alimony to the deceased citizen;
- court decision, on the basis of which the defendant is involved as an offender in cases related to the deceased testator;
- other evidence.
Previously, the plaintiff must receive a notary from the notary that he refuses to take responsibility for the procedure.
How to recognize an heir unworthy by law with the help of a court? For this, the necessary evidence is collected, which is then transferred together with a competently drawn up claim to the district court at the place of residence of the defendant. This must be done within three years after receiving information about the offense by the citizen. Moreover, the process is allowed only for 10 years from the date of the death of the testator.
What documents are attached to the claim?
Not only evidence must be attached to the lawsuit, but also other documentation. It includes paper:
- certificate of death of the past owner of the property;
- testament, if any;
- documents confirming the relationship between the plaintiff and the deceased testator;
- receipt of payment of duty;
- copy of the passport;
- documents for inherited property.
Based on the available documents and evidence, a court session is held, where a decision is made by the court. If it is positive for the plaintiff, then the property of the unworthy recipient is distributed among other heirs. Therefore, it’s easy enough to figure out how to recognize an heir unworthy. Judicial practice shows that quite often the court makes a positive decision for the plaintiff.
Rules for making a claim
Initially, you should understand in which case they recognize an unworthy heir to make sure the appropriateness of the statement of claim. If there really are grounds for filing a claim, then we must correctly draw up a document. For this, the following requirements are met:
- data on the parties are registered, therefore it is important to enter information on the deceased testator, heirs and the notary public who was engaged in opening the inheritance;
- sets out the requirements of the plaintiff, represented by the need to recognize the specific recipient of the property as unworthy of the inheritance;
- lists all the details that allow the judge to understand the circumstances of the case;
- if there are witnesses, then information about them is indicated in the statement of claim, since in this case the court may invite them to testify;
- at the end are listed documents that serve as evidence of the plaintiff.
Before submitting documentation and applications, it is required to pay a fee equal to 300 rubles in 2018. If the court makes a positive decision for the plaintiff, then you need to further contact the notary with the original of the decision. On the basis of this document, an unworthy heir is excluded from the list of property recipients.
Implications for the Heir
If the heir is deemed unworthy, then he will have to face numerous negative consequences. These include:
- the right to inheritance obtained by law or on the basis of a will made by the testator is lost;
- a citizen cannot even count on an obligatory share;
- he will not be assigned the share of other heirs if they refuse it.
The property is transferred to other heirs. If they are absent, then the values are transferred to the municipality.
How is property divided?
If some people are recognized by the court as unworthy heirs, then the property that is supposed to be granted to them by law or testament is distributed among the remaining persons who may claim these values. This takes into account whether the order remained after the death of the testator. In this case, the rules are observed:
- if the entire inheritance should be transferred to an unworthy recipient, the document is invalidated, therefore, the values are distributed among the legal recipients in order of priority;
- if several recipients of the property are indicated in the will, then the values assigned to the unworthy heir are distributed among other people in this list;
- if the property is represented not by money, but by physical objects, then they are sold, and money is distributed among the recipients.
It is allowed to recognize the unworthy heir of a deceased person, so even his descendants will not be able to claim value.
Can a citizen restore his rights?
If the testator indicates in the will that the share should be transferred to a particular unworthy heir, then the law requires such a declaration of will. In this case, a citizen, along with other heirs, takes over his rights.
If, after the death of the owner of the property, a decision is made by the court on the basis of which the citizen is considered an unworthy heir, then a person can appeal such a decision. For this, a lawsuit is filed with the court demanding to restore the citizen in his rights. He must prepare evidence of his innocence. If the court makes a positive decision on this claim, the heir will be restored in his rights.
How are citizens protected?
All people who claim property of a deceased relative are protected by law from unlawful actions of other heirs who wish to deprive them of their inheritance. Therefore, some rules must be taken into account:
- it is not allowed to succumb to various provocations and sign various documents, engage in conspiracies or try in different ways to obtain as much property as possible of the deceased relative;
- it is not advisable to miss court hearings held in respect of declaring a person an unworthy heir;
- property should not be disposed of until all disputes have been resolved;
- it is necessary to communicate with a notary engaged in the conduct of a hereditary business.
In judicial practice, even the closest relatives of the deceased person were deprived of the opportunity to use the property, so it was transferred to distant relatives using various illegal methods to discredit the testator’s children.
Conclusion
Inherited heirs can only be recognized if there are good reasons and sufficient evidence. The process can be carried out through a court or a notary public. Citizens can defend their interests in court, and it is also allowed to appeal court decisions.
In order to avoid the possibility of recognizing a person as unworthy of receiving an inheritance, one should responsibly approach one’s obligations towards relatives and property received by inheritance.