The right to inheritance in Ukraine during the ATO and in the temporarily occupied territory

In Ukraine, the right to inheritance is exercised by applying to the heirs by law or by will with a statement of acceptance of the inheritance, with a statement of refusal to accept the inheritance, or on the basis of an application by creditors with relevant requirements to the premises of a state notary office or a private notary at the place of the last registration of the place of residence of the deceased or, if the deceased was not registered anywhere in Ukraine, at the location of the inherited property. We advise you to pay attention to our services for registration (support, re-registration) of the inheritance, as well as notary services for certification of the inheritance agreement. Such an application is submitted within six months from the date of the death of the deceased.
Based on the statement of acceptance of the inheritance, statement of refusal to accept the inheritance, or the application of creditors, an inheritance case is opened, which is assigned the appropriate serial number indicating the year in which it was filed. Example of registration of inheritance case number: Inheritance case No. 56/2015 or Inheritance case No. 56-2015, where No. 56 is the serial number of the inheritance case, and 2015 is the year in which the corresponding inheritance case was opened.
The inheritance case is necessarily registered in the Inheritance Register (Ukrainian: "Inheritance Register"), which includes the surname, patronymic of the deceased, date of death, date of birth (if available), registration number of the taxpayer's registration card (identification number), date of opening the inheritance case, inheritance case number, private notary or state notary office where the corresponding inheritance case is stored.
Due to the current situation in the temporarily occupied territory and in the territories where anti-terrorist operations are being conducted, the right to inheritance in these territories has been significantly limited due to the lack of legal regulation of this issue.
In the official edition of the newspaper Golos Ukrainy No. 38 dated April 3, 2015, the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Ensuring the Implementation of the Right to Inheritance" No. 189-VIII dated February 12, 2015 was published, which entered into force on April 4, 2015.
In accordance with this law, numerous amendments were made to the legislation of Ukraine and the inheritance rights of persons residing in temporarily occupied territory or in the territory where anti-terrorist operations are being conducted, or the right to inherit property located in the above-mentioned territories, were ensured.
According to this law:
"If the last place of residence of the testator (deceased) is a temporarily occupied territory and/or a settlement in the territory of which state authorities temporarily do not exercise or do not exercise their powers to the full extent, the place of opening the inheritance is the place of filing the first application, which testifies to the will of the heirs, executors of the will, persons interested in the protection of the inherited property, or the claim of creditors regarding the inherited property.
If the place of residence of the testator (deceased) is unknown, and the real estate or its main part, in the absence of real estate - the main part of the movable property is located in the territory specified above, the place of opening the inheritance is the place of filing the first application, which testifies to the will of the heirs, executors of the will, persons interested in the protection of the inherited property, or the claim of creditors regarding the inherited property."
Inheritance in such cases is also subject to registration in the "Inheritance Register" (Ukrainian: "heritage register").
Do you need legal advice on inheritance? Contact us in a convenient way indicated on the Contacts page or check the real estate lawyer services page.