Main points
- The owner of a land plot can bequeath it to any person, regardless of family relationship.
- A will may be declared invalid in court if it is proven that the testator's will was not free or was violated.
Will for a share / Photo Shutterstock
Inheritance of land in Ukraine has clear rules and nuances. The correct execution of the will determines who will receive the land and whether legal disputes will arise.
How is land inherited?
Lawyer Vitaliy Sokurenko, in a commentary for Channel 24, said that Ukrainian civil law defines inheritance as the transfer of rights and obligations (inheritance) from a deceased individual (testator) to other individuals (heirs). Inheritance, he said, is a multi-stage procedure that occurs in a manner clearly regulated by law.
Vitaly Sokurenko
Lawyer LEGAL STRATEGY
Article 1218 of the Civil Code of Ukraine stipulates that the inheritance includes all rights and obligations that belonged to the testator at the time of opening the inheritance and did not cease due to his death. If the inheritance includes a land plot that belonged to the testator on the right of ownership or use, then in accordance with Article 1225 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, the right of ownership of the land plot passes to the heirs on general grounds with the preservation of its intended purpose.
Also, according to the lawyer, in accordance with Article 1233 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, a will is a personal disposition of an individual in the event of his death. An individual with full civil capacity has the right to a will. The right to a will is exercised personally. The owner has the right to bequeath his land plot not to children, not to grandchildren, but to any other person.
Please note! This directly follows from the Civil Code, the right to inheritance is reserved for persons specified in the will, and the testator may appoint one or more individuals as heirs, regardless of the presence of family or kinship relations. He may, without specifying the reasons, deprive any person from among the heirs at law of the right to inheritance. However, the testator may not deprive persons who are entitled to a mandatory share in the inheritance of the right to inheritance.
Mandatory share and risks of appeal
According to the explanations of the Ministry of Justice in accordance with the Procedure for Performing Notarial Actions by Notaries of Ukraine, approved by the Order of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine dated 22.02.2012 No. 296/5, when certifying a will, a notary is obliged to explain to the testator the content of Article 1241 of the Code on the right to a mandatory share in the inheritance. And when issuing a certificate of the right to inheritance under a will, a notary or an official of the relevant local government body authorized to perform notarial actions checks the circle of persons who have the right to a mandatory share in the inheritance (Article 69 of the Law of Ukraine “On Notaries”).
The list of such persons is determined by Article 1241 of the Code. Thus, in accordance with Part One of the said Article, the testator's minor, underage, adult children who are incapable of working, the testator's incapable widow (widower) and incapable parents inherit, regardless of the content of the will, half of the share that would belong to each of them in the event of inheritance by law (obligatory share). The size of the obligatory share may be reduced by the court taking into account the relationship between these heirs and the testator, as well as other circumstances that are of significant importance,
– notes Vitaliy Sokurenko.
A will can only be declared invalid by a court order after the death of the testator.
According to Article 1257 of the Civil Code, a will is invalid if it was drawn up by a person who did not have the right to do so, or in violation of the requirements for form and certification. And upon the claim of an interested person, the court shall declare the will invalid if it is proven that the testator's expression of will was not free and did not correspond to his will. The grounds may be very diverse, from the state of health of the testator, incapacity, mental state to pressure, threats, deception, isolation from the family, strange circumstances of the certification of the document. But it is important to point out that any evidence must be documented and officially confirmed, otherwise the court may not accept the relevant arguments.
Important! So after the death of the testator and receipt of the will, you must first pay attention to several important points. First, does anyone have the right to a mandatory share. Second, is there real evidence of the invalidity of the will and, accordingly, the opportunity to go to court. After analyzing all the details and consulting with a lawyer, make appropriate decisions.
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