Inheritance by law is not always convenient for a person. And therefore, in order to increase his wife’s inheritance and cancel other people’s claims, a man can draw up a will addressed to his wife. In this text, we will consider why a will may be necessary for a wife, and what kind of help from a lawyer in inheritance matters will be useful to the heiress.
- Why do you need a will addressed to your wife?
- Drawing up a will addressed to the wife
- Contesting a will
- Who can challenge a will for a wife?
General rules of inheritance
If a will has not been drawn up, the property passes to the heirs in the manner prescribed by law. The main contenders for property are immediate relatives, the list of whom is also determined by law.
When a testamentary document has been drawn up in advance, the inheritance is carried out in accordance with its provisions. Any person can become a claimant for inherited property, regardless of the degree of relationship with the testator or the state.
Contesting a will
In general, challenging a will is quite difficult. Attempts to challenge are aggravated by the fact that the document is endorsed by a notary. And therefore, compelling reasons are needed to challenge the last will.
Gennady M.'s only son died. Shortly before his death, he divorced his wife because she cheated on him. But the man did not have time to rewrite the will. And therefore the inheritance passed to the ex-wife. Gennady turned to a lawyer for help to challenge the will of his son’s ex-wife. The lawyer explained that the fact of divorce is in no way a reason to invalidate the will. Therefore, the apartment in Moscow and the car of Gennady’s son will go to his son’s ex-wife if she decides to accept the inheritance.
The grounds for challenging a will may be:
- notarial error – the procedure for making a will was violated;
- inconsistency of the will with current legislation - for example, a closed will was printed on a printer;
- incapacity of the author of the will;
- exacerbation of the mental illness of the testator;
- any intoxication when making a will;
- senile dementia;
- making a will during the period of treatment of an illness with the help of psychotropic medications and other drugs that affect the mind and brain;
- physical, mental, and other pressure on the testator, as well as deception, resulting in a discrepancy between the text of the will and the real will;
- forgery of a document.
To use any of these grounds, the interested party will have to work hard to collect evidence. But before going to court, it is worth visiting a lawyer who can assess the prospects and determine the chance of winning the case in court. At the same time, very specific individuals need to be interested in challenging.
Who has the right to inheritance
The rules of inheritance establish the circle of those who can claim the inheritance. These may be persons named in the will or those who have a legal right to a compulsory share.
Mandatory share
The category of those who have the right to inheritance regardless of the will includes persons endowed by law with exclusive rights. They cannot become such on the basis of their own will alone.
List of applicants who may be granted the right to an obligatory share in the inheritance, regardless of the provisions of the will:
- incapacitated relatives;
- disabled people with confirmed status;
- minor children;
- persons of retirement age;
- dependents;
- legal spouse.
In the latter case, property acquired jointly is considered common. In this regard, the law establishes a rule according to which the testator cannot dispose of the spouse’s half share without his consent.
A will that does not take into account the interests of citizens entitled to an obligatory share must be reviewed in court.
Housing problem
When inheriting an apartment, interested parties not specified in the will can submit a request for a share of the real estate as a special category of citizens. If their status is documented, part of the apartment will become their property.
According to the law, the heir specified in the will cannot be left without an inheritance completely (unless he is declared unworthy). Needy applicants will receive only part of the rights to the property in the form of a percentage calculation.
What grounds can there be for declaring a will void?
A will drawn up with violations can be declared invalid.
Let's consider the cases:
1. Compiled not in writing, but using a computer or typewriter
2.Not certified by a notary, no matter open or closed
3. There is no signature of the testator or those present
4. Certified by a person who does not have the authority to do so
5. Compiled not on behalf of one person, but on behalf of several
6. There is evidence that the testator was not of sound mind
How to challenge a will
In the matter of inheritance, applicants must clearly understand, if a will is written, who has the right to inherit. Based on this knowledge, some of them may decide to challenge the last will of the deceased.
If the interested person falls within the characteristics of the category specified in the law, he can file a claim to contest the will. In this case, it is necessary to officially confirm your owl status. For example, if the plaintiff was a dependent of the testator, he must have been in that capacity for the last year to assert his rights.
Where to go
The will is being challenged in court. In this case, it is important to comply with the rules of jurisdiction. The district (city) court deals with hereditary disputes. The local magistrates court is not authorized to deal with such situations.
Reducing the mandatory share
The mandatory share may be reduced. The court makes such a decision only if there are sufficient grounds. The reasons for changing the size of the share or its complete cancellation cannot be intra-family disagreements or other relationships between the heirs.
Only illegal actions, regarded as a violation of current legislation, become the reason for the judicial authority to decide to reduce or cancel the mandatory share.
If violations of the law are detected, the applicant may not only be deprived of the obligatory share, but also found unworthy. In this case, he will not receive even that part of the property that was assigned to him in the will.
Increase in mandatory share
An increase in the mandatory share is carried out only in accordance with legislative standards. The applicant cannot change it in his favor even if he has the status of a needy citizen.
According to the law, the size of the obligatory share is fixed. If this figure is less than the established one, the court will independently increase it to the required minimum.
Cancellation of a will
In some cases, a will can be revoked entirely. This happens if there were violations during its registration. In such a situation, inheritance by law is initiated in order of priority.
Even with such a development of events, the needy applicant cannot be deprived of the obligatory share. The inheritance is divided among the remaining candidates after its deduction.
How should a will be drawn up?
So, there are a number of rules that should be followed when making a will, namely:
- the owner can bequeath absolutely all of his property to absolutely any citizen;
- when bequeathing real estate, you must indicate the full address of its location;
- when including a bank deposit in the will, the details of this bank should be indicated;
- all heirs in the will must be indicated with their full last name, first name and patronymic; in addition, the owner must indicate who exactly his heirs are, for example, son, daughter, brother, and so on;
- the owner of the property has every right, at any time, based on his desire, to change the contents of the entire will, or any part of it, while he does not have to explain the reasons for his such actions, this fact will be solely his personal expression of will and explain the reasons he shouldn't;
- the writing of a will must be carried out exclusively by the owner of the property in the presence of a witness to this fact. If for some reason the owner cannot do this with his own hand, then this document must be drawn up by a notary;
- the owner of the property has the legal right to enter another heir, for some reason, for example, the death of a previously appointed heir, the refusal of a given citizen from inheritance rights, and so on;
- Citizens who wish to draw up a will, but are currently in medical institutions, nursing homes, or places of imprisonment, have the right to write this document directly at their place of stay. In this case, this document will be certified by the heads of doctors, their deputies, heads of bodies and organizations, and so on. A will drawn up in this way is endorsed in the presence of a witness and directly by the witness of this fact;
- the will should be drawn up in 2 copies, one of them will be kept by a specialist at the notary’s office, and the other by the owner of the property.
Is it possible to refuse an inheritance?
Each of the heirs has the right not only to enter into inheritance rights, but also to refuse them. This rule also applies to those who have the opportunity to receive a mandatory share.
To receive an inheritance, you must act in one of the following ways:
- Do not take any actions aimed at registering inheritance rights with a notary. In this case, after six months the opportunity to claim the inheritance will be automatically abolished.
- Write a corresponding refusal application to the notary dealing with this issue. It is necessary to state your personal will regarding the refusal of inheritance. After this, the notary will officially certify the annulment.
Refusal of inheritance is recognized as valid only if it was concluded voluntarily, without outside pressure and in the presence of independent witnesses.
How to apply
The document is drawn up by a notary. The obligations and rights established thereunder are implemented upon the date of opening of the inheritance. The heir needs:
- Find the will. The testator can give the papers to the heir or inform in which specific office the document is stored.
- In the absence of information, having received death papers, relatives have the opportunity to contact any notary. If a will is executed, the initiators of the application will be informed of the address of the office where the will was executed.
- Open the inheritance - the relevant notary office will open the inheritance case. You will need: a will, a death document (copy), papers confirming where the required amount of property is located. The day when the inheritance opens is the day of death.
- Send an appeal to the notary's office about your readiness to begin taking possession of the inheritance estate (or the lack thereof).
- Check documentation with the help of the office.
- Enter into an inheritance by receiving documents on the right (after 6 months from the date of death).
- Pay the state duty (0.3% of the value of the estate, but not more than 100,000 rubles - first-priority relatives-heirs - 0.6%, but not more than 1 million rubles - remaining heirs).
- Execute the will.
For more information on how to enter into an inheritance under a will and what documents are needed, read the article at the link.
How to formalize a waiver of inheritance in favor of another person
To renounce an inheritance in favor of another person, it is necessary to submit an appropriate application outlining your personal will. A citizen has the right to transfer his part of the inheritance to any other person, regardless of status. The decision must be justified - all arguments are presented in documentary form. You cannot assign your share to an applicant who has been found unworthy.
The application is submitted to the office of the notary who is handling the specific case. An employee of this service will check the application for the presence of all grounds and issue appropriate confirmation. The decision to transfer the inheritance share to a third party may be challenged by other applicants.
