Who is the unworthy heir?

Who are the unworthy heirs?

The rules of law define unworthy heirs as citizens who deliberately took some action in relation to the citizen who left the inheritance, other successors or the testator’s own will, and also tried to circumvent the law either to receive an inheritance or to increase their part of the inheritance.

These are also parents who were deprived of their parental rights (if the testator is their child), and subjects who, during the life of the citizen who left the inheritance, did not take proper action to care for and maintain it.

Video about who is an unworthy heir and examples of circumstances that will not be taken into account by the court to decide on the unworthiness of the heir:

Persons trying to illegally obtain inheritance

This category of unworthy successors is described by the first paragraph of paragraph 1 of the above article. To recognize the way of receiving an inheritance or increasing its share as illegal, it does not matter for what reasons the potential successor acted in this way: it could be revenge, hooligan motives, jealousy, or any others.

In the same category are actions of a citizen against the will of the one who left a will . This could be, for example, falsification of the will itself, as well as its damage or theft. In addition, a potential heir can deceive or force a citizen to leave a will in his favor, and other heirs to renounce their part in his favor.

To establish the unworthiness of the heir, you will have to resort to the help of the court:

1. a verdict is passed in the case of criminal proceedings (for example, the murder of a person who left an inheritance) or, in the case of a civil case;
2. decision (invalidity of the will due to the fact that it was drawn up under pressure - using violence or threat), and then the heir is recognized as unworthy.

Note! If the successor is deemed unworthy, he will be excommunicated from inheritance. The only exception is the case when the inheritance is bequeathed to this subject after he has lost the right to inherit.

Mother or father of a child who has been deprived of parental authority

This applies to citizens who inherit by law. As you know, parents are first-line successors, which is confirmed by clause 1 of Art. 1142 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. This means that when inheriting in the absence of a will, they have the first right of inheritance.

However, if they lose parental rights, they lose this right of inheritance. The only exceptions are those citizens who had their parental rights restored by the time the inheritance opened (paragraph 2, paragraph 1, article 1117 of the Civil Code).

Read about the features of inheritance by minors here.

People who did not care about the health of the deceased

A fairly common situation is when the heir did not look after, did not support, did not provide any assistance to the citizen who left an inheritance.

He could have done this for various reasons: for example, by depriving him of the necessary care and required medical care, he wanted to hasten the death of the testator in order to receive an inheritance, or maybe he simply was not interested in his life and state of health.

In any case, the very fact of avoiding helping and caring for the testator is important.

In this case, the court will need to establish significant violations of the testator’s rights that were committed during his life by the successor.

Most often, those claims are satisfied that involve citizens who have not fulfilled their financial obligations towards the testator regarding alimony or maintenance of children (by parents) under 18 years of age. In other cases, the court may well leave the plaintiff’s demands to declare the citizen unworthy as a successor unsatisfied.

IMPORTANT! In any case, to establish the unworthiness of a citizen as an heir, it is the intentionality of the acts committed by him that is important.

Grounds for recognizing an heir as unworthy

Declaration of unworthiness and deprivation of the right to inheritance threatens the heir when carrying out the following actions:

1. Deliberately misleading the testator into significant misconceptions that directly affect his expression of will.
2. Threats and blackmail against the testator or his relatives.
3. Physical violence to control the will process.
4. Deliberate self-harm or murder of the testator or any of the other equal heirs.
5. Forcing other legal successors to renounce the inheritance due to them.
6. Concealment of a will, its forgery, destruction.
7. Deprivation of parental rights in relation to the testator at the time of his death.
8. Malicious evasion of alimony obligations to support the testator (in relation to active and able-bodied close relatives in relation to the disabled - brothers and sisters, children and parents, grandchildren and grandparents, spouses, stepsons, stepdaughters, actual pupils).
9. Actions that indirectly affect non-payment or reduction of alimony, for example, concealing the true amount of income, changing place of residence or work.

Grounds for rejecting the plaintiff's claims

Courts very often leave such demands unsatisfied, since it is difficult to prove the above actions, and most importantly, the intentionality of such actions or inaction. In addition, the plaintiffs themselves often cite illegal grounds to substantiate their claims.

Some of the reasons why it is not possible to recognize an heir as unworthy include:

• the citizen whom the plaintiff names as a defendant does not give other co-heirs access to the inherited property (for example, does not allow them into the inherited housing);
• the defendant uses the testator's things without registering them in his name (for example, he drives a car that was inherited without having yet entered into his rights of inheritance);
• the defendant does not fulfill his part of the agreements on the division of inherited property between other co-heirs;
• the citizen does not fulfill the promise he made to the testator (concerning his property);
• the defendant prevents the testator from contacting other potential successors or persuades him not to see them;
• the defendant did not inform the other successors that the testator had died;
• when opening a will or accepting an inheritance by law, the defendant did not tell the notary that he was not the only successor of the testator;
• the citizen did not want to observe certain funeral rituals and ceremonies;
• the defendant hid part of the inheritance from his co-successors;
• the defendant concealed the will in favor of other co-successors;
• the successor had a bad relationship with the deceased citizen during his lifetime;
• the defendant leads an immoral and/or antisocial lifestyle (drinks, gambles);
• the defendant was negligent in handling the estate;
• leaving the testator without the necessary care and treatment (this is a very controversial basis; for the court to recognize it as sufficient to recognize the heir’s unworthiness, most often it is necessary for such an attitude to lead to the death of the testator);
• the defendant got the testator drunk and introduced him to other unhealthy pastimes;
• the defendant entered into marriage with the testator in the near future (shortly before his death) for selfish purposes.

The court, in most cases, does not take into account all of the above circumstances as sufficient reasons for establishing the citizen’s unworthiness as a successor and does not satisfy such claims. So to establish the unworthiness of the heir, the arguments must be more powerful.

ATTENTION! Incapacitated and partially capable persons cannot be deprived of inheritance (the obligatory share attached to them).

How soon can they be disqualified from inheritance?

The law does not provide for specially designated periods of time during which a citizen can be excluded from inheritance. Therefore, such issues are resolved both during the life of the testator and after his death.

While the testator is alive, he has the right to independently deprive any of the successors of the right to inheritance. To do this, it is enough for him to indicate this in the will .

In other cases, the heir is removed from inheritance only after the opening of this inheritance.

The period for applying to court to resolve such issues is three years (from the death of the testator). Occasionally, it is possible to extend the processing time.

Restoring the deadlines for circulation may occur in a situation where, after these deadlines have passed and after the successors have entered into the inheritance, a citizen is declared to be a successor according to the will.

In this case, the period is restored from the moment those who entered into the inheritance became aware of the “competitor”, so that they have the opportunity to file a claim to recognize his unworthiness after a three-year period.

How to achieve recognition of a citizen as dishonest?

Recognizing a citizen as an unscrupulous successor through a court decision requires the performance of a number of specific actions.

Where to go for jurisdiction?

According to the rules of Articles 24 and 28 of the Civil Procedure Code, you need to apply to the district court for a solution to these issues. Territorial jurisdiction involves going to court in the place where the citizen who is listed as the defendant lives.

List of required documents

The main document is the actual statement of claim, containing a demand to recognize the unworthiness of a particular successor.

The following documents are attached to the claim (in accordance with Article 132 of the Code of Civil Procedure, paragraph 3 of paragraph 1 of Article 333.19 of the Tax Code and paragraph 20 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court No. 9):

• photocopies of the statement of claim (they are intended for distribution to the defendant and third parties participating in the case);
• a payment document confirming payment of the state duty, which, according to current tax legislation, is 300 rubles;
• documents that would confirm the grounds on which the claim is based.

Providing evidence

They provide:

1. death certificate of the citizen who left an inheritance;
2. marriage or birth certificates of the plaintiff and defendant to determine their degree of relationship with the deceased;
3. documents on a citizen’s evasion of certain material obligations (for example, payment of alimony) in favor of the deceased during his lifetime.

This is quite enough to prove the alleged successor's bad faith.

Instructions for filing a claim

The application is drawn up in writing, it must meet the requirements established for such applications (see Article 131 of the Code of Civil Procedure). The application contains the following information:

• the court to which it is sent;
• information about the plaintiff (including place of residence);
• information about the defendant (also including place of residence);
• application header: “Statement of claim to declare the successor unworthy”;
• it is indicated when the citizen who left the inheritance died, as well as what exactly is included in this inheritance;
• the plaintiff indicates the line of inheritance in which he is included, and on the basis of which he is a representative of this line (attach supporting documents);
• the plaintiff indicates the line of inheritance in which the defendant is included, and on the basis of which he is a representative of this line or indicates a will;
• the grounds for the defendant’s unworthiness as an heir are indicated;
• Next, you need to cite the provisions of Article 1117 of the Civil Code, on which the plaintiff relies in his claims;
• if there are witnesses to the defendant’s unworthiness as a successor, they must also be indicated;
• wording of the requirement under Art. 131 – 132 Civil Procedure Code;
• then there may be a petition to summon witnesses to court;
• a list of additional evidentiary documents is provided;
• The submission date and signature are indicated.

This does not include the cost of the claim, since the requirement to recognize the defendant as an unworthy successor is non-property.

Time limits for consideration of the case and decisions on execution

According to the norms of the Civil Procedure Code, such a case is considered no longer than two months, and the decision of the judicial authority is executed within a month.

What expenses are expected?

Reference! Since the requirement to establish the fact of the heir’s unworthiness is non-property, therefore, according to tax legislation (clause 3, part 1, article 333.19 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), the state fee for filing such a claim is 300 rubles.

The general prices for the services of a lawyer, a lawyer in inheritance cases are 50,000 rubles, taking into account the representation of the client in the courts, the preparation of all documents and counseling.

Order and procedure of recognition

The procedure for recognizing the heir as unworthy is carried out taking into account the specifics of the case, such as the cause and nature of the offense, as well as the deadline for the interested person to appeal in this regard. The notary and the court have the authority to implement it.

Through a notary

A simplified procedure for excluding an unworthy heir from the circle of legal successors is carried out in cases where the basis for this is the circumstances specified in paragraphs 1–7 of the section “Grounds for recognizing an heir as unworthy”, and the inheritance case is still at the stage of proceedings with a notary.

An inheritance case is considered open when:

• Not all heirs who accepted the property of the deceased received a certificate of inheritance.
• Less than five years have passed since the death of the testator.

The applicant's procedure under such conditions is as follows:

1. Obtaining a court decision establishing the fact of an unlawful act or deprivation of parental rights of an unscrupulous heir.
2. Drawing up an application to a notary to recognize the heir as unworthy in simple written form.
3. Providing the authorized person with confirmation of unworthiness in the form of a court decision.

If the inheritance case has not yet been opened, the beneficiary additionally needs to submit to the notary a list of the following documents:

• death certificate of the decedent and, possibly, other equal or priority successors;
• basis for obtaining property benefits through inheritance (will, certificate confirming relationship, etc.);
• application for acceptance of property due, testamentary refusal.

After this, the notary attaches the received papers to the open case or creates a new one and makes adjustments to the inheritance order in accordance with the exclusion of the unworthy heir from the number of applicants.

Through the court

The judicial procedure for declaring a successor unworthy takes place in a situation where the inheritance case is closed, and the heir has already taken possession of the received property. In a similar way, the right of inheritance of a person who has not fulfilled material obligations towards the deceased is also contested.

The dispute is resolved through litigation. The plaintiff in the case may be a person whose property interests are directly affected by the outcome of the trial - an heir by law or by will, a legatee. The defendant is the successor accused of “unworthiness.”

The court's decision is based on:

• a previously passed verdict on the collection of alimony and malicious evasion of its payment in favor of the testator;
• an act issued by bailiffs regarding arrears of alimony obligations;
• a court decision on the defendant committing another offense (from the above);
• other evidence;
• a certificate confirming the notary’s refusal to take responsibility for the procedure.

Therefore, the first thing the plaintiff needs to do is to take care of receiving at least two of these papers, and after that, draw up a claim expressing his demand.

The application is submitted to the district court at the defendant’s place of residence no later than 3 years after the plaintiff learned of the offense, but within 10 years from the date of death of the testator.

The interested party attaches to the claim and the prepared evidence base a package of necessary documents:

1. Death certificate of the testator.
2. A will or a document by which one can trace the family relationship with the deceased, corresponding to the current line of inheritance.
3. Receipt for payment of state duty.
4. Identity card (copy and presentation of the original).
5. Title documents for inherited property.

Based on the submitted acts and testimony, the court makes a decision. And if the outcome is positive for the plaintiff, the property can be divided among the successors who retained their rights, also in court.

What happens next?

That part of the inheritance that was due to him goes to other successors by law in accordance with the share distribution. If the testator left a will, then it may indicate a different distribution in accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 1161 Civil Code.

Consequences

He is deprived of the right to inheritance. If the successor, declared unworthy by the court, has already accepted the inheritance, he is obliged to return it in full in accordance with paragraph 3 of Art. 1117 Civil Code.

Restoring the rights of citizens who were recognized as unworthy successors

A successor recognized as unworthy may receive an inheritance if only the testator himself indicates it in the will. Otherwise, such an heir can only apply to the court to restore the right of inheritance.

We have a lot of useful information about disabled heirs, as well as the right of representation under the law, obligatory, disabled dependents, and commorients. We have also prepared answers to questions about what to do if the heir has not entered into the inheritance within 6 months and who is the heir of the deceased heir.

Article 1117 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

Disputes surrounding inheritance are quite common, and in some cases justified. Citizens who do not have a moral or legal right to do so can apply for property. For the sake of making money, some are capable of forging documents, forcing them to write a statement, and resorting to various tricks. Such cases are not isolated; they are considered separately in an article in the Civil Code, in the section on inheritance issues.

Article 1117 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation describes the concept of unworthy heirs. According to the text of the article, the right to inheritance is deprived of citizens who have committed acts contrary to the distribution of the inherited mass, causing harm to the testator and applicants. Persons who attempted to seize property that was not due to them by inheritance.

The law provides for deprivation of inheritance rights to parents deprived of parental rights who do not pay child support. Children - persons obligated by law to support and care for the testator - who do not fulfill their duties are deprived of their rights.

If the heir assumed his rights before the court's decision, the inheritance is returned and the income received from it is compensated.

They may be recognized as unworthy heirs, with all the ensuing consequences, regardless of the principle of distribution of property.

We recommend reading: Heirs of the second stage by law

How to protect the legality of your actions?

The most effective way to protect your rights is through the courts. At the same time, it is important to remember that one should not get into conflicts and succumb to provocations of co-heirs, since this can turn against the citizen himself.

Advice! You should not dispose of the property included in the inheritance before the legal entry into the right of inheritance. Litigation should not be ignored during the proceedings. It is better to contact a notary for advice and inform him about all significant circumstances of the case.