How to make a will rationally: 4 simple steps
Many choose not to think about death and testament. - but we continue to remind you of them. We have already told why it’s time to stop being afraid of the inevitable, but now we have decided to dwell on the legal side of the issue. With the help of lawyer Yulia Sakunova, we understand what you need to know about the will - regardless of whether you decide to make it or receive an inheritance.
Understand whether you need a will
To answer this question, make sure that you are a citizen of the Russian Federation, then remember if you have property, and think about who you would like it to get. After that, open Article 1142 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and check whether these people are the heirs of the first stage - these are, first of all, your legal second half, parents and children. If you want to see them as your heirs and you agree that the property will be equally divided between them, then you do not need a will. In this case, the Civil Code has done all the work for you - this procedure is called inheritance by law.
At the same time, it is worth exploring the other articles of Chapter 63 of the Civil Code "Inheritance by Law" - and determine which of your relatives and what is entitled to. For example, if you do not have children or a spouse, the property may be transferred to brothers and sisters, as well as grandparents. If there are no next-follow relatives either, the property can be transferred to the state. Please note that it is only possible to inherit by law if the relationship is officially fixed - so if you live in perfect harmony with your partner for many years, but you don’t need a stamp in your passport, by law he or she will not receive anything.
If you are not satisfied with such a picture - for example, you want the property not to be distributed equally, but that you yourself define parts of it, or you want to bequeath everything (or part) to a distant relative or someone else who is not related to you point of view - you need to start the mechanism of "inheritance by will". Please note that in this case you can appoint as a heir a citizen of another country, a stateless person, or even a legal entity. Only your pet, unlike the stories about Western millionaires who bequeathed everything to your beloved cat, will not be able to inherit from you.
Select a notary
To make a testament, decide who and what you want to leave a legacy, and go to the notary. Before making a decision, take a look at article 1149 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and familiarize yourself with the concept of an obligatory share in the inheritance. According to this article, even if you made a will, those who are your heirs by law and disabled (for example, minor children or a disabled spouse) will receive an obligatory share of what would be due to them if you did not write a will. Thus, the law protects their rights. To determine who exactly and to what obligatory share will be entitled, it is necessary to check with the Civil Code - there are many options. Both in this and in any other cases when one of the heirs does not agree with someone (for example, those who are mentioned in the will are dissatisfied with its outcome - or are dissatisfied with the mandatory portion of the inheritance), the dispute is resolved in court.
If there are no other important factors, it is easiest to choose a notary next to your house to draw up a will, since it is there that your heirs will first turn in search of a document. If you are abroad, then it is best to contact a notary at the Russian embassy or consulate: in cases where a foreign specialist made a will, it may be very difficult for the heirs to inherit. By the way, if you bequeath any objects that are abroad, for example real estate, then it is best to make two testaments identical in content: one in Russia, the other in the country where the property is located. Then problems with entry into the inheritance will not arise.
If the idea of making a will came to you during an expedition to a remote region and you don’t want to wait to return home, do not despair. The head of the expedition has the right to certify your will - also it is, for example, the captains of the ships, the chief doctors, the heads of the places of deprivation of liberty (the full list can be found in article 1127 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation - "Wills, equated to notarized wills"). Unlike the usual cases, when a notary acts, in this situation a witness is necessary. You can take it with you to the notary, but this is not necessary.
Learn how the procedure goes.
According to article 1120 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, you can bequeath any property, including that which you can purchase in the future. On the day of making the will you must be fully capable - that is, your legal capacity should not be limited by the court. When you come to the notary, he will check your condition with simple questions (what is the date, why do you want to leave a will, and so on) - but if later it turns out that legally this is not the case, the will will be considered insignificant and it will not be executed .
Keep in mind that if you are not deprived of legal capacity, but there is reason to doubt your condition (you are registered at a mental hospital, you are completely paralyzed and cannot speak, etc.), a will can be declared invalid in court - if it is challenged and will be able to prove that you did not give an account of your actions or could not clearly state your will. By the way, if a person is not able to sign himself, for example due to illness, he can still make a will: you need a handler - a person who puts his signature in the presence of a notary and the details of which will also be entered in the will. You should not make a testimony drunk or in other altered states - a conscientious notary must, in that case, chase you away (and you do not need an unfair person).
If you suddenly change your mind and want to write a new testament, just go and write - you don’t need to worry about how to cancel the previous one
Take only your passport with you to the notary; no other documents will be required. In this case, it is in your interest to describe what you are going to bequeath, as detailed as possible - and do the same with those whom you want to make heirs. For example, specify not only the surname, name and patronymic, but also the date of birth of the heirs, so that later there is no doubt whether Ivan Ivanovich claims to be a quarter of your summer cottage.
After everything is described and you sign the testament in the presence of a notary, he will make two copies of it: one of them will give it to you, and leave the other in his archive. A record that you have made a will will also be entered in the register of notarial acts, and information about this will appear in a single database of wills. This database is available only to notaries, and information from it should not be disclosed to anyone except heirs - so if suddenly you see any information about your will in the public domain (even the fact that you wrote it), you can safely demand from a notary non-pecuniary damage because he violated the testament secret.
To make it easier for your heirs, it is best to give your copy of the will to them - or at least tell you what it was and what notary did. Remember that each subsequent testament cancels all previous ones. So if you suddenly change your mind and want to write a new one, just go and write - you don’t need to worry about how to cancel the previous one.
And if you left a will?
If you do not know for sure, but you assume that there is a will, go to the notary - the best thing is to the deceased nearest to the place of residence, but you can go to any other. Ask the notary to check whether the person left a will on you - for this, do not forget to bring your passport and death certificate of the alleged testator.
If there is a will and you are mentioned in it, they will tell you which notary made the document. Go to him - he will open a hereditary case on his duplicate will. Take the property of the deceased with the property listed in the will, as the notary will need to check them. If the evidence is lost, report it to the notary, and he will send the appropriate requests. If there are no disputes between the heirs or other applicants, in the end, everyone will receive a notarial certificate describing which property passes to the heir. If disputes have arisen, the proceedings are transferred to the court. Also keep in mind that you have the right to refuse to inherit by will and to inherit by law.
If there is a will, but you are not mentioned in it and have no right to inheritance, since you are legally able to work, you will not be told anything: the information is protected by a secret will, and you are not entitled to a mandatory share. If there is a will, nothing is said about him in you, but you are a disabled heir and you are required to pay a share, the notary must notify you about it. He must also tell you what share you are entitled to - for example, half of what you would receive under the law (the exact share, we recall, should be looked at in the Civil Code).
If you are mentioned in a will, but did not turn to a notary, no one will look for you - just as you would have a mandatory share. You need to activate yourself - and on time
Calculate what it will be the proportion of the entire inheritance. For example, besides you there are four more heirs, and according to the law, the inheritance would be divided equally between you (you would get). If your mandatory share is, for example, half of what would be legally required, then you are entitled to ⅒ inheritance. Having calculated the share, go to the notary, who certified the will, and submit an application that you are applying for a mandatory share. Notify other heirs about all this or not - just your business: everyone should make his own share. But if you decide to notify the notary and give him the contact details of other heirs, he will send them a call.
In order to enter the inheritance, the law gives six months - this period is calculated from the date of death of the testator. It is at this time that a testament must be discovered, you decide whether you agree with it or not and declare it. It is this period that the notary will endure before issuing certificates of inheritance to all heirs. If you are mentioned in a will, but did not turn to a notary, no one will look for you - just as you would have a mandatory share. You need to activate yourself - and on time. If none of the heirs under the will will not be announced, the inheritance case will not be opened, and everything will be inherited by law.
If you missed the six-month period and the inheritance has already been distributed, but you think that something is right for you, you can file a lawsuit in court, guided by the general limitation period - three years. But, of course, it will be much more difficult, and you will need to convince the court that there are good reasons that explain your lateness. Consider that three years are counted not from the moment of death, but from the moment when you learned or could know about the death of the testator (more precisely, that he made a will - but more often the court is repelled from the date when you learned about death). If you flew into space or were out of the access zone for other obvious reasons, you are more likely to prove your case.
Photo:Sviatoslav Kovtun - stock.adobe.com, Andrey_Lobachev - stock.adobe.com
