A person who has thought or committed an illegal act in relation to the testator does not deserve to receive an inheritance. However, to recognize such a person as a dishonest heir is possible only in court and only on certain grounds, which are covered in article 1117 of the Civil Code.
Unlawful acts
The main goal of such actions is to seize the property of the testator. These actions include:
- Physical injuries of both mild and moderate severity, severe injuries. This also includes imprisonment, threats, suicide and so on.
- Misrepresentation or deception, providing false information to the testator. As a rule, such actions lead to a will in favor of an unscrupulous heir.
- Deprivation of the life of the owner of the property, with the exception of negligent crimes.
- Theft or theft of money or property.
- Falsification of documents of kinship, place of residence, statements, wills.
Any illegal action must be confirmed by a judicial act. This may be a sentence in a criminal case or a decision in a civil proceeding.
Loss of parental rights
The father and mother of the child are required to support him. However, if they are deprived of parental rights, they are recognized as unscrupulous heirs in the event of the death of a child and is not entitled to apply for inheritance. Biological fathers are recognized as such if they have not officially recognized the child.
Failure to comply with obligations established by law
In some cases, the potential heir is assigned the obligation to provide material security to the property owner. A court may order a relative to pay child support. If help is not provided, then the heir is deprived of the right to receive the hereditary mass.
The fact of lack of assistance can be proved in court, for example, by certificates of a bailiff or a court decision. An interested person, for example, bona fide heirs, can file a lawsuit. However, this does not apply to those family members who, although they do not fulfill their obligations, are nevertheless included in the will.
Removal from the will
This is another reason that the property owner can take advantage of. Any, even a fleeting indication in the will that one of the relatives should be removed from the inheritance is a good reason for putting this into practice.
When the plaintiff may be denied
In courts, these rarely end in favor of the plaintiff in a case of an unscrupulous heir. There are a lot of reasons for declaring an heir to be dishonest. Most often this happens due to the fact that the plaintiffs are mistaken about the requirements put forward. Examples of claims that will not be satisfied in court:
- failure to fulfill promises regarding the future fate of property that was inherited;
- evasion of material compensation to co-heirs of funeral services;
- quarrels and conflicts between the heir and the dead;
- immoral misconduct, immoral behavior of the heir, for example, engaging in prostitution or drug addiction;
- careless or careless attitude to the hereditary mass;
- marriage with the testator, without the intention of creating a family;
- violation of agreements with other heirs regarding the distribution of shares and other situations.
The timing
Recognize as an unscrupulous heir and deprive the property at any time until the death of the owner, after the opening of the inheritance case. During life, the testator may decide to deprive the property after his death of one of the relatives.
Interested parties may file a lawsuit within three years from the death of the property owner. This period can be extended for valid reasons, but in practice this happens very rarely.
Procedure
In general, an unscrupulous heir may be recognized as such by a court decision (civil or criminal process). If the inheritance case is already open, and the trial is in full swing, then a notary must be notified about it. In such cases, they write a statement on the suspension of hereditary actions.
If the person concerned has a judicial decision (sentence) already in hand, then a copy of the document is submitted to the notary. It is recommended that you submit a written cover letter in free form along with a copy of the decision, and receive a receipt from the notary public.
The template of the document confirming the exclusion of the heir is not provided by law. A single confirmation of direct exclusion will be a certificate of inheritance, in which there will be no full name unscrupulous heir.
If the notary draws up the wrong certificate, then the heirs have the right to appeal the document in court. This may be a statement recognizing the certificate as invalid or appealing against the actions of a notary.
Unfair successor lawsuit
The plaintiff may be the dependent of the deceased, naturally, if he has the legal right to succession. All persons who are indicated in the will can apply to the court. Naturally, first-order relatives can file a lawsuit. The heirs of other lines in the presence of relatives falling into the previous stage are not entitled to go to court.
At the beginning of the application sets out general information regarding the testator: full name, year of birth, date of death, details of the death certificate and so on. The characteristics of the property, details of documents that confirm the rights to it are indicated. If a hereditary business has already been opened, then the notary who deals with it, its location shall be indicated.
In general, the lawsuit must comply with all the requirements for such documents. The application is submitted to the court of general jurisdiction (district or city) at the place where the defendant is registered.
The essence of the requirements
For the recognition of the defendant as a dishonest heir to the foundation - this is the most important thing. The plaintiff must prove that the defendant must be barred from receiving property. The text should not contain emotions, details of life. Only acts and facts that are directly relevant to the case are described.
What you need to prove:
- If we are talking about an illegal act, then it is necessary to prove not only the fact of the crime, but also selfish motives aimed against the testator. We will have to prove that the deceased really suffered as a result of these actions.
- In a civil proceeding, a testator’s refusal (drawn up during his lifetime) in transferring property to a certain relative may be provided. In some cases, claims for the recognition of the invalidity of a will or power of attorney, another document.
- If a relative does not fulfill his obligations to maintain the owner of property, then the person concerned must prove it. For example, if the defendant did not pay child support, then it is better to obtain a certificate from the bailiff or find evidence that the defendant is hiding his sources of income. Even evidence will do.
There is no need to prove anything when parents are deprived of parental rights. Interested parties submit to the notary a court decision on the deprivation of rights.
Unscrupulous heirs: judicial practice and what problems plaintiffs face
The hardest thing to prove is fraudulent and violent actions, a threat. These are quite serious crimes for which criminal liability is provided. First, the person concerned must contact the police with a statement stating that all available facts are unlawful actions against the testator. In the future, nothing depends on the applicant; he will have to wait for the results of the criminal proceedings. It is no secret that the prosecutor, investigator and other participants in the trial may even turn a blind eye to certain circumstances. Cases are often protracted, and after a court decision, interested parties can still appeal to a higher authority.
If the relatives are satisfied with the verdict of a judge, then you can apply to a civil court with a request to recognize the heir as unworthy. At this stage, usually there are no problems, lead, in fact, everything has already been proved.
Effects
If the inheritance case is not yet closed, then the notary shall take into account the presence of an unscrupulous heir in the distribution of shares in the estate.
In cases where everything is already divided, and the heirs have entered into their rights, then interested parties will have to go to court. Things are worse if the heir has already managed to sell the property. The court will have to ask for the recovery of things from someone else’s possession or demand monetary compensation. It is encouraging that the waste of values in this case does not mean the irrevocability of the consequences.
Exceptions
Filing a lawsuit about an unscrupulous heir will not help, even if he committed unlawful acts against the testator, and the latter included him in the will anyway. The owner of the property retains the right to forgive the offender. On the other hand, if there is no will, then after the recognition of dishonesty, the heir will receive nothing.
When it comes to a mother or father who has been deprived of parental rights, they can expect to receive an inheritance if they are restored to their rights before the death of the child.
In general, recognition as an unscrupulous heir is not a complicated procedure, but on one condition - there is evidence of unlawful behavior.