The transfer of property is a complex process carried out by an experienced notary. His tasks include informing all relatives about the death of the testator and the need to receive the share due to them. It is often impossible to find, for various reasons, all citizens who can claim the property of a deceased person. In this case, the search for heirs is performed. The process may be carried out by other recipients of the property or by a person designated by a notary. For this, different methods are used to find the right people and establish the degree of their relationship with the deceased citizen.
Is a notary public obligated to notify relatives?
The legislation does not contain information on the need for a notarial search for heirs. Specialists should only inform relatives about the opening of access to the property of the deceased. For this, notifications are sent to all known applicants. Therefore, the notary must know where citizens live and work. Often information about the death of a person is published in open sources.
All of the above actions are only the right of a notary, and not his obligation. He may not use different media to inform potential successors. Usually, specialists are very busy with work, so they do not have the ability to search for heirs. If one of the assignees has moved, but other recipients of the property do not know exactly where he lives, then the notary will not be looking for his new place of residence.
The search procedure is considered long and expensive, so usually authorized persons simply send notifications to the last places of residence of the heirs. In order to enter into the right to use his part of the property, each person must come to the notary who opened the inheritance business within six months after the death of the testator. After this period of time, the specialist determines to whom these or other values will be transferred on the basis of priority.
Is it possible to enter into inheritance rights at the end of a period of 6 months?
Based on Art. 1155 of the Civil Code, every citizen has the opportunity to inherit, even if more than six months have passed since the death of a relative. This is possible if the citizen missed the term for a good reason. This includes ignorance of the death of the testator.
The successor who misses the deadline must have evidence of a valid reason.
Who is tracing?
Each person who is the legal successor must independently apply to the notary with documents confirming the existence of a relationship. The specialist identifies who exactly can claim the inheritance. The process is carried out within six months.
If a will is left by a deceased person, then only the people indicated in this document, as well as the obligatory successors, can claim the values. The search for heirs can be performed:
- by a notary public, although these actions are not part of his duties;
- other relatives who want to honestly and immediately share the entire inheritance.
Assignees must themselves be interested in finding all recipients of the property. If it is received without the participation of the other heirs, then it is likely that in the future the relatives found will be able to claim these values.
Why are relatives interested in searching?
The search for heirs is an important action for all other recipients of the property. This is due to the fact that they are interested in sharing all the values at once. If a period of 6 months passes, then even in this case, other heirs may appear at any time. They will demand the return of property already transferred to other persons.
The restoration of the term is carried out through the court, for which relatives will be able to provide evidence that the pass is due to the fact that no one told them about the death of the testator. Even if other legal successors have already sold or disposed of the property received in another way, they will have to pay the due amount to the declared heir.
How are heirs notified?
The opening of an official case is handled by a notary chamber. The search for heirs occurs in a standard way. To do this, the appointed notary sends special notifications to known places of residence of citizens. When compiling this document, the following data must be entered:
- Name of citizen;
- place of registration and residence;
- occupation;
- place of work;
- contact number;
- Information about acquaintances and friends.
All information about each heir is obtained by a specialist independently. To do this, you can use the information provided by the announced assignees.
Search Rules
There is no strict obligation on the notary to search for heirs, therefore such actions are only a manifestation of his goodwill. The specialist does not receive any remuneration for such actions. But at the same time, many officials are engaged in the notarial search of heirs. This process is carried out in case of contentious situations or a significant amount of property of a deceased citizen.
The search for heirs by will can be carried out in different ways:
- sending notices to different addresses where the legal successors are supposedly residing;
- posting information about potential heirs in open print sources or on special sites on the Internet;
- search with the help of other successors providing the necessary information about the relatives of the deceased person;
- use of sites of notarial offices;
- application of social networks.
Not all sites located on the Internet are reliable and reliable, so often the ads are intercepted by fraudsters who want to extract a certain fee for the information service from the heirs. They begin an independent search, and then transfer the data to the assignees for a specific amount.
The nuances of the search for heirs to a foreign inheritance
Testavers often live in foreign countries, so property after their death is located abroad. In this case, the search for heirs abroad is carried out at the place of residence of the deceased person. The following are involved in the search:
- members of the diplomatic government;
- citizens residing with the testator until his death;
- the company where the deceased person worked;
- other heirs who have declared themselves.
Notaries who open business outside the territory of Russia can send requests through various international channels. For this, specialists are employed who work not only in a foreign state, but also in Russia. When finding property in another country, it is important to take into account the requirements of the legislation of this state. If the heirs will be in Russia, then they will draw up an inheritance abroad.
Is it possible to return the inheritance after its distribution?
Even with the search for heirs in Moscow, it is not always possible to find all the successors. Under these conditions, 6 months after the testator’s death, his property is distributed among all the persons found who are his relatives.
But even under such conditions, other successors have the right to declare themselves even after six months. To do this, they draw up a statement of claim, which contains the following information:
- the degree of kinship with the testator, confirming the applicant’s right to inherit;
- the reason why the time limit for the distribution of the inheritance was missed, and only certain reasons are considered valid, which include living in another state, not receiving a notification of the death of the testator, serving in the army or being in prison;
- indicates the full size of the inherited property and its price;
- other relatives who received the values are listed.
The restoration of the term is carried out only through the court. Not punished for the announcement of legal successors by a notary by the Federal Notary Chamber. The search for heirs is only the right of a specialist, and not his duty.
Often, even the relatives themselves before the deadline of 6 months submit a petition to the court to suspend the inheritance case, so that there is additional time to search for other legal successors.
How can a found heir prove his right to inheritance?
If the announcement of the search for heirs is effective, then the found citizen must prove to the notary that he can claim the property of the deceased citizen. To do this, he must have documents confirming that he really is a relative of a particular testator.
It is allowed not to prove kinship if the citizen is indicated in the will.
To find supporting documents, you can use the help of a notary. He has the ability to access various archives or other specific papers. Additionally, you can use the help of special agencies for a fee.
Most often, extracts from:
- archives of the registry office;
- house books of various residential objects;
- military archives, if the relatives are military personnel;
- extracts from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with which you can get information about previously issued passports;
- personal affairs in different companies where a citizen previously worked;
- party archives.
Even the notary public is interested in finding all the necessary documents. If it is impossible to find any papers confirming the relationship between the applicant and the deceased citizen, then a refusal to issue an inheritance will be received. Such a decision of a notary may be challenged in court.
What to do if no heirs are found?
If the notary does not manage to find even one successor, then the property passes to the state. It is selective.
The transition to the state is carried out even if all the heirs abandoned the values or were deemed unworthy. The latter include citizens:
- previously causing harm to the testator or his relatives to receive property after the death of a citizen;
- not caring for a sick testator in the presence of duties to deal with this process;
- parents deprived of rights to deceased children.
The presence of mandatory heirs represented by non-working close relatives, minors or children with disabilities is taken into account.
How to prevent problems?
So that the notary does not have problems finding heirs, the citizens themselves must take care of who their values will pass to during their lifetime. To do this, it is advisable to make a will in the presence of an official.
Due to the presence of an official document, the work of a notary is greatly simplified, since he knows who exactly he needs to contact to register an inheritance. If the relatives do not want to take the property, then they compile a corresponding refusal.
Conclusion
The search for heirs is only the right of a notary, therefore this process is not always carried out by a specialist. Often, other successors are involved in the search, as they are interested in the fact that in the future potential recipients of the property did not restore the deadline for the adoption of any values.
The search process can be carried out in various ways, which include the use of available archives or sites on the Internet. When conducting a search in a foreign country, consulates are involved.