Inheritance law

At the funeral of my ex-husband, I was told that there was a will and our common son, who is now 14 years old, would not receive the inheritance. But this is his own son, if we are divorced, does this not cancel the right of inheritance?

Will your own son be left without an inheritance?

“At the funeral of my ex-husband, I was told that there was a will and our common son, who is now 14 years old, would not receive the inheritance. But this is his own son, if we are divorced, does this not cancel the right of inheritance?
Anna, Pavlovsk.”

– Of course, parents’ divorce does not reduce the rights of their children. Russian legislation establishes inheritance by will and by law, with the will having priority. In Art. 1111 of the Civil Code states that inheritance by law takes place when and insofar as it is not changed by a will. Simply put, whoever is named in the will inherits, regardless of family ties. The testator has the right, at his own discretion, to bequeath property to any persons, to determine in any way the shares of heirs in the inheritance, to deprive one, several or all heirs of the inheritance by law (Article 1119 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). However, such freedom is limited by the rule on the so-called compulsory share in the inheritance. According to Art. 1149 of the Civil Code, minor or disabled children of the testator, his disabled spouse and parents, as well as disabled dependents of the testator inherit, regardless of the contents of the will, at least half of the share that would be due to each of them upon inheritance by law. Your common son, who has not reached the age of majority (if he is not indicated as an heir in the will), still has the right to an obligatory share.

Am I entitled to a house?

“My mother lived in her house with my brother and his family. I got married and moved in with my husband. Now, after my mother’s death, they are telling me that I may lose the right to the house, since my brother was caring for my mother and the house belongs to him, because... he continues to live in it. Is this true?
Victoria, Chelyabinsk.”

– Victoria, contact a notary before 6 months have passed from the date of your mother’s death. First, the notary will explain the will, if there is one, to you. Secondly, according to Art. 1152 of the Civil Code, in order to acquire an inheritance, the heir must ACCEPT it. Acceptance of an inheritance is carried out by submitting to a notary at the place of opening of the inheritance an application from the heir for acceptance of the inheritance or an application from the heir for the issuance of a certificate of the right to inheritance. If you do not live in the house, you must submit such an application within 6 months, as established in Art. 1154 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The application is submitted to the state notary office at your mother’s place of residence. If there is no will and inheritance is open by law, then you and your brother will have equal rights to the house; your brother has a preemptive right only to ordinary household furnishings and household items as an heir who lived with the testator on the day the inheritance was opened (Article 1169 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). When dividing property included in the inheritance, you should take into account that, in accordance with paragraph 3 of Art. 1168 of the Civil Code, if the inheritance includes residential premises (a residential building, apartment, etc.), the division of which in kind is impossible, the heirs who lived in this residential premises on the day of opening of the inheritance and do not have other residential premises have, over other heirs who are not the owners of the residential premises included in the inheritance, a priority right to receive this premises against their inherited shares.

Prepared by Olga Denisova.