Inheritance by will
When inheriting by will, the transfer of the rights and obligations of the heirs, the distribution of the inheritance among the heirs, depends on the written will of the testator - the will.
A will is a personal disposition of an individual with his own property in the event of his death.
Wills can be made by one person or by spouses.
Wills can be ordinary, secret and wills with the participation of witnesses.
A will can be made for all property or only for part of it.
The number of heirs under the will can be different.
According to their purpose, wills are divided into several varieties:
- a will with a condition;
- testament with assignment of duties;
- will with responsible refusal (with the right to use by another person);
- testament with sub-appointment of heirs (in case of death of the heir);
- will with the establishment of an easement.
There are certain general requirements for drawing up a will - the content of the will cannot contradict Article 203 of the Civil Code, and the form of the will must comply with the requirements of Article 1247 of the Civil Code.
The testator has the right to revoke the will at any time, draw up a new will or amend an earlier one.
Each new will cancels the previous one.
The testator, when performing these actions (drawing up a will, revoking a will, changing the content of a will), is not obliged to notify the heirs about this.
The best option, when a conscientious testator can declare a will publicly, is to inform during his lifetime to whom and what property he bequeaths.
But it also happens that a will after death is accidentally found among other papers. And it is not known what "surprises" await the heirs. Therefore, it is desirable for heirs to know about the existence of a will in advance.
Who is a testamentary heir?
When inheriting by will, the testator himself determines who will be his heir and who will not. At the same time, it does not matter at all in what family ties the testator and heir are.
On this occasion, the legislation (in particular, part 2 of article 1235 of the Civil Code) reads as follows: “The testator may, without giving reasons, disinherit any person from among the heirs by law. In this case, this person cannot acquire the right to inherit”.
But there is a certain category of persons who cannot be disinherited by will.
Part 3 of Article 1235 of the Civil Code: "The testator cannot deprive the right to inherit persons who have entitlement to a compulsory share in inheritance. The validity of the will in relation to persons who are entitled to a mandatory share in the inheritance is established at the time of opening the inheritance..
According to Article 1241 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, this is:
- minor children of the testator;
- minor children of the testator;
- adult disabled children of the testator;
- disabled widow (widower);
- disabled parents of the testator.
Each of them inherit “regardless of the content of the will, half share, which belonged to each of them during inheritance in law (mandatory share)".
At the same time, the size of the mandatory share in the inheritance may be reduced by the court, taking into account the relationship between these heirs and the testator, as well as other circumstances of significant importance.
Thus, the legislation in Article 1241 of the Civil Code protects those who cannot take care of themselves.
When determining the mandatory share in the inheritance, all the property of the testator is counted: the value of ordinary household items and household items, the value of a legacy established in favor of a person entitled to an obligatory share, as well as the value of other things and property rights that have passed to him as an heir.