LEGAL ASSISTANCE IN UKRAINE

A written plan you take to your notary.

We help you assess in advance the ways of passing on property, their legal and tax consequences, and the risk of a later dispute. We prepare a comparison of the available instruments in light of the property, the family circumstances, and the law in force.

Consultations and preparation of the written plan can be carried out remotely. Certain legal acts, including the drawing up and certification of documents, are carried out as the law requires.
A will is drawn up and certified by a notary in accordance with the requirements of the law. Whether a particular notary can certify it, including abroad or in special circumstances, is checked separately.
Before the notary, we fix what to transfer, whether that asset is properly formalised, to whom, by what means, and when, taking account of tax and the law of another state.
Inheritance of immovable property is governed by the law of the state where that property is located, and inheritance of property subject to state registration in Ukraine is governed by the law of Ukraine. In other cases the law of the state of the deceased’s last place of residence applies, unless the deceased chose in the will the law of the state of his or her citizenship.
The will may choose the law of the state of citizenship. If citizenship changes after the will, that choice does not apply.

What you receive

A written inheritance project, drawn up for the relationships in your family and for how the business is held. You take it to a notary of your own choosing.

We help you assess in advance the ways of passing on property, their legal and tax consequences, and the risk of a later dispute. We prepare a comparison of the available instruments in light of the property, the family circumstances, and the law in force.
The documents on each asset.
If nobody accepted the inheritance, one year later the court declares it heirless and it passes to the territorial community.
The terms of the will, including the compulsory share. Minor children, adult children who cannot work, a spouse who cannot work, and parents who cannot work take half the share the law would have given them.
Whether a person is unable to work, for inheritance purposes, is determined under the legislation and in light of the particular circumstances. The right to a compulsory share is established by Article 1241 of the Civil Code of Ukraine.
What the will does not cover passes in five orders.
The next order inherits when the previous one is absent, removed, has not accepted, or has refused.
Persons named in Article 1266 of the Civil Code of Ukraine inherit by right of representation, including grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who take the share their deceased parents would have taken, and other relatives where the law so provides.
Whether a person belongs to the fourth or fifth class of heirs is determined under the Civil Code of Ukraine. The relevant facts, including living as one family or being maintained, must where necessary be proved by proper evidence. The fourth order is a person who lived as one family for at least five years before the inheritance opened. The fifth is relatives out to the sixth degree, and dependants who were maintained for five years.
A court may admit a person in the next class of heirs by law to inherit together with the class entitled to inherit, if for a long time that person cared for, maintained, or otherwise assisted the deceased, who was helpless because of old age, serious illness, or injury.
Steps in your lifetime: a buy-out, a gift, a change to the articles, a choice of law in the will.
A note for the family: where the documents, accounts, and policies are, and whom to tell.
The general period for accepting an inheritance is six months. In particular cases the law sets special rules for calculating that period, including where the death is registered late.
A person who lived with the deceased, and a minor or a person who lacks capacity, has accepted, unless a refusal was filed.
On the day of signing, a lawyer is in contact with your notary.

When a plan earns its place

An heir abroad

Foreign citizenship does not remove the right to inherit or the compulsory share.
Inheritance tax depends on the tax residence of the people involved. Different tax rules may apply to non-residents. The tax due and how it is paid must be determined before the inheritance is formalised, under the Tax Code of Ukraine.
The application to accept is filed within six months.
Foreigners and stateless persons may acquire an agricultural land plot by inheritance, but they must alienate it within one year. If that duty is not performed, ownership of the plot may be terminated by a court under the law of Ukraine.

A second marriage and a child from the first

A child from the first marriage becomes a co-owner of the flat where the other family lives, unless that share is bought out in your lifetime. A minor child, or a child who cannot work, takes half of that share under the law, against the text of the will.

You yourself live abroad

Inheritance of immovable property is governed by the law of the state where that property is located, and inheritance of property subject to state registration in Ukraine is governed by the law of Ukraine. In other cases the law of the state of the deceased’s last place of residence applies, unless the deceased chose in the will the law of the state of his or her citizenship.
The will may choose the law of the state of citizenship. If citizenship changes after the will, that choice does not apply.
The form of the will stands when it meets the law of the place where it was made, of citizenship, of habitual residence, or of the state where the immovable property lies.

Old age and several children

A will is contested after death. Where a later dispute is a risk, it is sensible during the testator’s lifetime to put into proper form the documents that confirm the testator’s intention and the circumstances in which the will was made.

A share in a company

How a share in a company’s capital passes to the heirs, and whether they can become members, is determined by the law, the articles, and the circumstances of the case. The corporate documents and the possible consequences of the inheritance should be checked in advance.

Several assets

A will that leaves a flat, a house, and a plot “in equal shares” makes the children co-owners of each asset. The plan sets out what goes to whom, and names the buy-out to be made in your lifetime.

Rights acquired long ago

Rights from different years sit in different registers. The plan draws them into one set and closes the gaps in your lifetime.

An inheritance you never accepted

The six months on an inheritance that belongs to you are closed by an application while the time runs.
A court may set an additional period for accepting an inheritance. The court assesses the particular circumstances and the evidence. Living abroad, not knowing the law, or having had no contact with the deceased does not of itself guarantee an additional period, and the assessment depends on the circumstances of the case.
Not knowing of the deceased’s death does not of itself guarantee that the reasons for missing the period will be treated as valid.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

On the inheritance.

Can a will leave everything to one person?

Minor children, adult children who cannot work, a spouse who cannot work, and parents who cannot work take half the share the law would have given them. Whether a person is unable to work, for inheritance purposes, is determined under the legislation and in light of the particular circumstances. The right to a compulsory share is established by Article 1241 of the Civil Code of Ukraine. The will does not remove that half.

Who takes the property if there is no will, or the will does not cover all of it?

In five orders. First: children, including a child conceived in the deceased’s lifetime and born after the death, the spouse, and the parents.
Second: brothers and sisters, grandmother and grandfather.
Third: uncle and aunt.
Fourth: a person who lived with the deceased as one family for at least five years before the inheritance opened.
Fifth: relatives out to the sixth degree who are not in an earlier order, and dependants whom the deceased maintained for at least five years.
The next order enters when the previous one is absent, removed, has not accepted, or has refused.
Whether a person belongs to the fourth or fifth class of heirs is determined under the Civil Code of Ukraine. The relevant facts, including living as one family or being maintained, must where necessary be proved by proper evidence.

How long is there to accept?

The general period for accepting an inheritance is six months. In particular cases the law sets special rules for calculating that period, including where the death is registered late.
A person who lived with the deceased at the opening has accepted, unless that person refused within that time.
A minor, a person who lacks capacity, and a person whose capacity is limited have accepted, unless a refusal was filed with the permission of the guardianship authority.
Acceptance cannot be made subject to a condition.
For property that is registered, the notary issues a certificate.
If the place of opening is occupied territory or an area of active hostilities, any notary opens the file.
If an heir dies after the inheritance opens and has not accepted, the right to accept that share passes to that heir’s own heirs for the time that remains, or for three months if less than three remain.
The compulsory share does not pass that way.

Which law applies if the deceased lived abroad?

Inheritance of immovable property is governed by the law of the state where that property is located, and inheritance of property subject to state registration in Ukraine is governed by the law of Ukraine. In other cases the law of the state of the deceased’s last place of residence applies, unless the deceased chose in the will the law of the state of his or her citizenship.
The will may choose the law of the state of citizenship. If citizenship changes after the will, that choice does not apply.

A foreigner has inherited agricultural land.

Foreigners and stateless persons may acquire an agricultural land plot by inheritance, but they must alienate it within one year. If that duty is not performed, ownership of the plot may be terminated by a court under the law of Ukraine.

A person lived with the deceased for five years and is not a relative.

Whether a person belongs to the fourth or fifth class of heirs is determined under the Civil Code of Ukraine. The relevant facts, including living as one family or being maintained, must where necessary be proved by proper evidence.
That person stands in the fourth order. A dependant for whom the deceased’s support was the main means of living for five years, and who is not in an earlier order, stands in the fifth.
A court may admit a person in the next class of heirs by law to inherit together with the class entitled to inherit, if for a long time that person cared for, maintained, or otherwise assisted the deceased, who was helpless because of old age, serious illness, or injury.

A child died before the parents.

Persons named in Article 1266 of the Civil Code of Ukraine inherit by right of representation, including grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who take the share their deceased parents would have taken, and other relatives where the law so provides.
Nephews and nieces take a brother or sister’s share, and cousins take an aunt or uncle’s share. Several people divide that share equally.

The six months have already passed.

A court may set an additional period for accepting an inheritance. The court assesses the particular circumstances and the evidence. Living abroad, not knowing the law, or having had no contact with the deceased does not of itself guarantee an additional period, and the assessment depends on the circumstances of the case. Not knowing of the deceased’s death does not of itself guarantee that the reasons for missing the period will be treated as valid.

Nobody accepted the inheritance.

One year after death the court declares the inheritance heirless if there are no heirs by will or by law, they were removed, they did not accept, or they refused.
The local authority files where the immovable property lies, or, if there is none, where the main part of the movable property lies.
A creditor files the same application, and for agricultural land so does the owner or the user of an adjoining plot.
Property the court declares heirless passes to the territorial community at the place where the inheritance opened, and immovable property passes where it lies.
While the owner is alive, a transfer of the property, or an heir who files within six months, closes this.

What does the written plan contain?

The means of transfer, the tax, the compulsory share, the property outside the will, the set of documents, and a note for the family on the six months. The plan is prepared online. A will is drawn up and certified by a notary in accordance with the requirements of the law. Whether a particular notary can certify it, including abroad or in special circumstances, is checked separately.

CONFIDENTIAL ENQUIRIES

Describe the circumstances.

Describe the circumstances in your own words. If they do not match a card, write anyway: the list does not limit an enquiry.