A single inheritance order will avoid disputes in new regions

A draft law has been submitted to the State Duma establishing the norms of inheritance in the territories of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions in accordance with Russian law. Its authors are Andrey Klishas and Pavel Krasheninnikov, chairmen of the Committees on State Building and Legislation of the Federation Council and the State Duma.

“In each of the territories there are different ways of disposing [наследством] in case of death, there are differences in legal heirs, etc. For example, according to Russian legislation, the heirs of the fourth stage are great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers, and according to Ukrainian law, they are recognized as “civilian” spouses,” Krasheninnikov explained to reporters on November 21. Thus, residents of new subjects of the Russian Federation may have litigation regarding inheritance rights.

The bill extends the provisions of the Civil Code (CC) of the Russian Federation on inheritance on the territory of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. According to the project, starting from September 30, 2022, when an agreement was signed on the admission of new regions to Russia, the entry into the right of inheritance will be carried out in accordance with Russian legal norms. If the inheritance was opened before September 30, the laws of the republics that were in force at that time in the DPR and LPR, or the legislation of Ukraine for the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, will be applied to it.

The rule on the order of inheritance does not apply to wills and inheritance contracts – they remain valid regardless of the moment the inheritance is opened. The document establishes the features of inheritance under joint wills of the spouses made before September 30, 2022 in the territories of the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, as well as in the LPR and DPR before the adoption of the constitutions of these republics. According to the draft, after the death of one of the spouses who made a joint will, the share in the right of common joint ownership of property acquired by the spouses during the marriage passes to the surviving spouse. After his death, those persons whom the spouses have identified in a joint will have the right to inherit.

The project is aimed at “unifying legislation,” Olga Kovitidi, a member of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, told Vedomosti (United Russia). Amendments to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation harmonize the legal regulation of inheritance, since there are significant differences between Russian legislation and the legislation that was in force in the territories of the affiliated entities.

Discrepancies could lead to “problems in terms of determining the law applicable to inheritance relations,” said State Duma deputy Igor Kastyukevich (United Russia), who is responsible for work with voters in the Kherson region in the faction.

According to Kovitidi, the draft law is based on the experience of law enforcement in the Republic of Crimea, which she represents in the Federation Council. “The bill takes into account a number of features of the new territories, establishes special rules for inheritance in cases where the application of the general rule cannot guarantee the will of the testator to the legitimate heirs. It also provides a transitional period – it is reflected in the terms, ”said the senator.

The project makes it possible to “put things in order” during the transition of new regions to the legal system of the Russian Federation, emphasizes Vladimir Samokish, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Property, Land and Property Relations. “De facto, it turns out that the DPR and LPR had their own Civil Codes, and in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, the legislation of Ukraine. That is why it is necessary to unify all these processes,” he says. What amendments can be added to the document for the second reading, it will become clear as it is discussed at the committees, the deputy notes.

“Inheritance in Russian and Ukrainian legislation is carried out in a different order. In Ukraine, there is now a decree on the introduction of martial law, in connection with which changes have been made to the procedure for accepting inheritance. The number of queues in the inheritance also differs: in Russia [их] eight, in Ukraine – five. And there is the concept of civil marriage – persons living with the deceased one family for at least five years are the fourth line of inheritance. In Russia, there are a greater number of categories entitled to a mandatory share in the inheritance, ”says Nikita Filippov, head of the Moscow bar associations of the De Jure Lawyers Bureau.

The regulation of the inheritance contract is also different. For example, in Ukraine, the testator does not have the right to dispose of the property specified in the inheritance contract, but in Russia there is such a right. To eliminate such discrepancies, similar amendments to the legislation were made in connection with the regulation of various aspects of the law in force on the territory of the Republic of Crimea, the expert confirms.

Parliamentarians interviewed by Vedomosti could not provide examples of appeals to deputy receptions on issues of inheritance disputes from residents of the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. Deputy Alexei Didenko (LDPR), who oversees all four new regions in the party, noted that so far their residents “are more concerned about employment and citizenship issues.”

Didenko emphasizes that all these territories are part of Russia, and they must work according to Russian legislation, even though “somewhere on the outskirts there may be a turbulent situation.” The situation in the new regions is “quite complicated,” Kovitidi agrees, and “to a greater extent, these are laws for the future.”