On determining an additional term for filing an application for inheritance due to the heir's ignorance of the existence of a will drawn up in his name - SC GC conclusion

Not knowing about the existence of a will is a valid reason for missing the deadline for accepting the inheritance only for persons who are not heirs of the first line or each subsequent line, if they are aware of the absence of heirs of the previous line who acquired the right to inherit by law.

This conclusion was reached by the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court.

In the circumstances of the case, one of the testator's sons applied to the court for an additional term for acceptance of the inheritance. The plaintiff claimed that he was unaware that the testator had made a will in his favour, which, in his opinion, was a valid reason for missing the deadline.

The courts of previous instances dismissed the claim, rejecting the plaintiff's reference to the lack of knowledge of the existence of a will in his name as a valid reason for missing the deadline for filing an application for inheritance after his father's death, as the plaintiff is a first-line heir.

Agreeing with the conclusions of the courts of previous instances, the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court noted that the heir's ignorance of the existence of a will is a valid reason for missing the deadline for filing an application for acceptance of the inheritance, which follows from the principle of freedom of will, however, such ignorance should not be equated by the court with the heir's ignorance of his right to inheritance in general, since in this case the person, for reasons beyond his control, does not perform legally significant actions related to the acquisition of certain rights arising from inheritance.

The fact that a person is aware that he or she has the right to inherit by law, for example, on the basis of his or her kinship with the testator in the absence of heirs of the previous line of succession, and that he or she has not taken any active steps to accept the inheritance and establish the inheritance mass cannot justify the validity of the reasons for missing the deadline for filing an application for acceptance of the inheritance under a will of which the person was unaware.

The plaintiff in this case is the heir to his deceased father's property by will and by law as a first-line heir.

Therefore, even if he was unaware of the existence of a will, the plaintiff had to take active steps to accept the inheritance - to file an application for acceptance of the inheritance within the six-month period established by the Civil Code of Ukraine.

The Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court stated that the fact that the plaintiff was aware of his right to inheritance by law as an heir of the first line of succession, along with ignorance of the existence of a will drawn up in his name, provided that he did not take any active steps to establish the inheritance mass and accept the inheritance within the period provided by the Civil Code of Ukraine does not indicate either a violation of the principle of freedom of will or the emergence of objective circumstances that made it impossible or significantly complicated for him to timely apply to a notary with a statement of acceptance of the inheritance within the time limit provided by the Civil Code of Ukraine.

In addition, the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court took into account that in this case the dispute arose between two heirs-brothers. The defendant, who is also the first-line heir, accepted the inheritance in accordance with the procedure established by the Civil Code of Ukraine, so the restoration of the rights violated, according to the plaintiff, will lead to interference with the defendant's property rights, which will not comply with the principle of proportionality, as well as to a violation of the principle of legal certainty in relation to another heir who has exercised his civil rights in good faith.

Thus, the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court concluded that the heir's ignorance of the existence of a will is a valid reason for missing the deadline for acceptance of the inheritance, and in deciding on the validity of the reasons for missing the deadline for acceptance of the inheritance, the freedom of will as a fundamental principle of inheritance law should be taken into account. However, this applies to circumstances in which a will is the only basis for inheritance and ignorance of its existence does not require the heir to take action to accept the inheritance. A statutory heir who wishes to accept the inheritance, but did not reside permanently with the testator at the time of the inheritance opening, must submit an application for acceptance of the inheritance to a notary office within the established six-month period from the time of the inheritance opening.

Resolution of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court of 26 June 2024 in case No. 686/5757/23 (proceedings No. 14-50цс24) - https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/120396086.

This and other legal opinions of the Supreme Court are available in the Database of Legal Positions of the Supreme Court - https://lpd.court.gov.ua.