Who, where and how can make a will in Belarus
The inheritance of the property of the deceased, in accordance with Belarusian legislation, is carried out according to the law and by will. A will is a person’s will to dispose of his property in case of death.
Any adult citizen can make a will in Belarus. To do this, you need to come to an appointment with a notary – in any notary office or notary office of the Republic of Belarus. It does not matter where the person is registered – you can draw up a will at any notary.
In order to draw up a will, you must appear at an appointment with a notary in person with a passport and, if available, a pension certificate or a certificate of a disabled person. After receiving the details of the notary, you must pay the notary fee and provide the receipt to the notary.
The notarial fee for attesting a will from 01.01.2022 is 32 Belarusian rubles. If there are benefits (pensioners and disabled people), the notary rate will be 16 rubles. To confirm the availability of benefits, you must present a pension or disabled person’s certificate to a notary.
Who can be the heir by the will
Any natural or legal person can be an heir under a will. Consequently, property can be bequeathed not only to a relative, but also to a friend, neighbor, acquaintance, as well as to any legal entity or state (for example, an apartment can be bequeathed to an Orthodox parish, a child protection fund or the Republic of Belarus).
Requirements for a will
The will must be written without erasures and corrections. The handwriting must be legible, it is advisable to write the will in large capital letters.
The will shall indicate:
– the date of its compilation;
– data of the testator – surname, name, patronymic, date of birth, passport data (including identification number), address of the place of registration;
– the text of the will – what property, in what shares and to whom it will be bequeathed (it is necessary to write the exact address of the residential or non-residential premises, the data of the car or other property, as well as the last name, first name, patronymic of the heir, the person in whose favor the will is drawn up).
The date and signature of the testator are affixed in the presence of a notary.
Will form
The form of the will is exclusively written.
If the testator, due to objective circumstances, cannot write a will with his own hand, the will can be written by a notary from the words of the testator. However, with such an action, the presence of a witness is mandatory – an adult outsider with a passport. A witness may not be a previously convicted or legally incompetent citizen, as well as a person in whose favor a will is drawn up or a close relative of the testator.
If the document is drawn up by a notary using a computer in the presence of a witness, then the notarial rate will be higher, since it will be necessary to pay for a technical service – typing of the document.
A will can be open and closed. A closed will is not subject to review by a notary, he only certifies it.
Shares of heirs in property
When drawing up a will in relation to property that the testator wishes to transfer after death to several heirs, it is necessary to clearly spell out the shares in the text of the will.
Thus, a grandmother can bequeath one third of her apartment to her son, and two-thirds to her grandson. A situation is also possible when a grandmother bequeaths to three heirs one third of a share in an apartment: a son, a grandson and a granddaughter. Shares in a will must be indicated in numbers and in words (for example, “1/3 share (one third share)).
Appealing a will in Belarus
A will in Belarus can be challenged in court. The basis for recognizing a will as invalid may be the drawing up of it by a person who is not able to understand the meaning of his actions and to direct them. If it is proved that the testator at the time of drawing up the will did not understand the meaning of his actions, as a result of which, for example, he left a will in favor of a third party, depriving his own children of the inheritance, then the document may be invalidated.
Also, a will can be declared invalid by a court if it was drawn up with the use of psychological pressure, violence, deception or breach of trust.
Order of inheritance by will
The will may indicate that in the event of the death of the main heir, other persons receive the property. Also, the testator may indicate that if the main heir refuses or does not accept the inheritance for any reason, another person enters the inheritance.
So, for example, a father can indicate that in case of non-acceptance of the inheritance by his son, his grandson should receive a summer cottage. In this case, it is necessary to indicate the surname, name, patronymic of the second person.
Thus, the main heirs indicated in the will initially inherit in the shares indicated in the document. In this case, one should take into account the right to a compulsory share in the inheritance. Disabled spouses and parents, as well as children under the age of 18, are entitled to at least half of the share that would be due to them in case of inheritance by law.
Our lawyers have been dealing with inheritance issues in the Republic of Belarus for more than 10 (ten) years. If you have questions related to inheritance in Belarus, and you need help or advice from a lawyer, please contact our lawyers by e-mail: info@inheritancelaw.by or by phone: +375293664477.
