The right of citizens to appeal to notarial authorities for performing notarial acts is guaranteed by the legislation of the Republic of Belarus. Notary and other state bodies, in turn, are obliged to consider citizens’ appeals in a quality, timely and in accordance with applicable law.
Acceptance of the inheritance occurs as a result of the willful decision of the heir, that is, the heir must express the intention to accept it. Without the consent of the heir, the inheritance cannot be recognized as accepted.
One of the ways to accept the inheritance is to apply to the notary by the heir on the fact of opening the inheritance in which the heir expresses his desire to accept the inheritance. Such appeal must be made within 6 months from the date of the death of the testator. If you miss this deadline, you can accept the inheritance by filing an application with the court to recognize the heir who accepted the inheritance. Also, upon receipt of the written consent of other heirs who accepted the inheritance on time, extrajudicial acceptance of this inheritance by the heir who misses the six-month period is allowed.
Upon the fact of the application of the heir to the notary authorities for acceptance of the inheritance, the notary either issues a certificate of the right to inheritance (after 6 months from the moment of opening the inheritance) or refuses to recognize the right to inheritance.
A notary is an official who acts impartially, reasonably and lawfully. Accordingly, all actions and omissions of a notary public must be performed taking into account the current regulatory legal acts of the Republic of Belarus.
The notary issues a decision on the refusal to recognize the right to inheritance, upon receipt of a written application from the heir, and motivates such a refusal. Mandatory notary clarifies the right and procedure for appealing the decision.
As a general rule, appeals against actions and omissions of authorized persons of notarial bodies are made to a court at the location of such notarial authority for a period of 10 days from the moment the applicant learned about the commission or refusal to perform a notarial action. If the deadline for appeal was missed by the applicant for valid reasons, which the court finds out during the preliminary hearing, then this deadline can be restored. If he was missed without a good reason, the court rejects the complaint.
A complaint is filed either by the heir himself or by his representative, whose representative functions must be formalized in accordance with the current legislation of the Republic of Belarus. A copy of the notary’s decision to refuse to recognize the right of inheritance, as well as information about payment of the state duty, is attached to the complaint.
The heir must indicate in the complaint which decision is being appealed, on what basis the heir believes that the refusal was unlawful by the notary, must also justify the reasons why the notary’s decision to refuse to recognize the right of inheritance should be canceled.
A complaint about the refusal of a notary to perform a notarial act, in particular the refusal to recognize the right of inheritance, is considered with the participation of the heir – the complainant, the notary who has committed the appealed action, interested parties (this may be other heirs). However, in case of non-appearance of these persons, the case can still be considered. If it is necessary for any party or interested person to be present at the hearing, the court shall recognize the mandatory appearance of such a participant in the proceedings.
The notary is obliged to provide the court with information that served as the basis for the refusal to recognize the right to inheritance, and the applicant, in turn, is entitled to provide the court with evidence of the unlawfulness of the notary.
Until the end of the trial to consider the complaint about the notary’s refusal to recognize the right to inheritance, the applicant has the right to refuse his complaint. The refusal is considered by the court and if it turns out that the heir is aware of the consequences of such refusal, commits it without coercion, the refusal does not contradict the law and does not infringe on the rights of third parties, then it is accepted.
Based on the results of the consideration of the complaint, the court may refuse to satisfy it or declare it justified. Upon satisfaction of the complaint, the court, by a reasoned decision, also orders the notary to perform certain actions, in this case recognize the right of the heir to the inheritance and issue the corresponding certificate.
If, when examining the complaint, the court determines that a dispute has arisen over the law, subordinate to the court, the citizen who has filed the complaint is explained that the dispute can be resolved in the lawsuit. The complaint in this case is left without consideration. If the existence of a dispute on civil law, which is subordinate to the court, is established upon filing a complaint, the judge refuses to initiate proceedings.
Our Law Office has extensive experience in appealing against notarial acts. Our attorneys and advocates will advise you on all matters of appeal against the actions of notaries, and represent you in the court.
