The inheritance is opened as a result of the death of a citizen on the day of his death or his announcement by the court as dead – on the day the court decision on declaring him dead enters into legal force.
The inheritance is acquired as a result of its acceptance by each heir and is recognized as belonging to the heir since the opening of the inheritance, regardless of the moment of state registration of the right to this property (if the right is subject to registration). Inheritance cannot be accepted with terms and conditions.
When the inheritance property is transferred to two or more heirs and the will does not define specific things and shares for each of them, then such property shall be transferred from the date of opening the inheritance to the common shared property of the heirs.
The rules established by the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus for common shared property shall apply to the common property of heirs to hereditary property.
Property that is jointly owned by two or more heirs and is part of the inheritance may be divided by agreement between them.
An agreement on the division of hereditary property may be concluded by the heirs both before the issuance of the certificate of inheritance and after its issuance. If the agreement on the division of the inheritance, including the allocation of the share of one of the heirs from it, was concluded before the certificate of the right to inheritance was issued and it was notarized, then such an agreement is the basis for the issuance of the certificate of the right to inheritance to the heirs with the indication of specific things in it . The agreement of the heirs on the division of property, concluded within six months after the issuance of a certificate of inheritance and notarized, is already the basis for state registration by the heirs of their right to real estate owned by them in accordance with this agreement.
If an agreement on the division of property or the allocation of a share of one of the heirs is not reached, then the division of such property shall be carried out in a judicial proceeding.
So, in cases where the allocation of a share in kind is not permitted by law or is impossible without disproportionate damage to property in common ownership, the distinguished owner has the right to pay him the cost of his share by other participants in shared ownership. When property allocated in kind to a participant in shared ownership is disproportionate to his share in the right of ownership, this is eliminated by payment of the corresponding amount of money or other compensation.
Payment to the participant of shared ownership by other owners of compensation instead of allocating his share in kind is allowed with his consent.
If the share of the respective owner is insignificant, cannot be really allocated and he does not have a significant interest in using the common property, the court may, in the absence of the consent of this owner, oblige him to transfer his share to the other participants with payment of compensation to him.
Upon receipt of compensation, the owner loses the right to a share in the common property.
The interests of minor heirs need special protection. In accordance with the Civil Code, both testament and law, heirs can be citizens conceived during the life of the testator and born alive after the opening of the inheritance. In this case, the division of the inheritance can be made only after the birth of such an heir, and an agreement on the division of the inheritance should be drawn up with the participation of a representative of the guardianship and trusteeship body. If an agreement on the division is not reached, then the case on the division of the inheritance should be considered in court also with the participation of a representative of the guardianship and trusteeship authority.
The legislation establishes the pre-emptive right to certain objects from the composition of the inheritance during its division. Thus, the heir, who, together with the testator, has the right of common ownership to an indivisible thing, the share of the right to which is part of the inheritance, has the right to receive, in the course of the division of the inheritance, the thing that is in common ownership at the expense of his inheritance.
Also, the heir, who constantly used together with the testator or the independently indivisible thing that is part of the inheritance, shall have the pre-emptive right to receive this thing at the expense of his inheritance when dividing the inheritance. Heirs for whom a dwelling house, apartment or other residential property belonging to the testator during the year prior to the opening of the inheritance were the only place of permanent residence, shall have the right to receive the inheritance share of this residential premises, as well as home utensils and household items.
When the heir declares the pre-emptive right to receive property and if such property is disproportionate to his hereditary share, the remaining heirs shall transfer other property from the estate or other compensation, including the payment of the corresponding amount of money.
Such compensation must be provided before the heir exercises the pre-emptive right to certain objects. An agreement between the heirs may also establish a different procedure for the exercise of such a right.
In the event of the death of a participant in common joint ownership, such property shall be subject to division, or to the allocation of a share of the deceased participant. A participant in common joint ownership is entitled to bequeath his share in the common property, which will be determined after his death.
The right to inheritance is formalized by issuing to the heir a certificate of right to inheritance. It certifies that the heir has the relevant rights to the property transferred to him by inheritance.
Our Law Office has a huge experience in inheritance cases and disputes in Belarus. Our lawyers and advocates will advise you on all matters relating to the division of inheritance property, and will also represent your interests in the process of division of inheritance property.
