What happens if someone dies without a will in Russia

One of our previous articles was dedicated to wills and how to make one in Russia (check the description to find it). Today, we'll briefly talk about cases where a person dies intestate, that is, without a will.

SUCCESSION QUEUES
In Russia, there are 8 succession «queues»; the further the queue is, the more distant relatives are included in it. In the first queue are the spouse, children and parents; in the second, grandparents and siblings; in the third, uncles and aunts.


The principle is as follows: if the deceased has first-queue relatives (or at least one such a relative), then their property is distributed equally between them. In this case, the second and other queues receive nothing. If there are no first-queue relatives, the deceased's property will be distributed between the second-queue relatives (or one person receives everything, if he/she is the only «representative» of the second queue), while the third and other queues do not receive any legacy. If there are no first and second queue relatives, the third queue comes into the inheritance, etc.

You might notice in the table, children of some of family members can come into inheritance by the right of representation. What does it mean? Imagine an old lady has two sons – Ivan and Boris. Boris passed away long ago and left behind two daughters. When the old lady dies, she should have two first-queue heirs - Ivan and Boris, who are supposed to inherit half each. As Boris had been dead by that moment, his daughters come into inheritance by the right of representation and receive Boris' share equally. That is, Ivan receives 50% of the old lady's assets, and each of Boris' daughters, 25%.

All main principles applying to the will remains in case of intestacy. For example, heirs do not receive the inheritance automatically - they need to come to a notary and declare that they want to initiate probate. The notary will request information from relevant authorities about what assets the deceased owned, what wills he/she made, and who gets what. Heirs have 6 months to enter into inheritance; otherwise, it'll be considered escheated and its title will be transferred to the government, no matter if there is a will or not. Debts are also distributed equally among the heirs; and you also don't have to accept the inheritance if you don't want to.

Don't forget Russia is a community property country - everything a married couple acquired during marriage is considered their common property. If a married person passes away, the surviving spouse is entitled to half of the community property, and the remaining part splits according to the law. For example, if a woman who has a husband and a son owns an apartment and dies without having made a will, her surviving spouse will get ½ of the apartment, and the other ½ will be distributed equally between the spouse and the son, i. e., in the end, the widower will get ¾ of the apartment.

Need legal help? Feel free to contact us:
Tel: +7 909 961-19-09
Email: legalsolutions@inbox.ru
Visit us: Moscow, Zubovskiy bulvar, building 4/1, office 308

You might also like the articles:

Property division. Divorce in Russia
Can foreigners buy property in Russia?
Will and Testament in Russia