Who will inherit property without a will?

An inheritance is the material and intangible assets, rights and obligations of a deceased person that are transferred to the heir. This happens according to the last will, which is set out and notarized in the will. But what if the deceased did not leave a will? Vladyslav Martynchuk, a lawyer at the DE-JURE law firm, told the FACTYS publication about this.

The right to inheritance in the absence of a will is regulated by the Civil Code of Ukraine. It establishes the order of inheritance depending on the degree of kinship, with each subsequent line receiving property only in the absence of previous lines:

1. Children, the other spouse and parents.
2. Siblings, grandparents.
3. Uncles and aunts.
4. Persons who lived with the deceased in the same family for at least 5 years before the date of death.
5. Last in line are other relatives up to the sixth degree of kinship.

The heir must apply to a notary within 6 months of the testator’s death. In the case of real estate, a certificate of inheritance is drawn up, and in the case of the division of movable property, this document is optional.

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