After the death of a spouse, the issue of property distribution often becomes one of the most difficult for the family. The order of inheritance depends on whether the deceased left a will, what property was considered jointly acquired, and who exactly has the right to claim the inheritance by law.
To avoid mistakes and misunderstandings, it is important to understand how inheritance law works in such cases and what rights the surviving spouse has. UNN investigated this topic together with lawyers.
How property is inherited after the death of a spouse
After the death of one of the spouses, the issue of inheritance primarily depends on whether the deceased left a will.
Family lawyer Oleksandr Malyk explains:
If the deceased managed to draw up a will in due time, then it is on the basis of this document that it will be determined who will receive what share of his property. If the inheritance occurs by law, then in such a situation, the degree of kinship of the heirs with the deceased is taken into account. It is not for nothing that the current Family Code defines several lines of inheritance to regulate these issues.
At the same time, in any of these situations, the rights of the surviving spouse to jointly acquired property are necessarily taken into account.
What inheritance can a widow and widower claim?
Before dividing the inheritance, it is necessary to determine what property was the joint common property of the husband and wife. This refers to what was acquired during the marriage through joint labor or with joint funds.
If at the time of his death the husband was in a marital relationship with his wife, then half of the jointly acquired property will go to the wife. The remaining part will be distributed either by law or according to the will. If we are talking about the second of these options, then according to this scenario, the husband could even bequeath his property to strangers with whom he is not in a family relationship.
This is an important point, as relatives often mistakenly believe that after a person's death, all their property is automatically divided among the heirs. But first, it is necessary to separate the share of the living spouse in the common property, and only then determine what exactly is included in the inheritance mass.
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How inheritance by will occurs
If a husband or wife made a will during their lifetime and certified it with a notary, this document determines who will receive the inheritance. In this case, the widow or widower first receives their half of the jointly acquired property. After that, the rest of the property will be distributed as the deceased wrote in the will.
The testator has the right to dispose of their share at their own discretion. They can leave property to their wife or husband, children, parents, other relatives, as well as persons who are not family members at all. The law allows for the inheritance to be transferred even to a stranger, if that was the will of the deceased.
If the will states that all property passes to the surviving spouse, then after the inheritance is formalized, he or she becomes the owner of all property that was part of the inheritance mass. In such a scenario, other relatives cannot claim this property solely on the grounds that they were related to the deceased.
Can relatives challenge the distribution of property?
If the will was legally executed, relatives have no right to demand a share of the inheritance contrary to the testator's will. This applies to various types of property: real estate, a car, a garage, a land plot, funds, and other assets. Even if it is property that was once gifted to the deceased before marriage, it can also pass to the person specified in the will.
At the same time, the law provides for specific cases where the rights of a widow and widower are subject to special protection.
In the event that the testator had a confirmed diagnosis of incapacity during their lifetime, all agreements regarding the transfer of property made from the moment this diagnosis was established will be deemed invalid. This means that even if a will is found according to which the property is to go to third parties, this document will be invalid.
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How inheritance by law occurs
If the deceased did not make a will during their lifetime and did not certify it with a notary, the inheritance is distributed among all heirs by law. Then the order is determined by the lines of heirs.
First of all, as with inheritance by will, it is necessary to establish the share of the surviving spouse in the common property. Half of the property acquired in marriage passes to the surviving husband or wife.
After that, the composition of the inheritance is determined, and it is distributed among the heirs of the first line.
When we talk about inheritance by law, the first line, in addition to the wife, also includes the parents and children of the deceased. So his part of the property will be divided in equal shares among all these persons.
Therefore, the husband or wife in such a situation has a dual legal status: on the one hand, they retain their share in the common property, and on the other hand, they act as heirs on an equal footing with other heirs of the first line.
This means that a widow or widower can receive not only their half of the jointly acquired property, but also an additional share from the inheritance mass along with the children and parents of the deceased.
Inheritance of property of a deceased spouse and the role of a marriage contract
A marriage contract plays a special role in inheritance matters. If the spouses concluded such a document during the marriage and determined that each has separate property, the approach to inheritance changes. In this case, only the immovable and movable property that belonged directly to the deceased will be included in the inheritance.
If the marriage contract established a separate property regime, then there is no need to first allocate half of the common property to the widower or widow, because there may be no common property in the legal sense. Then the heirs receive shares only from the property that belonged personally to the testator. Among such heirs will also be the husband or wife, children, and parents of the deceased.
Division of property after divorce
Another scenario that may occur when it comes to the inheritance of property by a widow or widower is the division of the deceased's property after a divorce.
As an example, the lawyer cites a situation where a husband and wife divorced in court, and the division of property began, but due to the husband's death, it was not completed.
This can happen when claims for divorce and property division were filed as separate lawsuits.
According to him, in such a situation, the ex-wife will have to deal with the heirs of the deceased husband. She will not be able to claim a share in his property by law, since at the time of his death she was not in a marital relationship with him, and therefore - no longer belongs to the heirs of any line.
In such complex cases, it is worth seeking professional legal support to properly build interaction with the heirs. Especially when it comes to the right to their share in common property.
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