Filing an application to receive UAH 15 million in one-time financial assistance for a fallen service member does not guarantee that the relatives will be able to inherit these funds. The Supreme Court stated that if the recipient dies before the payment is awarded, a property right to a specific amount has not yet arisen. The court's conclusion was published in a ruling dated August 13, 2026, in case No. 420/23067/25. Vladyslav Lytviak, director of Law Firm "LOGIC", told UNN about the legal intricacies of receiving and inheriting such a payment.
The case concerned a service member who was killed while carrying out a combat mission to defend Ukraine's territorial integrity. His father, who belonged to the category of persons entitled to receive the one-time financial assistance, submitted a corresponding application to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and provided the necessary documents.
However, he died before a decision was made to award the payment. Unaware of the applicant's death, the Ministry of Defense Commission subsequently awarded him one-time financial assistance in the amount of UAH 15 million.
After the applicant's death was established, the Commission annulled its decision.
The deceased's daughter filed a lawsuit, insisting that her father had exercised his right to the payment during his lifetime because he had submitted the application and all the necessary documents. She believed that these funds should be included in the estate.
The courts of first instance and appeal refused to grant the claim. The Supreme Court left their decisions unchanged.
According to Lytviak, the court distinguished between a person's right to apply for the award of assistance and an already acquired property right to a specific sum of money.
"According to the court's conclusion, filing an application for the award of assistance does not give the applicant a property right to a specific sum of money. Such a right arises only once the administrative procedure for exercising it has been completed," the lawyer noted.
According to him, for the payment to be included in the estate, one of several conditions must have been met during the applicant's lifetime: the assistance must already have been awarded by a decision of the authorized body, the funds must have been accrued, or the right to the payment must have been confirmed by a court decision that has entered into force.
In this case, none of these conditions was met, since the decision to award the assistance was made only after the applicant's death.
At the same time, Lytviak noted that such practice may create a problem for the relatives of fallen service members, since a person may complete all the necessary actions on their part, while the completion of the procedure depends on the time taken by the state body to consider the application.
"The practice in such cases shows that a significant number of problems arise not because there is no right to the payment, but because of lost time and a lack of a clear understanding of the subsequent steps," the lawyer noted.
According to Lytviak, in complex situations related to receiving one-time financial assistance, it is advisable to seek legal advice at the initial stage in order to assess the documents, possible risks, and further steps to protect the rights of the family members of the fallen service member.