When a person dies, he leaves behind an inheritance. Their heirs have several options: to fully accept the inheritance (so-called “general acceptance” of inheritance); to accept the inheritance by inventory; or to refuse the inheritance.
What does a person’s inheritance include?
Although in people’s mind there is a perception that an inheritance includes only rights and assets, this is not true. Indeed, the inheritance includes rights and assets as well as obligations / debts.
What an acceptance of inheritance by inventory means and how does it differ from the “general acceptance” of inheritance?
In case of “general acceptance” of inheritance, the estate of the deceased person is mixed entirely with the estate of the heir. This means that the heir will automatically be liable with all their property in respect to the obligations of the grantor.
The acceptance of аn inheritance by inventory represents a special procedure before a court whereby the deceased’s estate is accepted to the extent of the assets included therein. Thus, the heir, figuratively, has two separate estates – his personal estate and the estate inherited from the deceased. Accordingly, the heir would only be liable to the creditors of their grantor with the inherited assets but not with their own assets out of the estate of the deceased.
When is acceptance of inheritance by inventory performed?
There are two main hypotheses in which acceptance of inheritance by inventory is performed:
Voluntary acceptance of inheritance by inventory:
Any person may accept an inheritance by inventory. Most often, people accept inheritance by inventory when the exact amount of the grantor’s obligations/debts is not clear and there is a danger that the amount of the obligations/debts can exceeds the value of the assets included in the estate.
If the amount of the obligations/debts included in the estate is clearly higher than the value of the rights, then it is advisable to directly carry out a procedure for refusal of inheritance, instead of accepting it by inventory.
IMPORTANT! Although it is connected with higher costs than the “general acceptance”, the acceptance of inheritance by inventory provides the heir certainty and peace of mind that they will not have to pay other people’s debts (those of the grantor) with their own funds.
IMPORTANT! It should also be clear that the acceptance of inheritance by inventory by one heir automatically benefits the other heirs. This means that if there are three heirs and one of them accepts the inheritance by inventory, there is no legal need for the other two to carry out the same procedure.
Compulsory acceptance of inheritance by inventory:
The law stipulates that people who are not legally capable, the state and public organizations must accept inheritance only by inventory.
Is there a time limit within which the acceptance of an inheritance by inventory must be made?
In the case of a voluntary acceptance of an inheritance by inventory, this must take place at the latest within 3 months from the date on which the heir became aware that the inheritance had been opened. If you miss this deadline, you cannot accept the inheritance by inventory and then you will be able only to accept the inheritance under the general procedure or to refuse from the inheritance.
This time limit does not apply to parties who are obliged by the law to accept inheritance only by inventory.
Are there any restrictions I have to comply with if I accept an inheritance by inventory?
The most significant restriction is that the heir who has accepted an inheritance by inventory cannot alienate the immovable property forming part of the estate within 5 (five) years and all other movable property forming part of the estate within 3 (three) years.
IMPORTANT! The above-mentioned restrictions can only be overcome by obtaining an explicit written permission from a district court.
What will happen if I do not comply with the described restrictions?
If you alienate immovable property that was part of the succession estate before the 5-year’s period has expired or alienate a movable property (e.g. a motor vehicle) that was part of the succession estate before the 3-year’s period has expired, then it is assumed that you automatically lose the advantages of accepting the inheritance by inventory. In other words, from that moment, it will be considered for all third parties that you have accepted the inheritance under the general procedure and will be liable to your grantor’s creditors with all your assets.
Insofar as the acceptance of an inheritance by inventory is connected with implementing a procedure before a court, atty. Dilyan Kolev can provide you the needed legal assistance.