Restoration of the Inheritance Acceptance Deadline During Martial Law

Our legal team successfully represented a client in court proceedings seeking the restoration of the statutory deadline for accepting an inheritance during martial law in Ukraine. Thanks to our legal support, the client not only won the case but also successfully completed the inheritance administration process and obtained ownership of inherited property located in both Kharkiv and Poltava.

In July 2023, the Moskovskyi (now Saltivskyi) District Court of Kharkiv considered a claim for the restoration of the inheritance acceptance deadline. The claimant had been unable to submit the required application due to objective circumstances caused by the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including military hostilities, evacuation, and relocation. The court granted the claim and awarded an additional period for accepting the inheritance.

The claimant's mother passed away in November 2021, leaving real estate located in Kharkiv and Poltava. Following the Russian invasion and active hostilities in Kharkiv, the claimant and her family were forced to evacuate—first to Poltava and later to Lviv.

Because of these extraordinary circumstances—including relocation, her husband's military mobilization, her child's education, and health-related issues—the claimant was able to submit her inheritance acceptance application to a notary only in November 2022. The notary refused to issue the Certificate of Inheritance because the statutory six-month deadline had expired.

As a result, the claimant applied to the court requesting restoration of the inheritance acceptance deadline.

Our lawyers provided comprehensive legal representation throughout the case by:

• Preparing the court claim requesting the establishment of an additional period for accepting the inheritance.
• Collecting a comprehensive package of evidence, including internally displaced person documentation, records confirming the husband's military mobilization, medical documents, and evidence demonstrating the family's relocation and living circumstances.
• Providing detailed legal arguments supported by the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, Ukrainian legislation, and Resolution No. 164 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which suspended the inheritance acceptance period during martial law.
• Representing the client without requiring her personal attendance at the court hearing, allowing the case to be decided solely on the basis of the documents we prepared and submitted.

The court ultimately issued a judgment in favor of our client, granting her an additional two-month period for accepting the inheritance, commencing from the date on which the judgment became final.

After evaluating all relevant circumstances, the court concluded that denying the inheritance solely because of the formal expiration of the statutory deadline would impose a disproportionate burden on the claimant. Consequently, the court granted her an additional two months to submit the inheritance acceptance application after the judgment entered into legal force.

Following the successful court decision, our legal team:

• Ensured proper implementation of the judgment through the notarial procedure.
• Prepared and completed all documentation required for the acceptance of the inheritance within the court-established deadline.
• Assisted the client in registering ownership of the inherited property without requiring her personal presence in Ukraine.

As a result, our client obtained not only a favorable court judgment but also the practical realization of her inheritance rights without unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles.

This case clearly demonstrates that even under extraordinary circumstances caused by war, inheritance rights can be successfully protected through timely and professional legal representation. We firmly believe that war should never become the reason for losing property rights, particularly where individuals have found themselves in difficult circumstances through no fault of their own.

The key factors behind our successful outcome included:

• a comprehensive approach to proving valid reasons for missing the statutory inheritance acceptance deadline;
• reliance on the principle of proportionality in accordance with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights;
• effective cooperation with both the court and the notary handling the inheritance proceedings;
• prompt legal action immediately following the court's judgment.