How to Inherit Property in Ukraine While Living Abroad: Court Practice

Our client, Sofiia Vinarieva, contacted our law firm after encountering difficulties inheriting her late husband's share of an apartment in Ukraine. The primary challenge was that a considerable amount of time had passed since her husband's death. For many years, our client and her husband had lived in Germany and therefore had no registered place of residence in Ukraine.

The main legal issue was proving that our client had effectively accepted the inheritance following her husband's death. We also needed to establish that she was legally his wife because the document confirming their marriage had been lost.

We prepared an application for acceptance of the inheritance and a power of attorney for our client. She certified these documents in Germany, obtained an apostille, and sent them to us so that we could open the inheritance case in Ukraine.

After receiving the application, the notary refused to open the inheritance case because there was no documentary proof of the family relationship confirming that our client was the deceased's wife. The notary also concluded that there was insufficient evidence proving that our client had actually accepted the inheritance after her husband's death.

After receiving the notary's refusal, we prepared the necessary evidence for court proceedings:

1. Documents confirming our client's registered residence in Germany.
2. Documents confirming the deceased husband's registered residence in Germany.

Obtaining these documents involved a particular difficulty. German authorities do not issue a certificate confirming that spouses reside together at the same address. Instead, it was necessary to obtain separate registration documents for both spouses and compare them to demonstrate that they had lived together at the same address in social housing in Frankfurt am Main.

3. We also prepared a motion requesting the court to summon witnesses who could confirm that the couple had lived together in Germany for many years at the same address and that they were husband and wife.

During preparation of the lawsuit, we discovered an additional complication: our client's surname was spelled differently in various official documents. This discrepancy also had to be resolved and proven before the court.

We filed a lawsuit seeking:

1. Recognition of the family relationship by establishing that the deceased was our client's husband.
2. Recognition of the fact that our client and her husband had lived together at the same address in Frankfurt am Main.
3. Recognition of our client's ownership of a one-third share of the apartment that had belonged to her late husband under the privatization certificate.

The court ruled in our client's favor. It granted the claim, recognized her ownership of a one-third share of the apartment inherited after her husband's death, confirmed that the spouses had lived together at the time the inheritance was opened, established their marital relationship, and resolved all discrepancies relating to the spelling of our client's surname.

General Recommendations for Ukrainians Living Abroad

Today, a significant number of Ukrainian citizens permanently reside abroad. This often creates additional legal challenges when dealing with inheritance matters in Ukraine. Seeking legal assistance at an early stage helps ensure that inheritance rights are properly protected while minimizing both the duration and cost of the legal process.

The case was handled in court by attorney Roman Chumak.

This article is based on the court judgment in case No. 645/6821/19 and is provided for informational purposes only. Every inheritance case is unique, and its outcome depends on its specific facts and evidence. To assess the prospects of your particular case, we recommend consulting our inheritance lawyers.