What are the ways to receive inheritance?

Estate (inheritance property) is a combination of both property rights (inheritance assets) and obligations (inheritance liabilities) of the heir that he had at the time of death.

There are two alternative ways of receiving inheritance:

Submitting an application to the notary authority - during which, along with the death certificate, an application for inheritance is submitted to the notary;

Actual possession and/or management of the estate – during which the testator must prove that he owned and/or managed the estate. The heir can prove this with utility bills, actual possession of documents belonging to the heir, or other such evidence that proves his ownership of the estate.

Despite the fact that during the inheritance by law or will, the list of rights of the heir is provided by the Civil Code of Georgia, we should not consider that we will be able to receive the inherited property at any time. The heir must receive the estate property within 6 months from the date of opening of the estate. The estate is opened when the heir dies or when the court declares him dead. 

It should be noted that this term can be extended by the court, if the court considers the reason for exceeding the term to be honorable. In order to determine this circumstance, it is necessary to assess not only the fact of the impossibility of applying to the notary authority or taking possession of the inherited property within the time set for receiving the inheritance, but also the validity of the period by which the heir exceeded the deadline for performing these actions.

It is also important that the heir can receive the inheritance personally or through a representative. An incapacitated, disabled person and a person receiving support receive the inheritance through a legal representative.

Author: Beka Lobzhanidze

See also: Will and Mandatory Share of Estate

Who gets the property, the man or the woman? - Legal regulation of inheritance