The inheritance can only be accepted within the time frame established by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The moment from which the general or special terms for accepting the inheritance begin to flow is also determined by law.
The general term for accepting an inheritance is six months from the date of death of a citizen. In the event that the date of death of the testator cannot be determined, but there is a court decision declaring him dead, the inheritance is opened from the moment the court decision enters into force.
The course of the six-month period begins on the day after the death of the testator, that is, the day after the day of opening the inheritance. If the acceptance of the inheritance depends on an event, then the period begins to flow on the next day after its occurrence.
When determining the term in each specific case, one should refer to the norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on the calculation of terms. For example, the testator died on September 05, 2013, the period for accepting the inheritance began on September 06, 2013, and expires at 00:00. 00 minutes March 06, 2013
If the term for accepting the inheritance ends in a month in which there is no such date, then the term expires on the last day of this month. For example, the death of the testator occurred on May 30, the term begins to run from May 31, and ends in November, in which there is no 31, therefore the last day of the deadline for accepting the inheritance is November 30. In the event that the last day falls on a non-working day, the end of the term is postponed to the next working day.
In this case, the inheritance is considered accepted if the application for acceptance is submitted on the last day of the term, but before the end of the notary's working day, or the application is submitted by mail before 00:00. 00 minutes this day.
Special terms for accepting an inheritance exist for situations where inheritance rights arise not from the moment of the death of the testator, but, for example, from the moment the notary receives an application for the rejection of the inheritance by the notary, from the moment the court decision on the removal of the heir from accepting the inheritance comes into force, or from the moment the birth of a child conceived during the life of the testator and born after his death, etc.
In cases where the right of inheritance arises only in connection with the rejection of the inheritance by another heir, the inheritance is accepted within three months from the date of the end of the total six-month period.
