If a person dies without having time to pay off the borrowed loans, his debts go to the heirs. But in what case? What if the heir is a child? And can the bank demand a penalty from the heir on the loan taken by the deceased? The questions are complex, and each requires a detailed answer.
The heirs of the deceased are obliged to repay his loans if they inherit. By will or by law, this is done by them - it does not matter anymore. And the inherited person is considered not only the one who received the notarial certificate, but also the one who did not refuse the inheritance.
Those. this is a person who took possession of the property, took measures to preserve it, incurred the costs of its maintenance, protected the property from the claims of other people, paid the debts of the deceased, or received funds given to them in debt. In such a case, this person is considered to have actually accepted the inheritance, and hence the obligations to the testator's creditors.
Inheritance and debts
According to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the heir is obliged to answer for debts only within the limits of the property received. This means that if the price of such property is less than the loan amount, then the heir will also pay less. For example, a person inherited a car worth 300 thousand rubles and a loan in the amount of 500 thousand rubles. The amount that he must return to creditors, in this case, will be 300 thousand rubles, since it must be equivalent to the price of the inherited property, i.e. cars.
If several people have entered the inheritance, they will all be responsible for the debts of the testator. This means that depending on the value of the property received from the deceased, the creditor may demand a debt from one heir or from all at once. Of course, within the value of their inheritance. For example, in the case when the property is a share in the ownership of a house, then in the same shares the heirs are obliged to repay the loan taken by the testator for this house.
If the deceased's debt was secured by a pledge (car, housing, etc.), then the heir, in addition to the loan, receives the pledged item. This makes it easier to recover the debt, since the bank can allow the sale of the collateral and repay the loan. Moreover, in this case, the heir even has a priority right to pay off the debt through the sale of the pledge.
If minors enter the inheritance, the credits of the testator also pass to them along with his property. But since children cannot perform legal actions, their legal representatives enter the inheritance - these are parents, guardians, and trustees. It is on them in this situation that the debt and the obligation to return it fall.
But this is when the child is not older than 14 years old. And if his age is from 14 to 18 years old, then when applying for inheritance, he acts himself, however - with the consent of his parents, guardians or trustees. And legal representatives also repay the loan.
The situation is more complicated when a loan was issued against a surety. In this case, there are two possible scenarios for the development of events:
- If the testator paid the dues accurately, then the debt goes to those who inherit the property. And the probability that the bank will demand repayment of the loan from the guarantor is very small.
- If the deceased did not pay contributions, and by the time of death the creditor has a court decision to collect the debt, then the surety will be responsible. However, he can apply to the heirs with a regressive claim, but only after he pays the loan. In this case, the money will be returned to the guarantor through the court.
Interest and penalties
Even more difficult is the situation when the heirs do not immediately find out about the loan left by the deceased. In this case, can the bank charge interest and penalties for late contributions? The question is very controversial, since it is not directly regulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation, and there is no definite answer. And judicial practice in such cases varies. Some decisions confirm the legality of the demand for a penalty interest from the heirs, while others are allowed to demand only the amount of the loan, but not the accrued interest.
In the first case, when the legality of the penalty interest is confirmed, this is justified by the fact that the loan was issued on the basis of an agreement that has certain conditions. And if the debtor dies, his place is taken by the heir, i.e. only the party to the contract changes, but not the conditions. And since ignoring the term of loan payments implies a forfeit as a sanction, the bank has the right to demand payment of interest from the heir. However, there is also a difficulty here: the borrower's guilt is established only from the date of inheritance, i.e. registration of a notarial certificate.
In the second case, when the demand for a penalty interest is prohibited, the judge decides that the bank can demand from the heir only the final settlement of the principal amount of the debt using exclusively the estate. But at the same time, the bank is given the right to impose a foreclosure on the property left by the deceased.
It is impossible to predict what decision the court will make in each particular case. But litigation is also an extreme measure, since usually the parties independently agree among themselves.
