The legislation of our country clearly defines the procedure and terms for obtaining inheritance, including funds held in deposit bank accounts. The order of inheritance of bank deposits is similar to other types of succession, but has some peculiarities associated with the observance of a number of formalities and the collection of certain documents.
Terms and procedure for inheritance of cash deposits
After the opening of the inheritance, that is, from the moment of the death of the testator, the law establishes a period of 6 calendar months during which relatives and heirs can declare their rights to inheritance. To open an inheritance, you need to contact a notary with a death certificate of the deceased, a certificate of registration, a will (if any), bank documents (if any) and with your identity documents.
To declare your right to inheritance, you must provide the same notary with identity documents, family ties with the deceased, or inheritance rights.
Bank deposits can be inherited by law or by will
By law, in order of priority, relatives up to the 6th degree of kinship, including dependents, can inherit. The legislation divides all such heirs into 8 stages, and the first includes the parents, spouses and children of the deceased.
Under a notarized will. In the presence of such a will, all heirs will receive contributions according to the last will of the testator, with the exception of one nuance. If the testator finds minor children, dependents or persons who cannot support themselves on their own, then the testamentary document will not be executed in full. These persons will receive half of the amount that they could have received if the inheritance was divided according to the law.
By bequest, drawn up in the bank and deposited there. This method of inheritance is typical only for bank deposits, is registered and drawn up free of charge, does not require confirmation from a notary and applies only to a specific bank account.
Nuances of inheritance of cash deposits
When preparing to receive an inheritance in the form of a bank deposit, you should pay attention to the following details:
- On the date of registration and signing of the testamentary disposition. If it is signed before March 1, 2002, the heir indicated in this order can withdraw money immediately after the end of the 6-month period without a notary certificate. If it is signed later, in order to receive a deposit to the bank, you must submit a death certificate and a notarial certificate of inheritance.
- If the legal heirs do not know anything about the deposits of the deceased, the bank is not obliged to search for them. Funds on the deposit of the deceased, not claimed by the heirs, after some time, become the property of the state. To prevent this from happening, the relatives of the deceased usually turn to specialized organizations that search for deposits.
- If the heirs do not have any documents confirming the presence of a deposit in any particular bank, you need to act through a notary. He can request this information from the bank and the bank is obliged to issue it.
- For the organization of the funeral of the deceased, legislation allows you to withdraw a certain amount (up to 200 minimum wages) without waiting for the mandatory 6-month period. The heirs or outsiders organizing the funeral turn to the notary for an order to withdraw money from the account.
- By order of a notary, money can be withdrawn from the deposit for the purposes of the costs of putting the will into effect, in order to ensure the safety of the inheritance and to cover the costs in connection with the death of the testator. The indicated funds can also be withdrawn before the expiration of the 6-month period.
In fact, the inheritance period for a bank deposit is equal to the mandatory 6-month period established for all heirs to declare their right to a share. Plus the time required to collect the required documents if they were not collected within this 6-month period.
In some cases, the terms for obtaining an inheritance can be seriously increased if:
- the heirs decided to arrange a legal dispute among themselves about the shares in the inheritance;
- new heirs appeared, who declared their rights in court;
- untimely (after 6 months from the date of death of the testator) submission to a notary of an application for opening an inheritance case;
- other legitimate reasons why the bank may refuse to issue a deposit.
In all these cases, to solve the problems that have arisen, they turn to the court and the timing of receiving the inheritance depends on how quickly the court will understand the situation and make the right decision.
Inheritance of foreign deposits
If the testator left an inheritance in the form of funds on the deposit of a foreign bank, it will be problematic to determine the timing of their inheritance. But they will definitely be higher than those if the deposit was in a Russian bank.
The time from the moment of death to the moment of receiving the inheritance depends not only on the legislation of the Russian Federation, but also on the laws of the country in which the contribution was made, on international legal norms and on the choice of applicable law.
If the bank in which the money is kept is not known in advance, the search for a deposit can take the lion's share of the time and require contacting organizations looking for dormant accounts.
