Heritage in Ukraine: What will change from January 30, 2024

On January 30, 2024, new inheritance rules are scheduled to be introduced in Ukraine, which provide for significant changes in two key aspects of inheritance.

Two laws - No. 3449-IX and No. 3450-IX, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on November 8, 2023, will come into force on January 30, 2024 and amend the procedure for obtaining an inheritance in Ukraine. These innovations relate to the Civil Code and the Law on Notaries, as well as to the regulation of legal relations during martial law.

One of the key changes is the definition of the place of inheritance opening, which is regulated by Article 221 of the Civil Code. Before the amendments were introduced, the place was defined as the testator's place of residence at the time of death or as the location of the main inheritance property. The new law defines the place of inheritance opening as the place of filing by the first heir.

Given the period of war, when millions of people moved to other regions, the Parliament will introduce a transitional option - any place where the first heir files an application is defined as the place of opening the inheritance. This simplifies the procedure, but causes inconvenience for the parties to the inheritance and notaries.

Mykola Maksymov, attorney at law and head of litigation at RIYAKO&PARTNERS, explains that the new changes restore the previous rules before the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine. Now the heir can file an application with a notary located in the region of the deceased's last place of residence or choose any notary in Ukraine if the death occurred in the occupied territory or in areas with hostilities.

Another important change concerns the timeframe for exercising the right of inheritance. Now this period is 6 months, with clarifications for cases where death occurred during martial law and the registration of death was delayed. The law is intended to help people who have difficulties in proving the fact of death and registering it with the state authorities, which may arise in times of war.