With the death of a person (legator), his inheritance is opened. This, logically, raises the question of what his heirs should do. There are two possibilities:
– To give up the inheritance or
– To accept the inheritance.
The inheritance may be accepted either straight or with inventory.
Straight acceptance of the inheritance means that the heir acquires all assets (rights) and liabilities (obligations) of the legator. This means that the heir will be unlimitedly liable to the legator’s creditors for all obligations the legator had.
The Inheritance Act provides for another option for the heir, i.e. the latter to acquire the inheritance with inventory. In this way the heir limits his liability in terms of the legator’s obligations. Thus, the heir will be liable not for all obligations of the legator, but only for the amount of the inheritance he has received (accepted).
For example, a person (X) owned a car, worth 5,000 BGN, and had a bank deposit worth 3,000 BGN. These are all the assets he possessed. In the same time X had obligations to numerous creditors at the total amount of 50,000 BGN.
If the heir accepts the inheritance straight, he will acquire all assets and will be liable for all liabilities (obligations) of the legator.
However, the heir may accept the inheritance with inventory. Thus, he will acquire assets at the amount of 8,000 BGN and he will be liable for his legator’s obligations only up to this amount.
Important:
1) Acceptance of the inheritance with inventory has to be made within a 3-month period as of the moment of learning about the inheritance (i.e. the death of the legator). Тhis term can be extended once with up to 3 months by the district court.
2) For the heir to accept the inheritance with inventory, he must not have accepted it straight.
The hypotheses in which inheritance can be accepted straight are as follows.
– First option – with an explicit application filed in the district court.
– Second option – implicitly. This hypothesis is more common. Such implicit actions could be, for example, withdrawal of money from the legator’s bank accounts, sale, exchange, donation of the legator’s belongings, receiving money on behalf of the legator, concealment of part of the inheritance, payment of the legator’s debts, partition, etc. (This list is not exhaustive. Each particular case is subject to analysis and specific assessment, which is why we recommend that consultation with a specialist in the field be conducted.)
In the event that the heir has accepted the inheritance straight (even if implicitly), his liability to the legator’s creditors will be unlimited.
Who can accept the inheritance with inventory. Which persons have to accept the inheritance with inventory.
Any person called to inherit can accept the inheritance with inventory. This has to be done within the term specified above and the inheritance should not have been accepted (neither straight nor implicitly) by the heir.
The law, with a view to protecting the interests of a certain category of subjects, provides that the latter accept the inheritance always and only with inventory, namely:
The incapacitated (persons under 18 years of age, as well as those placed under judicial disability), the state and public organizations accept the inheritance only with inventory.
The 3-month period does not apply to those who must accept the inheritance with inventory. This concerns mostly incapacitated persons – the term for them does not run until the moment of acquiring full legal capacity (generally speaking – until reaching lawful age).
Legal proceedings
Proceedings begin with the submission of an application to the district court having jurisdiction over the last permanent address of the deceased. The application shall contain detailed information of all assets of the legator known to the heir. Proceedings are initiated as a result of filing this application.
The court can assign a bailiff or the municipality or the town council to carry out an inventory and assessment of the property specified in the application. The bailiff (respectively the authority of the municipality/town council) draws up an inventory protocol, and an expert assesses the value. The inventory and the assessment of the property are provided to the court.
The court, taking into consideration the assessment of the property, issues a Decision/Ruling by the virtue of which acceptance of the inheritance with inventory is permitted. In this court act it shall be noted the amount of the accepted inheritance, respectively up to what amount the heir will be liable.
The Decision/Ruling is registered in a designated book of the court.
After the court act has been registered in the book, a certificate, regarding the fact that the heir has accepted the inheritance with inventory, is issued.
Negative consequences resulting from acceptance of the inheritance with inventory:
– Prohibition for disposal of real property for a period of 5 years (of movable property – 3 years) as of the acceptance, except with the permission from the district court, which should be requested in separate court proceedings.
– Obligation to take the same care of the inherited property as the care an heir would take of his own property (for example, to keep the inherited real property and movable property in good condition).
– Obligation to give an account to the creditors of the amount and the condition of the accepted property.
This article is informative and cannot be directly applied as each case has its specifics.
Provided that you have particular questions and need legal assistance, do not hesitate to send your inquiry and request an appointment to the following email address: office@bozhilov.eu.