How to obtain additional time to accept an inheritance

When this guide is useful

This guide is for an heir who did not file an ap­pli­ca­tion with a notary within six months after the de­ceased’s death or another date on which the in­her­i­tance opened. A common sit­u­a­tion in Kyiv is that someone learned about the in­her­i­tance late, was abroad, un­der­go­ing treat­ment, serving in the mil­i­tary, evac­u­at­ed, or did not realize that the ap­pli­ca­tion had to be filed within this spe­cif­ic period.

Not every missed dead­line means you should im­me­di­ate­ly file a claim. First check whether the heir per­ma­nent­ly lived with the de­ceased when the in­her­i­tance opened, whether there are other heirs, whether an in­her­i­tance case has been opened, and whether those who already ac­cept­ed the in­her­i­tance can give written consent.

Which deadline or procedure applies

The general rule in the Civil Code is that an in­her­i­tance must be ac­cept­ed within six months from the date it opens. An heir who did not per­ma­nent­ly live with the de­ceased usually must per­son­al­ly file an ap­pli­ca­tion with a notary or, where the law allows, an au­tho­rized of­fi­cial at the place where the in­her­i­tance opened.

If the period was missed, there are two main routes. The first is no­tar­i­al: all heirs who ac­cept­ed the in­her­i­tance agree in writing, and the heir who missed the period files an ap­pli­ca­tion with the notary. The second is ju­di­cial: if there is no consent or there is a dispute, the heir files a claim, and the court may set ad­di­tion­al time suf­fi­cient to file the ap­pli­ca­tion.

Im­por­tant: the court does not au­to­mat­i­cal­ly reg­is­ter the in­her­i­tance. Even after a fa­vor­able de­ci­sion, you must file the ap­pli­ca­tion with a notary within the ad­di­tion­al period set by the court.

What to do step by step

First es­tab­lish the date the in­her­i­tance opened and the es­ti­mat­ed last day of the six-month period. For an initial check, you can use the in­her­i­tance ac­cep­tance dead­line cal­cu­la­tor, then compare the result with the doc­u­ments, date of death, place where the in­her­i­tance opened, and no­tar­i­al file.

Next, find out whether an in­her­i­tance case has been opened. In Kyiv, it may be handled by a state or private notary whom another heir has already con­tact­ed. If a case is open, obtain in­for­ma­tion about who filed ap­pli­ca­tions, whether cer­tifi­cates have been issued, and whether the heirs are willing to provide written consent.

If the heirs agree, the notary may accept the ap­pli­ca­tion without court if proper written state­ments are pro­vid­ed. If even one heir objects, not all heirs can be iden­ti­fied, or the notary sees no basis for this pro­ce­dure, prepare for the court route.

For a claim, prepare a time­line: when the in­her­i­tance opened, when you learned about it, what exactly pre­vent­ed you from ap­ply­ing on time, when that ob­sta­cle ended, and why ad­di­tion­al time will be suf­fi­cient. Attach doc­u­ments proving both your right to inherit and the reasons for missing the period.

What to check before filing

Before going to court, check whether the de­fen­dants and other par­tic­i­pants have been iden­ti­fied cor­rect­ly. The heirs who ac­cept­ed the in­her­i­tance usually matter, as may an au­thor­i­ty or person whose rights could be af­fect­ed. An error in iden­ti­fy­ing the par­tic­i­pants can delay the case or lead to dis­missal.

Also check whether your sit­u­a­tion amounts to ac­cep­tance of the in­her­i­tance in fact. If you per­ma­nent­ly lived with the de­ceased when the in­her­i­tance opened, you may need res­i­dence doc­u­ments rather than a claim for ad­di­tion­al time. Special rules also apply to young chil­dren, minors, and legally in­ca­pac­i­tat­ed heirs.

Another risk is weak ev­i­dence of a valid reason. The court as­sess­es spe­cif­ic doc­u­ments and the timing link between the ob­sta­cle and the missed dead­line, not general ex­pla­na­tions. If someone knew about the in­her­i­tance but took no action for a long time without a doc­u­ment­ed reason, their po­si­tion is much weaker.

When to consult a lawyer

A lawyer can help when the estate in­cludes an apart­ment, house, land, a busi­ness, several heirs, a will, a family dispute, or cer­tifi­cates already issued to other heirs. In these cases, it is im­por­tant not only to file a claim but also to iden­ti­fy the parties, ev­i­dence, court, and wording of the remedy cor­rect­ly.

For in­her­i­tance cases in Kyiv, a con­sul­ta­tion is useful before the first filing: you can quickly de­ter­mine whether the heirs’ consent allows a no­tar­i­al route, whether a claim is needed, which doc­u­ments will support the valid reason, and how to avoid missing the new period after the court de­ci­sion.