Conditions for accepting inheritance abroad

If an heir is abroad and is unable to come to Ukraine to submit an application for acceptance of the inheritance within the period prescribed by law, but wishes to accept the inheritance, they need to take the following steps:

1. contact any notary in the country where they are located, or contact a consular institution of Ukraine to draw up an application for acceptance of the inheritance;
2. find a notary in Ukraine to whom to send a duly executed application for acceptance of the inheritance, on the basis of which an inheritance case will be opened.

These actions must be completed by the heir before the end of 6 months from the date of the person's death. In this case, the date of submission of such an application will be the date of dispatch of the postal letter, regardless of when it was delivered and handed over to the notary.

It is important to know that on applications for acceptance of the inheritance, where the authenticity of the heir's signature is certified by foreign notaries of certain countries, an apostille or a consular legalization procedure is required. It will also be necessary to certify the correctness of the translation from a foreign language into Ukrainian, made by a translator whose signature authenticity is certified by a notary, or made by a notary if they know the relevant languages.

The most optimal solution is to contact a consular institution of Ukraine to draw up the application for acceptance of the inheritance, as in this case the relevant application will be immediately drawn up in Ukrainian, and it will not need to be apostilled (legalized), translated, or have the translation's correctness certified.

Heirs who are abroad and are minors, underage, incapacitated persons, as well as persons with limited legal capacity, are not required to apply to a notary with an application for acceptance of the inheritance within the period prescribed by law.