What is better: a will or a contract for a gift of an apartment to children?

Testament is a personal disposition of an individual in case of his death.

Donation contract is a deed by which one party (donor) transfers or undertakes to transfer property (gift) to another party (donee) free of charge in the future.

The differences between a will and a gift agreement are as follows:

1. The moment of transfer of the right to property. In the case of a gift, the donee becomes the owner and can dispose of the property at his own discretion immediately after concluding the donation contract and accepting the gift. Real estate objects are an exception, as the legislation provides for mandatory state registration of the ownership of real estate acquired under the contract in the State Register of Real Property Rights. The donor's risk lies in the fact that after concluding the donation contract, he will no longer live in his home. As for a will, it is a personal order of an individual in the event of his death, and therefore the transfer of ownership occurs only after the completion of the property inheritance procedure, the final stage of which is the issuance by a notary after 6 months of the death of the testator of the Certificate of the right to inheritance.

2. Mandatory share of property in inheritance. In the case of concluding a gift contract, other family members and relatives can no longer claim this property. At the same time, even in the presence of a will in which a specific person is specified, the law protects the rights of persons who have the right to a mandatory share of property in the inheritance. They include minors, minors, adult disabled children of the testator, disabled widow (widower) and disabled parents of the testator.

3. Cost. When notarizing both a gift contract and a will, it is necessary to pay the state duty and the consulting and technical services of a notary public. For the notarization of the gift contract, you will have to pay a state duty in the amount of 1% of the contract amount (ie, the cost of the apartment), but not less than one non-taxable minimum income of citizens (17 UAH). When drawing up a will, it is necessary to pay a state duty for the notarial certification of the will in the amount of 0.05 of the tax-free minimum income of citizens - 0.85 kopecks, and for issuing a certificate of the right to inheritance, the heir will have to pay 2 tax-free minimum incomes of citizens. In addition, it is necessary to pay notary services when certifying a donation contract and when certifying a will. The price for such services is set by each notary office independently, but cannot be lower than state prices. Also, the donor needs to carry out an assessment of the real estate object, which is transferred as a gift to the recipient. According to the norms of the Tax Code of Ukraine, taxation of income, in particular property received by a taxpayer as a gift, occurs in the same manner as property received as an inheritance. Thus, property received as an inheritance or gift must be taxed at different rates. Acceptance of immovable property as a gift from family members of the first degree of kinship (parents, spouses and children) is taxed at a zero rate. In the same way, the value of a gift is taxed for persons with disabilities of group I; persons who have the status of orphans or children deprived of parental care; as well as children with disabilities.

Therefore, it is up to everyone to decide which contract to conclude better. Weigh all the risks and nuances of these contracts, and decide which contract is more appropriate to conclude.

These are two different documents and it is impossible to say which is better.

Testament is a personal order of a person (testator) regarding the property he owns, property rights and obligations in the event of his death. The legal validity of the will begins from the moment of the testator's death or from the date of entry into legal force of the court's decision declaring him dead.

Real estate donation contract is a contract under which one party to the contract (donor) transfers ownership of real estate to another party (donee), while the recipient receives this real estate (gift) free of charge. (Chapter 55 of the Civil Code of Ukraine)