Procedure for Accepting Inheritance and Formalizing Inheritance Rights in Lithuania
Inheritance is the transfer of property rights, obligations, and certain personal non-property rights of a deceased individual to their heirs by law and/or will. This is a universal succession of rights.
To acquire inheritance in Lithuania, the heir must accept it. It is not permitted to accept inheritance partially, conditionally, or with reservations. Inheritance can be accepted by taking actual control of it or by applying to a Lithuanian notary to accept the inheritance or compile an inventory of the estate. The time limit for accepting inheritance is three months from the date of its opening. To register inherited property in Lithuania’s public register, heirs must prove ownership rights. This is done with a certificate of inheritance rights, an official document issued by a notary that confirms the heir’s entitlement.
Challenging the Legitimacy of Inheritance Acceptance in Lithuania
There are cases where inheritance was accepted by someone who was not entitled to it, or where some heirs were unaware of the inheritance and want to challenge the rights of others. A person claiming inheritance has the right to dispute the legality of the inheritance acceptance and the validity of the certificate held by others. The defendant in such a case is the person who accepted the inheritance. In Lithuania, the statute of limitations for such claims is one year, starting from the date of inheritance opening or from when the claimant knew or should have known that someone else accepted the inheritance.
After reviewing the case, the court may:
- Recognize a person as an heir. If the claim is filed by a person legally entitled to inherit, they are considered to have accepted the inheritance, as the act of filing the claim is also treated as an expression of will to accept it. The inheritance is deemed to have opened from the moment of its creation (according to Lithuania’s Civil Code, this is the moment of the decedent’s death, or in the case of a person declared deceased, the date the court’s ruling took legal effect, or the death date indicated in that ruling). The heir is entitled to all property existing at the time of inheritance and its increases (profits, income). It is also important that necessary expenses for maintaining the inheritance before it was accepted must be reimbursed from the estate.
It should be noted that filing a claim does not always count as accepting an inheritance – this is the case when the plaintiff acts on behalf of others and does not claim inheritance for themselves.
- Deny recognition as an heir. When a final court decision rules that a claimant has no right to inherit, it is considered that the person did not accept the inheritance. If the person had taken actual control, applied to a notary, or requested an estate inventory, such acceptance is void, and all inherited property must be returned to the rightful heirs. A presumed heir may act in good faith or bad faith.
A bad faith heir is someone who knew or should have known they were not entitled but accepted the inheritance anyway. They must return the property, all income, and pay interest for its use.
A good faith heir who did not know and could not have known they were not entitled must return the income and pay interest only from the moment they learned they were not a rightful heir. They may also claim compensation for necessary expenses related to preserving the inheritance.
Other heirs who have a right to inherit instead of the presumed one may accept the inheritance within three months of the court decision taking effect. For them, the inheritance is considered to have begun from the decedent’s death.