In Ukraine, an heir has six months to accept an inheritance. For people living abroad this deadline is easy to miss: the news arrives late, documents are hard to collect and a trip to a Ukrainian notary is not always possible. The good news is that a missed deadline is not always the end. The law offers two ways to restore your rights, but courts have become stricter about the second one.

The six-month deadline

Under Article 1270 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, the period for accepting an inheritance is six months from the day the inheritance opens, which is usually the day of death. During this time the heir must submit an application for acceptance to the notary at the place where the inheritance opened.

There is one important exception. Under Article 1268 of the Civil Code, an heir who lived permanently with the deceased at the time of death is considered to have accepted the inheritance automatically, unless they refused it within the same six months. If this applies to you, you may not have missed anything.

Everyone else, including heirs living abroad, must actively accept the inheritance. If the deadline passes, the heir is considered to have refused it.

Option 1: the consent of the other heirs

Article 1272, part 2 of the Civil Code allows an heir who missed the deadline to accept the inheritance with the written consent of all other heirs who accepted it on time. The consent is given to the notary, and no court is involved.

This is the fastest and cheapest route. It works well in families where relationships are good and everyone understands that the deadline was missed for practical reasons. The consent of each heir must be certified by a notary. Heirs who live abroad can sign it at a Ukrainian consulate or before a local notary, with an apostille and a translation.

Option 2: an additional term set by the court

If the other heirs do not agree, or if there are no other heirs and the estate would otherwise go to the local community, the heir can go to court. Under Article 1272, part 3 of the Civil Code, the court can set an additional term, sufficient to submit the application, if the deadline was missed for valid reasons.

The key question is what counts as a valid reason. The Plenum of the Supreme Court of Ukraine has explained that valid reasons are circumstances connected with objective, insurmountable and significant difficulties that prevented the heir from acting in time. Courts assess them case by case.

Reasons courts have accepted

• The heir did not know about a will, if the will is the only basis for their inheritance.
• A serious illness that prevented the heir from visiting a notary for almost the entire six months.
• Military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
• Permanent residence far away from the place where the inheritance opened, including abroad, together with specific obstacles to travelling or sending documents.
• Demanding work with long business trips, including abroad, during the whole period.
• A short delay after the deadline caused by objective circumstances, for example the psychological trauma of a child who lost both parents.

Reasons courts usually reject

• Not knowing about the death because the heir had no contact with the deceased.
• Not knowing the law or the length of the deadline.
• Living abroad as such, without evidence that it actually prevented the heir from acting.

The last point is important for our clients. A Ukrainian living in Canada or Germany can send an application to a notary by post with a signature certified at a consulate or abroad. Courts therefore expect more than an address abroad. You need to show what exactly stopped you: illness, the impossibility of getting documents, restrictions on travel or communication, or other specific facts.

How to prepare a strong case

• Act quickly. The shorter the time between the missed deadline and the lawsuit, the more convincing your position.
• Collect evidence of the obstacles. Medical records, employment and travel documents, military documents, correspondence with notaries and consulates.
• Explain the timeline. Show when you learned about the death and what you did each month.
• Check the inheritance file. Find out which notary opened the estate and who has already accepted it.
• Try the consent route first. Even if relations are difficult, a negotiated consent is often cheaper than a court case for everyone.

What happens after the court decision

A court decision setting an additional term does not give you the property by itself. It only allows you to submit the application for acceptance. You must file it with the notary within the term set by the court, usually from one to three months. The notary then continues the inheritance case: checks the estate, calculates shares and issues the certificate of the right to inheritance. Only after that can the property be registered in your name and sold, rented or divided.

If other heirs have already received certificates, the notary or the court may need to recalculate the shares. In some cases this means changing certificates already issued, which other heirs may resist. Planning this stage in advance saves time and conflict.

Working from abroad

We help heirs in the US, Canada and the EU at each stage. We find the notary handling the estate, request information about the inheritance file, prepare consents for other heirs and, if needed, file a claim for an additional term and represent you in court. After the court decision, we complete the inheritance with the notary and register the property in your name.

The law allows a missed deadline to be restored, but only with real reasons and real evidence. The sooner you act, the stronger your case.