Court sided with the daughter – the father's will in favor of a third party was declared invalid due to his mental health condition

The Kyiv Court of Appeal declared invalid the lifetime maintenance agreement, the agreement on the change of the acquirer, and the will due to the testator's mental condition.

Case circumstances

In April 2021, the daughter filed a lawsuit with the Sviatoshynskyi District Court of Kyiv seeking to invalidate the lifetime maintenance agreement concluded on July 2, 2020, between her father and another person, certified by a private notary and registered under No. 483; to invalidate the agreement dated August 25, 2020, on the change of the acquirer under this agreement, certified by the same notary under No. 653, under which the right to a share of the apartment was transferred to another person; to cancel the entry of state registration of ownership rights to this apartment share under the new acquirer; and also to invalidate the will dated June 26, 2020, certified by the same notary under No. 444, under which all property was bequeathed to a third party.

The plaintiff noted that her father died in 2020 at the age of 78. The first-line heirs by law are she and her sister, who is a person with a Group II disability. The father suffered from mental disorders, was registered with a psychiatrist, underwent inpatient treatment in 2013, and after his wife's death in 2017, his condition worsened, with episodes of aggression, memory lapses, drowsiness, and a need for external care. The plaintiff claimed that at the time of concluding the disputed transactions, her father could not understand the significance of his actions or control them. Furthermore, he did not require additional maintenance as he had significant funds in his account, and care was provided by the daughter and stepdaughter.

The Sviatoshynskyi District Court of Kyiv on March 5, 2025, denied the claim.

Disagreeing with the decision, the plaintiff filed an appeal requesting to overturn the first-instance court's decision and issue a new ruling to satisfy the claim. Among the key arguments was the conclusion of a repeated post-mortem forensic psychiatric examination No. 186-c dated October 4, 2024, which stated that the father suffered from a chronic persistent mental disorder in the form of paranoid schizophrenia against the background of organic brain damage and at the time of concluding the disputed transactions could not understand the significance of his actions or control them.

Court decision

The Kyiv Court of Appeal by ruling dated July 9, 2025, partially satisfied the appeal, overturned the first-instance court's decision, and issued a new ruling partially satisfying the claim.

The court declared invalid the lifetime maintenance agreement dated July 2, 2020, the agreement dated August 25, 2020, on the change of the acquirer under this agreement, and the will dated June 26, 2020. It canceled the private notary's decision on state registration of ownership rights to the apartment share under the new acquirer.

The appellate court concluded that the conclusion of the repeated post-mortem forensic psychiatric examination No. 186-c dated October 4, 2024, is proper, admissible, and reliable evidence. The court established that the examination was conducted by a state specialized institution subordinated to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, and the validity period of the forensic experts' certificates was extended for the duration of martial law according to regulatory acts. The examination conclusion is consistent with medical documentation, witness testimonies about the father's strange, aggressive, inadequate behavior over a long period, and other evidence.

The court was guided by Article 225 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, legal conclusions of the Supreme Court (in particular, rulings of the United Chamber dated November 11, 2019, in case No. 496/4851/14-c, dated December 20, 2021, in case No. 635/3664/16, and others), according to which to declare a transaction invalid, absolute incapacity of the person at the time of its conclusion to understand the significance of their actions and/or control them is required. Such a conclusion must be based on the forensic psychiatric examination conclusion together with other evidence.

The appellate court's decision took legal effect from the date of its adoption and may be appealed to the Supreme Court within thirty days.

Subscribe to our Telegram channel t.me/sudua and to Google News SUD.UA, as well as to our VIBER and WhatsApp pages on Facebook and Instagram to stay informed about the most important events.