Sister lived as "one family" with deceased military brother – why the court denied the sister of inheritance payments
The Khmelnytskyi Court of Appeal overturned the local court's decision to establish the fact that the sister and her brother who was on military service and died while performing a combat mission, lived as one family at the time of opening the inheritance.
Circumstances of the case
When applying to the court with a statement to establish a legal fact, the woman explained that her brother died in 2022 in the Donetsk region. Before his death, they lived as one family, managed a joint household, and were connected by common everyday life. She is the sole heir after his death.
According to the applicant, establishing the fact of living as one family with her brother has legal significance for her, in particular for receiving payments provided for family members of servicemen who died as a result of participation in hostilities.
The Novoushytskyi District Court of Khmelnytskyi region satisfied the application.
Disagreeing with this decision, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine filed an appeal. According to the appellant, the court of first instance did not take into account that establishing the fact of living as one family with her military brother would not give her the right to a one-time financial assistance related to his death.
Position of the Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal agreed with the arguments of the Ministry of Defense. The panel of judges noted that since the applicant's brother died in November 2022, at the time of his death the text of Article 16-1 of the Law of Ukraine "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Members of Their Families" was amended according to Law No. 2489-IX dated 29.07.2022:
"In the cases specified in subparagraphs 1-3 of paragraph 2 of Article 16 of this Law, the right to appointment and receipt of one-time financial assistance belongs to parents, one of the spouses who has not remarried, children under the age of majority, and dependents of the deceased (dead) person."
The Court of Appeal in case No. 680/25/26 stated that establishing the fact of living as one family with her brother has no legal significance for deciding on the appointment of one-time financial assistance. The panel of judges indicated that the applicant does not belong to the circle of persons entitled to this payment.
To acquire such a right, it is necessary to establish the fact of her incapacity within the meaning of part 4 of Article 30 of the Law of Ukraine "On Pension Provision for Persons Released from Military Service and Some Other Persons" and the fact of being dependent on her brother.
Under these circumstances, the Court of Appeal satisfied the appeal of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine – it canceled the decision of the court of first instance and left the application unsatisfied.
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