The Supreme Court allowed claiming compensation if the inheritance can no longer be redistributed
If, after confirming a person’s right to inheritance, it is no longer possible to redistribute the inherited property in kind, the heir has the right to demand monetary compensation for the value of their share.
The Civil Cassation Court confirmed the legality of court decisions that recognized a man as having the right to inherit 1/3 of an apartment from the deceased and awarded him over UAH 801,000 in compensation, since it was no longer possible to redistribute the inheritance in kind.
In case No. 344/15407/22, the Supreme Court upheld the decisions of lower courts that recognized the plaintiff’s right to inherit a 1/3 share of the apartment and ordered the other heirs to pay compensation of UAH 400,765 each for the value of his inherited share.
Case circumstances
After the woman’s death, an inheritance was opened, which included an apartment in Ivano-Frankivsk. Her husband and two children filed applications to accept the inheritance.
However, the notary refused to issue the husband a certificate of inheritance rights because a long-standing court dispute was ongoing between him and the deceased’s children regarding the validity of their marriage.
The marriage case was repeatedly reviewed by courts. As a result of a new hearing, the courts established that although at the time of the marriage in 2001 there were circumstances preventing its recognition in Ukraine, after these were resolved, the marriage has been valid since January 26, 2005. These circumstances had preclusive significance in the inheritance case. Since the deceased died after this date, the husband is her lawful spouse and a first-order heir.
While this dispute was ongoing, based on a court decision that was legally effective at the time but later overturned, the children registered ownership rights to the apartment, each with a 1/2 share. Subsequently, one of the heirs sold their share of the apartment to a third party.
After the final court confirmation of the husband’s inheritance right, he filed a lawsuit demanding recognition of his right to 1/3 of the inheritance and compensation for the value of his share.
What the courts decided
The courts of first and appellate instances established that the husband is a first-order heir alongside the two children, so each heir is entitled to 1/3 of the inherited property.
At the same time, the courts denied the request to amend the certificates of inheritance rights. They noted that in this case, the defendants' ownership rights arose not based on inheritance certificates but on a court decision that was later overturned.
Since the inherited property was no longer held by the heirs in a form that would allow redistribution in kind, as one share of the apartment was alienated to a third party, the courts applied the mechanism of monetary compensation.
According to the court expert examination, the market value of the apartment was UAH 2,404,591. The value of the plaintiff’s 1/3 share was determined to be UAH 801,530, which the court ordered to be collected equally from the two defendants—UAH 400,765 from each.
Supreme Court’s position
The Civil Cassation Court agreed with these conclusions.
The Supreme Court noted that after the final confirmation of the plaintiff’s inheritance right, the inheritance must be redistributed among all heirs.
The panel of judges referred to Article 1280 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, according to which an heir whose right was confirmed after the inheritance distribution may demand the transfer of part of the property in kind, or if this is no longer possible, monetary compensation.
In this case, redistribution in kind was impossible because one of the heirs alienated their share of the apartment under a paid contract. Therefore, the plaintiff’s chosen method of protection by claiming monetary compensation is appropriate.
Regarding the statute of limitations
The Supreme Court also rejected the defendant’s arguments about the expiration of the statute of limitations.
The panel agreed with the conclusions of the lower courts that until the dispute over the validity of the marriage was resolved, the plaintiff did not have a court-confirmed inheritance right. The confirmation of his heir status depended on the outcome of that case.
Since the decision on the validity of the marriage became legally effective on September 22, 2022, and the plaintiff filed a new claim on December 12, 2022, there were no grounds for applying the statute of limitations.
Conclusion
The Supreme Court dismissed the cassation appeal and confirmed the legality of the lower courts' decisions.
Thus, the Civil Cassation Court of the Supreme Court confirmed that if a person’s inheritance right is finally established after the inheritance has been distributed, and redistribution in kind is no longer possible, particularly due to alienation of part of the inherited property, such an heir has the right to claim monetary compensation for the value of their inherited share.
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