Отказ от наследство

The death of a loved one is a difficult moment which, in addition to emotional pain, also raises a number of legal questions for the relatives. From a legal point of view, the main consequence is the opening of the deceased person’s estate.

What does the inheritance include?

The inheritance is the totality of all rights and obligations of the deceased person (referred to as the decedent), which, by operation of law, automatically pass to his or her heirs.

The inheritance includes two main components: компонента:

Assets (rights): Real estate, movable property (cars, furniture), money in bank accounts, receivables from third parties (if someone owed money to the deceased), copyrights and many others.

Liabilities (obligations): This includes all debts - bank loans, obligations to other individuals or companies, unpaid taxes and fees, and others.

Sometimes the obligations (liabilities) in an inheritance exceed the assets. In such cases, the heirs usually look for a way not to pay them, and the most commonly used legal mechanism for this is renunciation of inheritance.

What is renunciation of inheritance?

Renunciation of inheritance is an official, unilateral and final act by which an heir declares that he or she does not wish to receive the inheritance of a deceased relative. Once made, this renunciation cannot be withdrawn.

Why is renunciation of inheritance made?

The main reason is debt. In Bulgaria, heirs are liable for the obligations of the deceased with the property they receive as inheritance, and sometimes even with their personal property. If you accept an inheritance with debts, you become responsible for the obligations included in it - loans, taxes and mortgages, even with your personal property (unless you accept the inheritance under inventory).

How is renunciation of inheritance made?

ApplicationThe heir must submit a written application to the District Court at the last permanent address of the deceased.
Entry in the register: The renunciation is entered in a special register kept by the court, after which a certificate of the renunciation is issued.

What is the form of the application?

The Inheritance Act requires the application to be in writing, but it does not require the signature to be notarised. Since renunciation of inheritance is an irreversible act, for a long time court practice required notarial certification in order to ensure that the renunciation had indeed been made by the relevant heir.

However, Interpretative Decision No. 4 of 2024 of the Supreme Court of Cassation clarified that the court has no legal basis to require notarisation of the signature. Nevertheless, the court has the right to summon the heir to appear in person at an open hearing if there are doubts that the application was actually submitted by him or her.

In summary, notarisation of the signature is not mandatory, but it may save a potential court appearance, as well as the related time, costs and stress.

Are there deadlines and special conditions?

Unlike acceptance, there is no specific statutory deadline for renunciation of inheritance, unless the court sets one at the request of an interested person (for example, one of the creditors). It is important to know the following:

Tacit acceptance: If you have already performed actions showing that you accept the inheritance (for example, you have withdrawn money from an account of the deceased, paid a debt of the deceased or sold an item belonging to the deceased), you can no longer renounce it.
Indivisibility: You cannot renounce only the debts and accept the assets. The renunciation applies to the entire inheritance - both the rights and the obligations.

What are the consequences of renunciation?

When an heir renounces the inheritance, his or her share increases the shares of the remaining heirs of the same order.

Example: If a father dies and has two children, but one of them renounces the inheritance, the entire share of the renouncing heir passes to the other child.

If there are no other heirs of the same order, the right to inherit passes to the next order of heirs (for example, the parents of the deceased, his or her brothers and sisters, and so on). The inheritance does not “disappear” - it simply passes to the next heirs in line.

Summary

Before making a renunciation of inheritance, it is strongly recommended that you examine in detail exactly what it includes - what properties, accounts and, above all, what obligations the deceased has left behind.

Renunciation of inheritance is an irreversible step. Keep in mind that by “saving” yourself from debts, you may “transfer” them to another relative. Therefore, before making a final decision, it is advisable to consult a professional who can explain all the consequences in the specific case, so that you can make an informed decision on how to proceed.

If you have any questions or need advice on the topic, the KGK team remains at your disposal.