Inheritance Contracts in Family Relations: Novelties of the Russian Legislation

Abstract

This article discusses the peculiarities of inheritance of property using the civil law novelty – a hereditary contract based on the provisions of the Federal Law N 217-FZ ‘On amending article 256 of Part I and Part III of the Russian Civil Code’ dated 19 July 2018. The authors carry out a comparative analysis with known mechanisms for disposing of hereditary property (wills), as well as a life-term maintenance contract with a dependent, investigating the effect of inheritance contracts on the stability of inheritance relations in a family. In the article, the authors consider the advantages of a new form of contractual relations, simultaneously serving as a new type of basis for inheritance, along with a will and inheritance under the law, as well as possible legal risks, primarily related to the testator’s refusal from such a contract. Also, the authors note that only the notarial form is possible and neither equated to notarial, nor closed or simple written forms as with an emergency testament are unacceptable. In addition, the duties of a notary include a video recording of the procedure for concluding a hereditary contract.