PROBLEMS OF INHERITANCE OF REAL ESTATE: CIVIL-LAW ASPECTS IN TEMPORARILY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive study of civil law issues related to the inheritance of immovable property located in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. It is substantiated that the war, prolonged occupation of part of Ukraine’s territory and the introduction of special legal regimes have significantly transformed the mechanisms for exercising inheritance rights. The most substantial changes concern determining the place of opening the inheritance, initiating inheritance proceedings, acceptance of inheritance, notarial formalization of heirs’ rights, judicial protection, and state registration of property rights to immovable assets. The paper analyses the provisions of the Civil Code of Ukraine, special legislation governing the legal regime of temporarily occupied territories, as well as regulatory acts in the field of notariate and state registration of property rights. Modern scholarly approaches to solving relevant theoretical and practical problems are also examined. It is argued that the current legal framework establishes basic mechanisms for the protection of heirs’ rights; however, it does not fully eliminate difficulties caused by the inaccessibility of immovable property, loss or absence of title documents, limited access to archives and state registers, and complications in collecting proper and admissible evidence. Particular attention is paid to inheritance by persons who lived with the deceased as one family without formal marriage registration, as well as to the evidentiary value of documents issued in temporarily occupied territories. The article formulates proposals aimed at improving civil legislation and law-enforcement practice, simplifying the realization of inheritance rights, strengthening procedural guarantees for heirs, and increasing the effectiveness of property rights protection under wartime and occupation conditions. Special emphasis is placed on balancing notarial and judicial procedures in inheritance cases.