Accepting an inheritance after a death: who the heirs are, what to take to the notary and why six months are decisive

Not necessarily, but the path becomes harder. The law recognises two ways of accepting an inheritance: an application to a notary within six months, and actual possession, when within the same period the heir actually holds and manages the property, for example lives in the flat, pays the utility bills and looks after the property. If that was the case, the lawyer proves actual possession with documents (receipts, registration at the address, witnesses), and the notary or the court treats the inheritance as accepted. If there was neither an application nor actual possession, the deadline is restored through the court for a good reason, such as illness, being abroad or not knowing about the death, or with the written consent of the other heirs, which is the faster route. The more time passes, the harder it is to prove, so a missed deadline is a reason to call a lawyer today, not to give up.

Without a will, the estate passes to the heirs by law in order of priority, and each subsequent class inherits only when there is no one in the previous class or everyone in it has renounced. The first class consists of the deceased's children (including adopted children and a child born after the death), spouse and parents, and they divide the estate in equal shares; the share of a child who has died goes to that child's children, that is, the grandchildren. The following classes include sisters and brothers, grandparents, uncles and aunts and so on. The spouse's share is a separate matter: half of the property acquired during the marriage belongs to the spouse from the outset and is not part of the estate, and only the other half is divided as the estate, with the spouse included. At the first conversation the lawyer draws up a chart of the heirs, and it often turns out that there are more heirs than the family thought, for example a child from a first marriage or the children of a deceased brother.

Yes. A representative files the application with the notary on their behalf under a notarised power of attorney, which can be made abroad in three ways: at a Georgian consulate, with a local notary plus an apostille and translation, or, where this is permitted, remotely with a Georgian notary. The power of attorney must state precisely that the representative has the right to accept the inheritance, renounce it, collect the certificate and register title, otherwise the notary will not accept it. The deadline is the same six months, so since a power of attorney from abroad takes several weeks in transit, we start on it as soon as the death occurs. If the heir no longer has a Georgian personal number or ID document, the lawyer sorts this out first. The certificate of inheritance and the registry extract are then sent to them abroad with an apostille and translation, if needed there.

The Tax Code exempts an inheritance received from close relatives, by heirs of the first and second class, from income tax; an inheritance received by a distant relative or an unrelated person may be taxed above a certain threshold. The lawyer gives the exact answer for a specific relationship and property together with an accountant, because the rules and thresholds change. The cost of registration has three parts: the notary's service at the tariff set by law, which depends on the value of the property and is paid to the notary; the Public Registry fee for registering real estate, at an expedited or standard timescale; and the lawyer's fee, which is fixed for a standard case and agreed in stages where a deadline has to be restored or the heirs are in dispute. You receive the total of all three in writing after the first conversation. On disputes: if the heirs cannot agree on their shares, the certificate of inheritance is put on hold and the case goes to court, which costs far more than mediation with a lawyer before going to the notary.