Not all money and property are inherited: the Ministry of Justice explained which rights are lost after a person’s death

After the death of a person, heirs can receive not only his property, but also certain cash payments. However, the legislation of Ukraine provides for a number of rights and obligations that are not inherited. In particular, this concerns personal non-property rights, alimony, pensions and certain social payments.

What rights are not inherited

According to Article 1218 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, the inheritance includes all rights and obligations that belonged to the testator at the time of opening the inheritance and did not cease as a result of his death.

At the same time, Article 1219 of the Civil Code defines a list of rights that cannot be inherited due to their personal nature.

In particular, the inheritance does not include:

Personal non-property rights – the right to a name, honor, dignity, life and health.
The right to participate in societies and membership in public associations, unless otherwise established by law or constituent documents.
The right to compensation for damage caused by injury or other damage to health.
The right to alimony, pension and social assistance assigned personally to the deceased.
Rights and obligations inextricably linked to the person of the testator, which cannot be performed by other persons.

Thus, heirs cannot automatically receive all the rights that the deceased enjoyed during his lifetime.

Can relatives receive unpaid pensions and salaries

Despite restrictions on the inheritance of certain rights, the legislation allows family members to receive funds that were accrued to the deceased but remained unpaid.

According to Article 1227 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, this concerns:

salary;

pension;
stipend;
alimony;
assistance in connection with temporary disability;

other social payments that were due to the deceased.

Such amounts are transferred to the testator’s family members, and in their absence are included in the inheritance.

At the same time, the procedure for receiving individual payments may be additionally regulated by special legislation.

Important: relatives may claim funds that have already been accrued but not received. The right to further receive payments that were assigned to the deceased personally is, as a general rule, terminated.

What happens to debts and contractual obligations

The death of a person does not always mean the automatic termination of all his financial obligations.

According to Article 608 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, an obligation is terminated in connection with the death of the debtor if it is inextricably linked to his person and cannot be fulfilled by another person.

A similar rule applies in the event of the death of a creditor if the fulfillment of the obligation was directly related to him.

For example, the death of a principal or attorney is, as a general rule, grounds for terminating an agency agreement.

At the same time, property obligations, in particular debts on loans, may be transferred to heirs under certain conditions.

In this case, in accordance with Article 1282 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, heirs are obliged to satisfy the claims of creditors within the value of the property received as an inheritance.

What to consider when registering an inheritance

Lawyers recommend that before registering an inheritance, find out what rights, payments and financial obligations remain after the death of a person.

Particular attention should be paid to unpaid wages, pension accruals, social payments and the presence of credit obligations.

To receive funds, a death certificate, documents confirming family ties, and other documents may be required, depending on the type of payment.