Application for Acceptance of Inheritance - Opening the Georgian Succession Before the Six-Month Deadline

Succession in Georgia: the notary opens it, and the heir must accept

Under the Civil Code of Georgia, succession opens at the moment of death at the deceased's last place of residence, and it is administered by a notary rather than a court: an heir applies to a notary to accept the inheritance, the notary opens the inheritance file, establishes the circle of heirs, the will if any, and the estate, and after the statutory period issues the certificate of inheritance that transfers title. Acceptance is a positive act - an heir who does nothing within the period is treated as not having accepted, and their share passes to the other heirs - and it is indivisible and unconditional: an heir accepts the whole of their share, assets and debts, or renounces it. Acceptance is made either by filing an application with the notary at the place where the succession opened, or by actually taking possession or management of the estate within the period (living in the apartment, paying its bills, running the business), which the notary later recognizes as acceptance on evidence; the application is the safe route, and the only practical one for an heir abroad.

The six-month period, and what happens when it is missed

The application must be filed within six months of the opening of the succession, that is, of the death; for heirs whose right arises only because an earlier heir renounced or was excluded, the period runs from the date their right arose. An heir who misses the period has not accepted, and can recover the position only with the written consent of all the heirs who did accept, given before the notary, or by a court decision extending the period for a valid reason - most often that the heir did not know and could not have known of the death, which heirs abroad can sometimes show. Both routes are slower and less certain than filing in time, and the court route requires a Georgian lawyer and evidence. We therefore treat every inheritance enquiry as urgent: we calculate the deadline from the death certificate, tell the heir what must be filed and by when, and file by power of attorney within days where the heir cannot come.

Who inherits: heirs by will and heirs by law

If the deceased left a will registered in Georgia or recognized here, the heirs named in it accept under the will, subject to the compulsory share of the descendants, parents and spouse who would have inherited by law. If there is no will, or for the part of the estate the will does not cover, the Civil Code's order of legal heirs applies: the first order comprises the children (including adopted children and children born after the death), the spouse and the parents, who inherit in equal shares; the second the siblings; the third the grandparents; the fourth the uncles and aunts; the fifth the cousins - each later order inheriting only if no one in an earlier order accepts, with the descendants of a predeceased heir stepping into their place in the first orders. The surviving spouse also owns their half of the property acquired during marriage outright, and inherits from the other half. The notary establishes the heirs from the civil status documents each applicant presents, which for foreign heirs must be apostilled or legalized and translated by a notarized translation.

Documents for the application

The applicant brings their identity document; the death certificate of the deceased (a Georgian certificate from the Public Service Development Agency, or a foreign one apostilled or legalized and translated); the documents proving the relationship on which the claim rests - the applicant's birth certificate for a child, the marriage certificate for a spouse, the chain of birth certificates for a grandchild or sibling, or the will for a testamentary heir - each apostilled and translated if foreign, with name changes linked by the relevant certificates; where known, information on the other heirs and on the estate (property extracts, bank and company details), although the estate is established later. The notary checks the register of wills, opens the file, and records the acceptance; the applicant receives confirmation that the succession is open and their acceptance filed, which is itself useful to banks and to other heirs. We prepare the application, translate and notarize the foreign documents, and, where the applicant is abroad, file it on their behalf.

Heirs abroad: acceptance by power of attorney

An heir living outside Georgia - a child of a Georgian emigrant, a foreign spouse, a relative in Russia, Israel, Germany or the United States - accepts the inheritance without travelling by granting a power of attorney to a person in Georgia (a relative, a lawyer, or us) to file the application, deal with the notary, obtain documents, and later receive the certificate of inheritance and register the assets. The power is made before a Georgian consulate abroad (no apostille needed) or before a local notary and apostilled, in wording that names the deceased, the estate and the acts authorized; we draft the text for the heir to take to the consulate or notary, review foreign drafts before signing so that they cover everything the Georgian notary will require, translate and notarize the power and the heir's civil status documents on arrival, and file within the period. Where several heirs abroad accept, one power per heir is needed, or a joint power where the foreign notary allows it.

After acceptance: the file, the estate and the certificate

With acceptance filed, the notary's file remains open for the rest of the six months for other heirs to accept or renounce, and for the estate to be established: the applicants or their representative obtain and present the Public Registry extracts for property, the banks' confirmations of accounts, the company extracts for shares, the Service Agency records for vehicles, and any valuation the notary requires for the fee. Where the estate needs managing meanwhile, the notary can appoint an administrator. When the period has run and the heirs are established, the notary issues the certificate of inheritance, and the heirs register the assets in their names. Fees follow the official tariff for the acceptance application and for the later certificate; the translation, notarization and apostille of foreign documents and the power of attorney are quoted separately. Send us the death certificate and your relationship documents as photos and we reply the same day with the deadline, the document list and the plan.

Frequently asked questions

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