The lawyer explained the procedure for notifying the heirs of the deceased's debts

Notaries are required to inform heirs of the presence of debts of the deceased after the opening of the inheritance case. Irina Gritsenko, a lawyer at the Legal Policy Bar Association, told Izvestia about this, commenting on the changes in the inheritance registration procedure effective in 2025-2026.

According to her, the basic rules of inheritance in Russia remain the same: the six-month period for accepting an inheritance, the legal order of heirs and the mandatory appeal to a notary are retained. However, legislation is gradually increasing the transparency of the procedure.

"The Federal Law of November 23, 2024 introduced a new article into the Fundamentals of Notary Legislation, according to which, after opening an inheritance case, a notary is required to send a request to the Central Catalog of Credit Histories," Hrytsenko explained.

After receiving the response, the notary determines which credit bureaus store information about the financial obligations of the deceased, requests a credit report and notifies the heirs of the presence or absence of debts.

"From a practical point of view, this is an important change. Previously, heirs often found out about debts after accepting the inheritance. Now, information about loan obligations should be communicated to them at an early stage, which allows them to make a more informed decision about inheritance," the lawyer noted.

She stressed that under Russian law, heirs are liable for the debts of the testator only within the limits of the value of the property received.

"If the heir understands that the debt obligations are significant, he can renounce the inheritance within a six-month period. At the same time, it is important to remember that the refusal is final and it cannot be changed later," Gritsenko added.

The expert also recalled that you can only give up the inheritance as a whole.

"The law does not allow for the renunciation of debts only while preserving property. The inheritance is either fully accepted or not accepted at all," she explained.

According to the lawyer, electronic verification of data through state registers has become another important tool for increasing the transparency of the procedure. Notaries can directly receive information about the fact of death and family ties through the Unified State Register of Civil Status Records.

"Previously, there were situations in practice when fake death certificates or kinship documents were submitted. Electronic data verification significantly complicates such schemes," concluded Hrytsenko.

Read more in the Izvestia article: Debt in a bag: what is important to know before inheriting in 2026

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