If a person lived permanently outside Russia but left assets in Russia after their death, such as an apartment, bank accounts, land, a vehicle, shares in a Russian company, securities or other property, the first question is whether those assets can be inherited through Russian proceedings and which authority should deal with them.
The fact that the deceased lived abroad does not necessarily mean that the entire estate must be administered only in the country of their residence. Different rules may apply to Russian real estate and movable assets. It may also be necessary to consider Russia's international treaties, the citizenship of the deceased and the heirs, whether inheritance proceedings have already been opened abroad, and whether the heirs can realistically access the competent authorities in the other country.
I assist with these inheritance matters in Russia. I identify the appropriate notarial or court procedure, communicate with Russian notaries, banks, Rosreestr and Russian companies, review foreign documents and wills and, where necessary, represent heirs before Russian courts.
The first question is what kind of property remains in Russia. If the estate includes an apartment, house, land or other Russian real estate, a specific rule applies: succession to immovable property is generally governed by the law of the country where the property is located. Real estate registered in the Russian state register is inherited under Russian law.
If the assets in Russia consist of bank accounts, a vehicle, shares in a company, securities or other movable property, the analysis is more complex. As a general rule, succession to such property is linked to the law of the country where the deceased had their last place of residence.
However, this does not mean that a Russian notary or court must automatically refuse to deal with Russian assets. The approach to such cases changed significantly following Resolution No. 12-P of the Russian Constitutional Court dated 26 March 2024.
As a general rule, the place where an inheritance is opened is the deceased's last place of residence. Article 1115 of the Russian Civil Code, however, contains a special rule for situations where the deceased's last place of residence was outside Russia but assets remain in Russia. In such cases, the place of opening the inheritance in Russia may be determined by the location of the Russian assets.
If the assets are located in different places in Russia, the location of the real estate, or the most valuable part of it, is considered first. If there is no real estate, the place of opening the inheritance may be determined by the location of the movable property or its most valuable part.
A good recent example is the Judgment of the Kuzminsky District Court of Moscow dated 18 March 2026, No. 02-2996/2026. The deceased had lived in Canada but left an apartment in Moscow. The Russian notary concluded that the available documents were insufficient to establish the place of opening the inheritance conclusively and advised the heir to apply to court. The court established the place of opening the inheritance by reference to the location of the Moscow apartment.
This illustrates an important practical distinction. Sometimes the place of opening the inheritance can be established within the notarial procedure itself. In other cases, a Russian court must establish it first.
For a long time, the most difficult cases involved movable assets located in Russia. In the Statsenko case, a Russian citizen had lived and died in Germany. He left bank funds, a car, a motorcycle and other assets in Russia. The heir was effectively directed to deal with the movable assets through the competent German authorities.
In Resolution No. 12-P dated 26 March 2024, the Russian Constitutional Court held that Article 1224 of the Civil Code could not be used as a basis for refusing a Russian citizen the possibility of having inheritance rights to movable property in Russia formalised in Russia where the deceased was also a Russian citizen who had lived abroad and where access to the competent foreign authorities was impossible or substantially difficult.
The Court stated that the same approach was relevant to Russian courts as well as notaries. At the same time, this ruling should not automatically be extended to every international inheritance matter. The Constitutional Court dealt with Russian citizens and specific circumstances in which the foreign procedure was unavailable or substantially difficult to use. Its application therefore needs to be assessed separately in each case.
Yes. Since 2024, Russian courts have begun relying on this position in specific inheritance cases. For example, in the Appellate Ruling of the Moscow City Court dated 29 May 2026, No. 33-22715/2026, the dispute concerned money held in an account with the Russian T-Bank. The defendants lived in Israel, and the Presnensky District Court had returned the claim on the basis that it should be filed at their place of residence.
The Moscow City Court disagreed. It analysed Articles 1115 and 1224 of the Russian Civil Code and expressly referred to Constitutional Court Resolution No. 12-P. The court noted that the dispute concerned funds held in a Russian bank account, that the deceased was a Russian citizen and that the bank was located within the territorial jurisdiction of the Presnensky District Court.
The court therefore held that the conclusion that the claim was outside the court's jurisdiction had been premature.
As a result, the order returning the claim was set aside and the case file was sent back to the Presnensky District Court for the issue of accepting the claim to be reconsidered.
The Moscow City Court did not determine the heir's entitlement to the money on the merits. What it did confirm was that Russian jurisdiction could not simply be excluded because the defendants lived in Israel.
Where Russian real estate remains in the estate, this is usually the most straightforward part of an international inheritance matter. Succession to Russian real estate is governed by Russian law. It is necessary to establish the heirs, the basis on which they inherit, acceptance of the inheritance, the deceased's title to the property and the place where the inheritance is opened.
Where the deceased's last place of residence was abroad, the Russian real estate may become the asset used to determine the place of opening the inheritance in Russia.
This is precisely the approach taken in the Judgment of the Kuzminsky District Court of Moscow dated 18 March 2026, No. 02-2996/2026, concerning a deceased person who had lived in Canada.
If Russian real estate is located in several regions, it may also be necessary to determine where the most valuable property, or the most valuable part of it, is located.
Money held in a bank account is movable property. For this reason, bank assets are one of the areas where it is particularly important to distinguish between the law governing the succession and the authority competent to deal with the inheritance.
An illustrative example is the Judgment of the Omsk District Court of the Omsk Region dated 2 December 2025, case No. 2-2688/2025. The deceased had lived in Germany for more than twenty years and died there. No inheritance proceedings had been opened in Germany and, according to the case materials, he had no property there. After his death, however, a deposit with the Russian Sberbank was discovered.
The court discussed Constitutional Court Resolution No. 12-P in detail and its approach to protecting inheritance rights in respect of movable property located in Russia. The principal issue in that case was a missed inheritance deadline. The court restored the deadline.
It is important not to overstate the effect of the decision: the court did not itself award the bank funds to the heir. It restored the deadline for accepting the inheritance. Nevertheless, the case is a useful example of a Russian court dealing with a Russian banking asset belonging to a deceased person who had lived in Germany for many years.
A similar issue had arisen earlier. In the Ruling of the Eighth Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction dated 12 April 2023, No. 88-6241/2023, the deceased had lived in Germany and left five plots of land and funds in Sberbank in Russia. The Russian notary dealt with the land but refused to issue an inheritance certificate for the bank funds. The appellate court found the refusal to be improper, and the cassation court upheld that conclusion.
What if the Deceased Owned a Share in a Russian Company?
A Russian asset does not have to be an apartment or a bank account. In the Judgment of the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow dated 21 July 2026, case No. 2-1458/2026, the deceased had died abroad and had neither a place of residence nor real estate in Russia. He did, however, own a 90% interest in a Russian limited liability company.
The court held that the place of opening the inheritance could be determined by reference to the location of that movable property. It also established that the spouse had actually accepted the inheritance and recognised her ownership, by inheritance, of the 90% interest in the Russian company.
This is an important practical example. The absence of an apartment or other Russian real estate does not necessarily mean that inheritance rights cannot be formalised in Russia.
Which Law Applies to the Inheritance?
In an international inheritance matter, two separate questions must be answered:
These are not the same question. As a general rule, Article 1224 of the Russian Civil Code links succession to the law of the country where the deceased had their last place of residence.
A special rule applies to real estate: succession is governed by the law of the country where the property is located. Russian registered real estate is therefore inherited under Russian law.
It is also necessary to check whether Russia has an international treaty with the relevant country. A treaty may establish different rules on applicable law, jurisdiction or the authority competent to handle particular parts of the estate. For this reason, it is not enough to say simply that "the deceased lived abroad." The particular country and the particular Russian asset matter.
What if Inheritance Proceedings Have Already Been Opened Abroad?
The existence of foreign inheritance proceedings does not automatically mean either that no Russian procedure is required or that steps already taken abroad are irrelevant in Russia.
International treaties are particularly important here. In the Appellate Ruling of the Smolensk Regional Court dated 10 July 2025, No. 33-1366/2025, the deceased had moved to Kazakhstan, where he owned a house and land, while real estate also remained in Russia. His daughter accepted the inheritance in Kazakhstan within the applicable time limit.
The court took into account the relevant international treaty and the principle of universal succession and upheld a decision recognising the daughter's ownership of the Russian house and land. The court rejected the argument that she had been required to accept the Russian real estate separately once again in Russia.
That conclusion, however, cannot automatically be applied to an estate connected with the United States, the United Kingdom or any other country. The treaty framework between the particular states must be checked first.
What if the Will Was Made Abroad?
A will does not become invalid merely because it was not made before a Russian notary. It is necessary to examine where the testator lived when the will was made, where it was executed, what formal requirements applied to it and whether an international treaty exists between Russia and the relevant country. For example, in the Ruling of the Second Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction dated 30 January 2025, No. 88-77/2025-(88-25470/2024), the court considered a will executed and signed by the deceased in Cyprus.
The court applied the relevant international treaty and accepted that a will complying with the applicable formal requirements could be recognised in Russia. This can be particularly important where Russian heirs have already begun intestate inheritance proceedings and a foreign will is discovered later.
What Foreign Documents May Be Required?
Where a person dies abroad, a Russian notary will normally need a foreign document confirming the death. The document must have been issued by a competent authority in the relevant country. It is then necessary to determine whether an apostille or consular legalisation is required, or whether a treaty between Russia and the relevant country removes those formalities.
Foreign documents used in Russia will also normally need to be properly translated into Russian.
Other documents may include evidence of the deceased's last place of residence, marriage and family relationship documents, change-of-name documents, a foreign will, documents relating to foreign inheritance proceedings and inheritance documents already issued abroad.
Foreign documents are best reviewed before they are translated, legalised and sent to Russia. Sometimes a document does not clearly establish the fact that a Russian notary needs to verify, and it is easier to identify any additional evidence in advance.
What if the Russian Notary Refuses to Proceed?
A refusal by a Russian notary does not always mean that the assets cannot be inherited in Russia. The first step is to understand why the notary refused. If the notary cannot conclusively establish the place of opening the inheritance, a Russian court may need to establish that legal fact. This was the situation in the case resulting in the Judgment of the Kuzminsky District Court of Moscow dated 18 March 2026, No. 02-2996/2026.
If the notary takes the position that movable property can only be dealt with by the authorities of the deceased's last country of residence, it is necessary to consider whether Constitutional Court Resolution No. 12-P dated 26 March 2024 and the subsequent case law apply.
A notarial refusal may also be challenged before a Russian court if it is inconsistent with the law.
When Is a Russian Court Needed?
Court proceedings may be necessary where the place of opening the inheritance cannot be proved by documents, a notary refuses to deal with Russian assets, actual acceptance of the inheritance needs to be established, an inheritance deadline has been missed, foreign proceedings conflict with rights asserted in Russia or there is a dispute between heirs.
Recent Russian cases involve very different types of assets: a Moscow apartment belonging to a deceased person who lived in Canada, a Russian bank account belonging to a deceased person who lived in Germany, money held with a Russian bank where the defendants lived in Israel, and a share in a Russian company belonging to a person who died abroad.
For this reason, the starting question should not simply be: "Where did the deceased live?" It should be: "Where did the deceased live, what assets remain in Russia, and what has already been done in the other country?"
What if More Than Six Months Have Passed?
Missing the six-month inheritance deadline does not always mean that the inheritance has been lost. The first step is to check whether the inheritance was actually accepted through the heir's conduct.
A second possible route may exist where other heirs accepted the inheritance in time and agree to the late heir being included under Article 1155(2) of the Russian Civil Code.
If neither option is available, the grounds for restoring the deadline through court proceedings should be assessed. In an international estate, it is also important to examine whether the heir took any steps abroad, whether inheritance proceedings were opened there and whether those steps can have legal significance for the Russian assets. For example, in the Judgment of the Omsk District Court of the Omsk Region dated 2 December 2025, case No. 2-2688/2025, the court restored the inheritance deadline where the deceased had lived in Germany and the heir learned of the Russian banking asset later.
Where to Start
I would not begin by simply approaching the first available Russian notary. The first step is to map the structure of the estate: the deceased's last place of residence and citizenship, the assets located in Russia, whether there is Russian real estate, bank accounts, vehicles, securities or interests in Russian companies, whether there is a will, who the heirs are and whether inheritance proceedings have already been opened abroad.
The next step is to check any relevant international treaty, determine the applicable law and assess the possible place of opening the inheritance in Russia. Only then can it be determined whether the matter can proceed directly before a Russian notary or whether a Russian court must be involved first.
This sequence helps avoid parallel steps in two countries that may later conflict with each other.
How I Assist with These Cases
I handle the Russian part of international inheritance matters. I analyse the structure of the estate, determine the available notarial or court route in Russia, communicate with Russian notaries, banks, Rosreestr, tax authorities and Russian companies.
I also review foreign civil status documents, wills and inheritance documents and determine how they can be used in Russia.
If the matter requires establishing the content of foreign law or obtaining documents abroad, I coordinate with foreign lawyers and notaries. The objective is not simply to obtain an isolated Russian document. It is to connect the Russian and foreign parts of the estate into one coherent strategy.
This material does not constitute legal advice and is published for informational purposes only.