Record number of deaths but fewer inheritances – application must be submitted within 3 months

Four weeks before the end of the year, there were already more deaths in Lithuania than last year.

In the week ending December 6, 1,179 deaths were recorded in Lithuania, a weekly number not seen in twenty years, according to preliminary data from the Department of Statistics. Even a week ago – 1162 deaths, even earlier – 1014 deaths a week ago. For comparison, in the same period last year, the number of deaths ranged from 681 to 774.

Statistics show that older people die more: 86 percent. the dead were 60 years or older.

Data from the Records Center at the time shows that 14 percent of the property was taken over by inheritance this year. less than at the same time last year. The reasons for this are unclear.

Marius Stračkaitis, Chairman of the Lithuanian Chamber of Notaries and Klaipėda Notary, says that notaries are currently coping with the scope of work, but the workload is very unstable. The main thing is to accept the inheritance within three months.

This year, 14 percent. less property, 6 percent. less legacies

According to data provided by the Registry Center, in January-November of this year the number of inheritance events was 5.6 percent less than a year ago, 33.2 thousand cases were registered in the registry of wills.

During the first wave of the pandemic, in March and April, between 30 and 50 percent of the legacies were accepted. less than a year ago: the graph below shows a well. In January-November, 7.3% fewer wills were registered.

Even fewer inherited properties are recorded. In January-November of this year 150 thousand people were registered based on inheritance. real estate property registration cases of units. This is 14 percent. less than in the same period last year.

Only in November, 14 thousand were inherited. Real estate: this is 8 percent less than in November of last year. It is not clear why there is less inherited real estate, although the death toll is increasing this year.

“The reasons can be several: from the fact that just fewer real estate objects are inherited, to the fact that, due to the quarantine, people are not in a rush to handle non-essential things like re-registering inherited property,” he says RC Mindaugas spokesperson Samkus.

3 month term

The law establishes that the heirs of a deceased person, whether inherited by will or by law, must accept the inheritance within a period of three months.

“The Civil Code stipulates that the heir must be proactive in accepting the inheritance. To initiate an inheritance case, the heir or a person authorized by him must submit a declaration to the notary on acceptance of the inheritance ”, explains M. Stračkaitis the procedure.

Under normal circumstances, the heirs visit the notary’s office a second time to collect the certificate of succession.

“Inheritance cases are the daily work of notaries, so if the heirs request the acceptance of the inheritance on time, everything goes smoothly. The most important thing to remember is that despite all the difficulties that have arisen after the death of a close person, it is necessary to be active and request a notary in time for an inheritance case ”, says M. Stračkaitis.

The heirs should also know that the most important thing is to accept the inheritance within 3 months, and the certificate of the right to inherit can be obtained at any later time, for which no time limit has been set.

Thus, if they do not plan to transfer the inherited property or carry out other transactions in relation to it, they can also postpone the visit to a notary for the issuance of a certificate of the right to inherit. If the pandemic continues, all temporary inconveniences will disappear when remote notarial services are legalized, ”says M. Stračkaitis.

It will not be possible to manage remotely: what you need to know

Due to the pandemic and quarantine, the organization of work in notaries has changed, but not the principles of work. You still have to come to the office.

People are not accepted without prior notice, there are pauses for ventilation and disinfection of the premises between customer visits, as provided for in the prevention measures approved by the Government and the Minister of Health Aurelijus Veryga.

“Notaries and their office staff also contract COVID-19 or need to be isolated. So far, the number of patients is not very large and, although it slows down the work of notaries, the performance of functions is assured,” he says M. Stračiakitis.

Remotely: by phone, e. By mail, primarily in preparation for notarial actions, clients communicate with the notary himself or his employees.

“A notarial act lasts only while the client visits the office, the notary needs it to explain the meaning and consequences (consequences) of the notarial act and to perform the notarial act. These changes in the organization of the work of notaries are useful to prepare for the legalization of notarial acts from a distance ”, says M. Stračkaitis.

Urges to communicate as much as possible with the notary and his staff by phone or email: “We all strive to protect ourselves against the spread of disease.”

What to do abroad, without being able to return

M. Stračkaitis warns that Lithuanians abroad have problems during quarantine.

“During the quarantine, we noticed that sometimes problems arose for people abroad who could not return to Lithuania immediately. We recommend that you confirm the power of attorney to a person in Lithuania at the consular office of the Republic of Lithuania. Also, if the consular office of the Republic of Lithuania is not available, the power of attorney approved by the notaries of another state with the Apostille mark will be adequate ”, says M. Stračkaitis.

He hopes that the Seimas will adopt amendments to the Notaries Law, which would legalize remote notarial acts, then such difficulties would not arise.

“As you know, the Government presented the amendments related to the Notaries Law to the Seimas in the spring, but the consideration and adoption of the amendments is not yet taking place, although the issue is very relevant,” says M. Stračkaitis.

The employment of notaries is uneven

The Lithuanian Chamber of Notaries does not have statistics for 2020, which would make it possible to compare the employment of notaries this year and last year. However, M. Stračkaitis notes that employment is not very high this year, but very uneven.

“There are 240 notaries working in Lithuania, their network in the municipalities is very wide, so we did not notice any tendency to increase the number of inheritance cases. During a pandemic, the employment and workload of notaries are uneven and cannot be defined by any systemic criteria. We note that regardless of whether notaries work in cities or districts, the number of notarial acts is increasing, it is decreasing for no clearer reasons ”, says M. Stračkaitis.

The first wave of COVID-19 in March and April saw a sharp drop in real estate transactions and other notarial acts.

“However, their activity stabilized quite quickly, apparently because people got used to living and planning for their needs in pandemic and quarantine conditions,” says M. Stračkaitis.

The price has not changed due to the pandemic.

Regardless of the circumstances, during or without a pandemic, the remuneration of notaries is calculated according to the notarial fees approved by the Ministries of Justice and Finance, explains the president of the Lithuanian Chamber of Notaries.

“A fee of 5 euros is charged for the announcement of a will, 3 to 17 euros for the confirmation of an application for acceptance of an inheritance and 17 to 338 euros for the issuance of a certificate of inheritance rights on real estate or money, “says M. Stračkaitis.

He points out that in October this year the fees of the Registry Center for the registration of low-value real estate have increased. However, the government has already adopted amendments on lower rates for inheritance cases, only they will take effect on March 1 of next year.

“Therefore, if a person wants to pay less for the registration of the property right of the inherited property in the Registry Center, he must accept the inheritance on time and request the issuance of a certificate of the inheritance right after 2021. 1 March ”, M. Stračkaitis mentions how to save.

How to write a will if there is no possibility of going to a notary?

The pandemic also poses challenges for those wishing to draw up a will: M. Stračkaitis explains what to do in exceptional cases when, due to quarantine restrictions, such as when entering a health or social care institution is prohibited, a notary cannot certify a person’s will.

“A will can be approved by the head of the hospital or the doctor on duty. A person can also write a personal will by hand. There are specific requirements for this document, so we recommend consulting a notary remotely. The personal will it is drawn up by the testator’s own hand. The document indicates the testator’s name, surname, date of the will (year, month, day), place, the testator also expresses his will in a personal will and signs said will “, explains M Stračkaitis.

A personal will can be drawn up in any language. However, it should be noted that a manifestly incomplete or unsigned personal will is not valid. And furthermore, even a full notarization will have to be approved in court if necessary.

“At the end of the quarantine, people who have drawn up a personal will will be able to transfer it to a notary for safekeeping. A personal will transferred for safekeeping is equivalent to an official will. If the personal will has not been transferred for safekeeping according to With the established procedure, it must be submitted to the court for approval no later than one year after the death of the testator, in which case only the will approved by the court is valid, ”says M. Stračkaitis.