AboutHenning Haarhaus Expertise I am a Certified German Lawyer and a Certfied Tax Expert. I practice in German business, tax & commercial law; e.g. business organisations, contracts; debt collections and international law. I also offer my legal services in the fields of German inheritance and inheritance tax law.
Experience I have been working as a German lawyer since 1999 in the forenamed fields.
Organizations Berlin Bar Association, German Association of Estate Succession and Inheritance Law, German-Korean Lawyers Association - Secretary General
Publications Please find a guide about the basics of German inheritance and real estate law in my online resource:
http://www.kanzlei-haarhaus.de
Education/Credentials - graduated as certified banker in 1989 - passed First State Exam (JD-equivalent) in 1994 - passed exam on expertise in the field of inheritance law in 2005 - Certified Tax Expert since 2007
Question A deceased grandmother who was a Russian national has left an estate. The heirs are U.S. and Israeli descendants. Can the matter be handled with a Letter Rogatory through the Israeli courts? Also, can the U.S. siblings disclaim their share through Israeli inheritance law (Art 6) or do Russian Federation Inheritance laws apply?
Answer I assume that the decedent had his last residence in Russia and maybe had some real estate there. In this case Russian inheritance law would apply and Israeli as well as U.S. probate courts would solve the case accordingly. However, trustees appointed by Israeli or American courts might have no power to administrate estate assets which are located in another jurisdiction (although Russian inheritance proceedings do not demand the compulsory appoitment of an executor). In this regard I would advise you to contact the public notary which is locally competent for the municipality where the decedent lived and ask him.
According to Art. 1152 of the Russian Civil Code the estate must be accepted within a deadline of six months by each inheritor. Such acceptance is subject to a notarial recording of either the forementioned Russia or the Russian general consulate. The recording by any other foreign notary should be sufficient, too - at least as far as the US is concerned. However, in that case the stamp of the notary must be legalized with an apostille.
