Expert: Henning Haarhaus - 6/19/2009

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.