Recognition of ownership of property in the occupied territory

Kateryna’s* father passed away in a territory temporarily occupied due to the war, leaving her an inheritance. When she approached a notary to initiate the inheritance process, it turned out that Kateryna had missed the legal deadline for accepting the inheritance.

She sought assistance from a lawyer of the NGO “STEP.” The specialist provided comprehensive information on the necessary steps, explained the procedure, and listed the documents required to recognize Kateryna’s ownership rights and enter them into the State Register of Property Rights (SRPR). The lawyer established that the deceased had no other heirs, and although the registered addresses of Kateryna and her late father were different, she had been living with him at the same address at the time of his death and had been caring for him until his passing. Therefore, according to the law, she is considered to have accepted the inheritance in fact.

The lawyer supported her in collecting evidence and finding witnesses, and helped prepare a claim to the court to recognize her ownership of part of the house and the land plot through statutory succession. As a result of the case, the court granted her ownership rights to the inherited part of the house and land plot.

Now, the woman is able to enter her ownership rights into the SRPR and, in the future, fully exercise her legal entitlements — including applying for compensation for damage or destruction of the property.

Free legal assistance in Zaporizhzhia region was made possible through the cooperation between NGO “STEP” and the Danish Refugee Council, with funding from the European Union.

*The name has been changed to protect personal data.