Establishing the fact of death in the occupied territories and obtaining a death certificate

Anna intended to register her grandmother's death and claim her inheritance in Ukraine, but faced obstacles due to the lack of original documents confirming her death in the occupied territories. For help in applying to a notary to accept the inheritance, as well as to register the fact of death and obtain a death certificate issued by the authorized bodies of Ukraine, the woman turned to a lawyer from the NGO STEP, a DRC partner.

The lawyer first of all provided Anna with information on the procedure in this case, told her about the procedure and terms of obtaining a death certificate. During the consultation, it turned out that there were no original documents on the basis of which the fact of death could be registered with the civil registry office.

The lawyer helped to prepare evidence and draft a statement to the court in a separate proceeding. The court opened the proceedings and granted the application to establish the fact of death in full. Based on the court's decision, the woman registered the fact of her grandmother's death with the registry office and received a death certificate. Now Anna can properly exercise her right to inherit from her deceased grandmother.

The free legal aid in Zaporizhzhia region was made possible thanks to the cooperation of the NGO “STEP” with the Danish Refugee Council and funding from the European Union's humanitarian aid.