In Latvia it will not be possible to inherit only debts

The limited liability of the heir for the debts of the deceased is provided for by amendments to the civil law and the law on notaries, adopted in March this year by the Seimas, which will come into force next year.

The Ministry of Justice admits that until now, for various reasons, heirs often did not initiate an inheritance case, did not complete it, or could not be identified. According to the Ministry of Justice, the amendments will facilitate the announcement of heirs and timely paperwork in inheritance matters.

The head of the legal department of the Latvian Council of Sworn Notaries, Dita Reiliņa, explained that currently all claims of creditors must be stated in the inheritance case and that the notary introduces them to the heirs, thus, after the completion of the inheritance case and the issuance of the inheritance certificate, the heirs always learn about the debts deceased. However, it is possible that they may not know about the debts of the deceased at the time of expressing the will to accept the inheritance from the notary. “Until now, the acceptance of an inheritance imposed on the heir all the obligations of the deceased, which often prevented the acceptance of the inheritance,” continues Dita Reiliņa.

“If the inheritance left by the deceased was not enough to pay off these debts, then the heir was obliged to answer to creditors and his property. The exception is cases when the heirs accept the inheritance with the so-called inventory right. This means that the heirs are liable only for the inheritance left on the basis a prepared list of left inheritance (inventory). Inventory law currently needs to be used within a shortened period of time (within two months from the opening of the inheritance), so in most cases, when people turn to a sworn notary to start an inheritance case, this period has already expired. and they are no longer able to limit their liability.”

Latvian newspaper