Renouncing an inheritance in Georgia — how and when

Under Article 1434 of the Civil Code, you may renounce an inheritance within 3 months of the day you learned, or should have learned, that you were called to inherit. For a good reason a court can extend this by up to 2 months. The renunciation is made before a notary.

A renunciation is irrevocable (Article 1446). So before you sign, find out what the estate includes: property, money and debts.

What to know

• No partial renunciation — the whole estate or nothing; a renunciation with a condition or a time limit counts as a full renunciation
• Exception: if you don't farm, you may renounce only the agricultural land, equipment and livestock
• Once you have applied to a notary to accept the estate or for a certificate of inheritance, you can no longer renounce
• If you are already using the estate, you can still renounce within the acceptance period — by an application to a notary

Renouncing in favour of another heir

You can renounce in favour of a specific heir — by law or by will — or of several heirs, stating each one's share. In favour of a grandchild only if the grandchild's parent is no longer alive or the grandchild inherits under a will. Note: by law, giving up your share in favour of another heir counts as accepting the inheritance (Article 1421). If the estate has debts this matters — get advice first.

If you don't name anyone

Your share goes to the other heirs. If you are the only heir of your order, the estate passes to the next order of heirs (Articles 1440–1441).

Debts

Heirs are liable for the deceased's debts only up to the value of what they received, in proportion to their share (Article 1484). If the debts exceed the estate, the heir must prove it — unless the estate was inventoried by a notary. So before deciding, it's wise to ask for an inventory of the estate (Article 1432).

Renouncing from abroad

You can renounce through a representative, but the power of attorney must expressly include the power to renounce (Article 1449) — a general power of attorney isn't enough. A power of attorney issued abroad needs an apostille or legalisation and a Georgian translation.

Challenging it

Accepting or renouncing an inheritance can be challenged within 2 months of the day the interested person learned of the grounds (Article 1450).