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MOSCOW, May 14.Receiving by inheritance not only property, but also outstanding loans or loans of the deceased, you cannot refuse debts and take away property — you can only accept the inheritance in full, said Andrey Petkov, general director of the IFC «Honest Word».
“The lender has the right to demand a debt only from those relatives of the borrower who have inherited. It is allowed to accept the inheritance only in its entirety: you cannot agree to inherit the property, but refuse the debts of the deceased. They will have to be repaid,” Petkov said.
The expert explained that by agreeing to such an inheritance, a person «becomes a solidary debtor». Then the creditor can demand from him the fulfillment of obligations under the loan, but not «more than the value of the property received by him.» It is important that the property of the heir is never taken to pay off the debt. «The lender has the right only to what was inherited. If this is not enough, the loan is written off as a loss,» Petkov said.
According to the expert, if the heir has entered into the inheritance, he has several options: he can repay the debt with the property of the deceased in whole or in part, depending on how long the inheritance lasts, or continue to make payments and keep the property for himself. In this case, the heir can apply to the creditor, make a replacement of the parties in the loan agreement and pay the debt in cash according to the payment schedule. And for those who do not inherit, the obligation to extinguish other people's debts is not assigned, the expert added.
However, if the deceased has no heirs or they do not want or do not have the right to inherit, the property of the deceased is considered escheated and becomes the property of the state. And already from him the creditor can demand compensation for losses. Also, the debts of the deceased can be repaid at the expense of insurance, if a life insurance contract was concluded when applying for a loan.
In the event of the death of a relative who had loans, Petkov recommends contacting the notary who dealt with the inheritance of the deceased and clarifying the existence and amount of debts. The notary will send a request to the management company, credit bureau, the Federal Bailiff Service or the tax office. «Next, you need to decide whether to inherit. To do this, compare the amount of debt and inheritance property,» he concluded.