The death of a person does not always automatically extinguish their financial obligations. In certain cases provided by law, the testator's debt obligations pass to the heirs; however, they are liable for the deceased's debts exclusively within the value of the property they actually received through inheritance. This was explained in a comment to RBC-Ukraine by lawyer Evhen Bulymenko, who clarified the key rules that protect heirs from unlimited liability.

The Main Rule: Liability Is Limited to the Value of the Inheritance

Under the general rule established by Article 1282 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, heirs inherit the testator's debts within the value of the inherited property. This means that the extent of an heir's liability cannot exceed the market value of what they received. As a clear example, Bulymenko cited a situation in which a person inherited property worth 500,000 hryvnias: in that case, their liability for the deceased's debts cannot exceed this amount, even if the testator's total obligations were significantly larger.

Multiple Heirs: Each Is Liable Within the Scope of Their Share

When there are several heirs, the creditor's claims are satisfied by each of them personally, but in an amount corresponding to their share of the inheritance. Thus, no joint and several unlimited liability for another person's debts arises: each heir is liable in proportion to the volume of property that passed to them. This rule prevents a situation in which one heir would be forced to settle the deceased's obligations beyond what they received.

What Cannot Be Inherited: Personal Obligations and Alimony

At the same time, not all obligations pass to the heirs. In particular, personal obligations that are inextricably linked to the debtor's person are not inherited — this is stated in Article 608 of the Civil Code of Ukraine. A classic example is alimony: current and future obligations to pay it cease upon the payer's death. However, there is an important clarification here: if an unpaid alimony debt already existed at the time the inheritance was opened, then precisely that debt forms part of the inheritance and is inherited on general grounds, that is, within the value of the property received.

Notifying the Creditor and Deadlines for Filing Claims

Heirs are obliged to notify the deceased's creditor about the opening of the inheritance if they are aware of the testator's debts and/or if they are inheriting property encumbered by the rights of third parties. At the same time, the law sets a specific deadline for filing claims against an heir who has accepted the inheritance. According to Bulymenko, a creditor may bring claims no later than six months from the day the heir receives the certificate of the right to inheritance for all or part of the inherited property — and this is regardless of whether the due date for performing the corresponding obligation has arrived or not.

Contradictory Data

Upon reviewing the material, a discrepancy in the jurisdiction of the sources was found. The main text relies on Ukrainian legislation (Articles 1282 and 608 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, a lawyer's comment for RBC-Ukraine, amounts in hryvnias). At the same time, some of the additional sources found (publications by kp.ru and garant.ru) describe the rules for inheriting debts and the bankruptcy of a deceased individual in the context of Russian law, where article numbers, procedures, and certain deadlines may differ. Therefore, the specific figures and article references in the article are given strictly according to the Ukrainian source, while the Russian materials were used only as parallel context and do not replace the provisions of the Civil Code of Ukraine. Readers from another jurisdiction are advised to verify article numbers and deadlines against the applicable national legislation.

Context: Two Principles of Inheritance

For a complete picture, it is important to remember that the inheritance of property occurs under two principles — by will or by law. When drawing up a will, a person chooses the heirs themselves, whereas in its absence the law determines the order of inheritance according to the queues of kinship. It is within the framework of these two mechanisms that the property is distributed, within the value of which, as Bulymenko explained, the heirs bear liability for the deceased's debts.