Registration of certificate of inheritance

1. To what extent could the Certificate be registered in your Land Registry? Is this Certificate enough for the registration of ownership (or other rights in rem) in the name of the heirs (or legatees)? Otherwise, which other additional documents or complementary requirements would be needed?

The registration of ownership is made after the registration application with the succession certificate (or certificate of legatee or certificate of recipient of compulsory portion in case there is one or an agreement of division of the estate) are submitted. In other words, it is enough. Registration application can be submitted by one of the successors, consent of the other successors is not needed.

Required documents are:

• registration application – by one of the successors. Registration application must be authenticated by the notary or digitally signed;
• succession certificate;
• certificate of legatee in case there is one;
• in cases of joint property certificate of ownership.

• Do you request official translations of European Certificates of Succession that are drawn up in a foreign language? Is the registration of a multilingual deed possible?

The land register is maintained in Estonian.
Documents in foreign languages shall be submitted together with the translation into Estonian certified by a sworn translator or notary or with the translation into Estonian on which the signature of the translator is certified by the notary.

2. In particular: for the purposes of registration, if the interested parties have complied with a Certificate of Inheritance adequately, will sharing out or distribution of estate deeds be also necessary?

Distribution of estate is not necessary. Heirs can be either co-owners or joint owners of the estate (can be seen from Certificate).

3. In the event that the Certificate cannot be used for purposes of registration at all in your LR system, please let’s know the legal reasons.

In Estonia the Certificate can be used for purpose of registration in LR.

4. May the Certificate be rejected by your registration authorities in the event of inadequate completion, mistakes or inaccuracies?

If there are omissions in a registration application or in the Certificate which prevent the entry from being made or if a required document is omitted, the person competent to make the entry will set a term for the elimination of omissions. After mistakes have been eliminated, registrar will make an entry. If mistakes are not eliminated, registrar will refuse of making an entry. Parties may apply to court.

• Do you control whether the authority, who issued the Certificate, is indeed competent to do so? Imagine you receive a request for the registration of a European Certificate of Succession that is drawn up by a foreigner claiming to be a notary in the Netherlands. Do you actively control whether this person is actually a notary in the Netherland and if so, how do you control this?

Any person (heirs) whose rights are affected by an entry or for whose benefit the entry is made has the right to submit a registration application. A registration application shall be notarially certified or digitally signed. A document certifying the transfer of the real right shall be added to the registration application- so the ECS shall be added to the registration application.

According to Code of Civil Procedure article 595 (2) an assistant judge shall refer the making of a ruling or entry to a judge:

1. 1. if the law of another state is to be applied;
   2. if a right in rem of a foreign country has to be adapted on the basis of Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Registrar sends the application and ECS to the judge.

Judge controls the authority and Certificate and gives it back to the Land  Registry for making an entry.

• A foreign ‘court’ has drawn up a European Certificate of Succession and submitted a request for registration to your organization. As the Certificate does not comply with your national registration requirements, you have to reject the application. In practical terms, how and in which language do you contact the ‘court’?

The official language in Court matters is Estonian. So the registrar submits the documents in Estonian.

• Does your answer to the preceding question change when it is not the issuing authority but the heir himself who submits the request for registration?
  No

5. For the certificate to be effective for the distribution of the estate and its registration, should this document be issued by national notaries or other practitioners or could it be issued by foreign notaries?

A succession certificate prepared in a foreign state is recognised in Estonia if the procedure for the preparation and the legal effect thereof are comparable to the provisions of Estonian law concerning succession certificates. The provisions of Code of Civil Procedure concerning the recognition of judgments of foreign courts apply to recognition. Recognition shall be adjudicated by Harju County Court.

Documents in foreign languages must be submitted together with the translation into Estonian notarised by a sworn translator or notary or with the translation into Estonian on which the signature of the translator is authenticated by the notary.