Heir living abroad: accepting a Georgian inheritance remotely: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. ⏰ Deadline: the inheritance must be accepted within 6 months from the day of opening, and the application must reach the notary within this period (Civil Code Art. 1424). Documents from abroad take weeks to arrive, so start immediately.
2. Methods: the inheritance may be accepted in person or through a representative (Civil Code Art. 1423); the application for acceptance is submitted to any notary in Georgia; a death certificate is required, unless the case has already been opened by another notary (Instruction on the Procedure for Notarial Acts, Art. 78); the application may be a notarial deed or a private document with a notarised signature (Instruction on the Procedure for Notarial Acts, Art. 78). Option A: a power of attorney to a relative or lawyer in Georgia. Option B: an application with a notarised signature, handed to a notary in Georgia.
3. Where to certify: abroad, notarial acts are performed by Georgian embassies and consulates (Law on Notaries, Art. 42), or by a foreign notary. A document issued in another state is accepted by a notary if it is legalised or apostilled (Law on Notaries, Art. 55). For Russia and other CIS countries that are parties to the Minsk Convention, documents bearing an official seal are accepted without a special certificate (apostille) (Minsk Convention on Legal Assistance, Art. 13). Notarial acts in Georgia are performed in the state language, so a certified translation is required (Law on Notaries, Art. 6). A Georgian apartment is handled in Georgia: under the Minsk Convention, inheritance cases concerning immovable property are handled by the authority of the country where the property is located (Minsk Convention on Legal Assistance, Art. 48).
4. Powers in the power of attorney: accept the inheritance, obtain a certificate, register the property in the registry and, if necessary, sell it. A representative may renounce the inheritance only if the power of attorney expressly grants that authority (Civil Code Art. 1449).
5. Co-heirs in Georgia: co-heirs must notify an absent heir of the division. If he or she does not respond within 3 months, the co-heirs divide the estate themselves, setting aside his or her share (Civil Code Art. 1479). Sale: inherited property may be sold only after 6 months or after a certificate of inheritance is issued (Civil Code Art. 1427).
6. Where to apply: Georgian consulate; notary in Georgia; Public Registry.
7. Evidence: passport, death certificate, documents on kinship (foreign ones with apostille or under the Minsk Convention, with translation), power of attorney.
8. Traps: sending the application in the last days of the deadline, when the date of receipt by the notary is what matters; apostilling Russian documents, which is not required under the Minsk Convention; a power of attorney to “accept the inheritance” that lacks the right to renounce, sell or receive money.

Be sure to check

• 6 months: the application must reach a notary in Georgia within the deadline
• acceptance through a representative or by application to any notary in Georgia
• Georgian consulate or foreign notary with apostille; no apostille is needed for Minsk Convention countries; translation into Georgian
• co-heirs' right to divide the property if the absent heir does not respond