Peculiarities of Claims Filed by the Testator’s Creditor to the Debto’s Heirs: Analysis of the Practice of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court

The relevance of the article lies in the need for a comprehensive legal analysis of inheritance and contractual relationships in the context of an increase in the number of inheritances of property encumbered with obligations, which is caused by the realities of war. Based on an analysis of the case law of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, this article examines the features of the procedure for a creditor of the testator to assert claims against the heirs of the debtor in accordance with Article 1281 of the Civil Code of Ukraine. The purpose of the article is to reveal the specifics of the creditor of the testator’s claims against the debtor’s heirs, based on an analysis of the conclusions of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court. The research methods used are formal-legal, systematic analysis, and dialectical methods of scientific cognition. The analysis of the application of Article 1281 of the Civil Code of Ukraine was conducted in the context of the issues of the inheritance process related not only to the principal obligation but also to ensuring the performance of such obligation. The peculiarities of the creditor of the testator presenting claims to the heirs of the debtor are highlighted. The first peculiarity is that the creditor may present a claim to the heirs of the debtor who have accepted the inheritance, in accordance with the requirements of Article 1281 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, in one of the following ways: 1) directly to the heir; 2) indirectly – through a notary at the place of opening of the inheritance (outside Ukraine – through a consular office). The creditor loses the right to claim both from the debtor’s heir under the principal obligation and from the debtor under the accessory obligation if the deadline for filing this claim, specified in Article 1281 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, is missed. The second feature of the cases under consideration is the identity of the debtor. If the mortgagor is the debtor himself, then Article 23 of the Law “On Mortgage” applies in conjunction with Articles 1281 and 1282 of the Civil Code, respectively, the debtor’s heir, acquiring ownership of the inherited property, becomes the mortgagor, inheriting the rights and obligations of the mortgagor under the mortgage agreement. And if the mortgagor is a property guarantor who is not a debtor in the principal obligation, his heir, having accepted the subject of the mortgage into ownership by inheritance, becomes the mortgagor based on Article 23 of the Law “On Mortgage”. In this case, there are no grounds for applying Articles 1281 and 1282 of the Civil Code of Ukraine.