A gift agreement is a document confirming the transfer of property from the donor to the donee. Such transactions are bilateral, that is, for the deed of gift to come into force, the consent of both the owner of the object and its recipient is required. After the donation agreement is executed, the property immediately passes to the new owner. However, there are certain nuances here. Therefore, below we will talk about the validity period of the deed of gift, because this issue causes great controversy among the citizens of our country.
Features of the donation agreement
A deed of gift is a transaction that is concluded between two parties: the donor and the donee. The first of them transfers his property to the second free of charge. All legal aspects of registering a deed of gift are specified in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. There is also information regarding the validity of this agreement.
A deed of gift is often confused with a will. However, these are completely different documents. If the will is concluded unilaterally, then the deed of gift requires the presence of both the donor and the donee. The moment of transfer of property rights also differs. In the case of a will, the alienation of the object occurs after the death of the testator. The deed of gift comes into force immediately after conclusion.
The key feature of a gift agreement is that the property is transferred to the recipient free of charge. Thus, the donor has no right to demand payment from the donee or to transfer the object in exchange for some other benefits. Otherwise, the contract is considered invalid.
According to the law, a gift agreement must be drawn up for an amount exceeding 3 thousand rubles. However, apartments, houses, cars, shares, etc. most often become objects of deed of gift.
The contract specifies the personal information of the parties and the notary who certifies the document. Then it is signed and registered (based on the results of this procedure, the deed of gift is assigned a number).
Deadline for registering the transfer of ownership by way of gift
Real estate donated to an individual or legal entity is subject to state registration . The donee needs to obtain a certificate of ownership of it - only after that he will be able to fully dispose of the property. Movable property subject to state registration must also be registered within the period specified for this type of property.
Registration of the transfer of ownership is carried out by the Federal Registration Service of Cadastre and Cartography. Documents are prepared within 10 working days from the date of their submission . You can submit a package of documents through the local branch of Rosreestr or a multifunctional center. a state fee must be paid in the amount specified in Art. 333.33 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (TC RF).
In accordance with Art. 2 of the Federal Law of July 21, 1997 N 122-FZ “On state registration of rights to real estate and transactions with it”, the date of state registration will be considered the date of making the corresponding entry in the state register.
Example
In 2014, citizen Fedorov gave an apartment to his second cousin, citizen Ivanov. The gift agreement was drawn up in writing and signed by the parties to the transaction. A standard form was taken as the basis for drawing up the document, since notarization of the gift agreement is not necessary in this case. The agreement contained the data of the parties, a description of the gift (apartment) and the period during which it should be transferred. After receiving the apartment, Ivanov paid the state fee, the amount of which at that time was one thousand rubles, and submitted documents to register the transfer of ownership. After 10 working days, citizen Ivanov received a certificate of ownership, giving him the right to dispose of the received property.
The procedure for registering a deed of gift
An official document is drawn up in writing. Oral agreements are also possible, but they apply to small amounts and inexpensive items. The transfer of large objects is formalized in writing and requires notarization. If the parties to the transaction live in different cities, then the contract is concluded in the region where the property is located.
In some cases, one of the participants cannot be personally present when signing the deed of gift. Then the following options are possible:
- Submit the signed document by mail. Next, it is signed by the other party and notarized.
- Issue a power of attorney. In this case, an authorized representative will act on behalf of the citizen.
The gift agreement can be handwritten and drawn up in any form. To obtain the status of an official document, the deed of gift must contain the following information:
- information about the parties to the agreement (residence addresses, passport details);
- description of the property being donated;
- signatures of the parties and date of conclusion of the contract.
If this information is available, the paper acquires official status. Then it is submitted for state registration. When a deed of gift is assigned a number, it comes into force. From this moment the property passes to the new owner.
If we are talking about expensive property, then it is better to entrust the process of drawing up a contract to a lawyer. To draw up a deed of gift in this case, it is necessary to prepare the following documents:
- participants' identity cards;
- title documentation for the transferred object;
- cadastral passport;
- written consent of the spouse if the object is marital property.
Form of gift agreement
Provisions of Art. 574 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation determines the form of the gift agreement. It can be written and oral . In cases where a transaction can be concluded orally, by agreement of the parties, the agreement can also be drawn up in writing. It is permissible to draw up a document yourself or by contacting a notary with subsequent notarization of the agreement.
The written form must be used if:
- an organization acts as a donor, and the value of the object of donation (things, rights or services) exceeds three thousand rubles;
- The donor has promised to make a donation in the future, and a specific item of donation is specified.
The gift is transferred by direct delivery to the donee, transfer of title documents or symbolic delivery (for example, keys to an apartment). If real estate that requires state registration is donated, the transfer of ownership from the donor to the donee must be registered. The document itself does not need to be registered from March 1, 2013 .
Validity period of the deed of gift when issued independently
Independent execution of a deed of gift is a rather controversial issue in legal practice, since the condition for the entry into force of the agreement is state registration. If a document was signed by the donor and the donee, but not registered, then it has no legal force. The validity period of the deed of gift for the apartment in this case is 3 years. This is exactly the time allotted for its registration. Otherwise it will be automatically cancelled.
When the agreement passes state registration, the object automatically passes to the new owner. Therefore, you should not delay this procedure. The sooner the deed of gift is registered, the sooner it will come into force. Accordingly, the donor will no longer be able to change his mind and terminate the contract unilaterally.
Contract time
Registration of property rights requires payment of a state fee. At the moment, its size ranges from 1500 to 2000 rubles.
One of the ways to legally formalize the process of transferring property from one person to another is to conclude a gift agreement. This is a two-way transaction, which is distinguished by the fact that it is gratuitous and voluntary.
People who decide to draw up such a document are usually interested in what rights and obligations both parties receive, whether there is a validity period for the agreement, when the deed of gift for the apartment comes into force, and what actions can be performed after accepting the property. As part of a gift, you can transfer any items: from personal belongings to real estate and securities.
Validity period of a document upon notarization
As mentioned above, the deed of gift comes into force after registration. Having certified the document, the notary enters it into the unified register. From this moment, the validity of the paper is considered unlimited, because the fact of transfer of property rights has already occurred. To challenge a registered deed of gift, you will have to go to court. But even here it will be very difficult to cancel the contract.
The interested party must have compelling reasons to invalidate the deed of gift. This could be errors in drawing up the agreement, incapacity of the donor, an attempt to conclude another agreement under the guise of a gift, etc.
Contents of the agreement
The essence of this document is that it gives the right to one person to take possession of the real estate of another, who is its drafter. The subjects of such legal relations are called “donor” and “done”.
One of the characteristic features of an apartment donation agreement is the complete absence of any reciprocal services or partial reimbursement of the cost of the gift.
In the text of Art. 572 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the legislator mentions two types of this type of document:
- an agreement that comes into force immediately after it has been properly drawn up and certified;
- a document whose legal consequences begin from the moment or any event in the life of the donee (it must be specified in the text of the contract).
Important! The signing of such a document is carried out strictly in the presence of a notary who has the appropriate patent for concluding such transactions. When drawing up a gift agreement, the presence of both parties to the agreement or their authorized representatives is required, otherwise it will be considered invalid.
Expert opinion
Romanov Igor Severinovich
Lawyer with 7 years of experience. Specialization: civil law. Extensive experience in developing legal documentation.
All the subtleties and nuances of drawing up a donation document are contained in Chapter. 9 GG of the Russian Federation. Their careful study will allow you to avoid the maximum number of mistakes when entering into such legal relations.
The legislator does not establish a validity period for this document. Therefore, the gift agreement comes into force and is valid immediately after the title-establishing event and until the moment when the donee sells the property that is its object or passes away.
In the latter case, the property becomes the object of other legal relations and can be freely transferred to other persons as part of inheritance.
The gift agreement does not have retroactive force, but can be canceled despite the entry into force:
- with the consent of both parties;
- in accordance with the court decision;
- as a result of the death of the donee.
In order to cancel a contract that has entered into force on a legal basis, it is necessary to draw up two corresponding statements at once - from both parties to the legal relationship. On their basis, a new agreement is drawn up, which becomes the legal basis for canceling the transaction.
If the recipient, at the time of changing the donor’s decision, managed to transfer the property under the purchase and sale agreement to another person, it will no longer be possible to return it to the first owner.
Deed of gift with deferred deadline
We are talking about a special type of agreement concluded between the donor and the donee. In this case, the transfer of property rights occurs not after registration of the agreement, but upon the occurrence of the condition specified in its text. Such conditions include:
- The arrival of the date specified in the contract.
- Fulfillment of the conditions of the document (wedding, admission to college, birth of a child, etc.). It is important that such a condition did not represent any benefit for the donor. Otherwise, the contract is canceled.
- The onset of the event. It should be understood that the death of the donor cannot be a condition for the transfer of property rights. If the owner of the object dies, then his property is automatically included in the estate. The deed of gift is automatically cancelled. Therefore, if you want to transfer property after death, you must use a will.
The validity period of such a gift agreement is not limited. The entry into force of the document occurs in accordance with the arrival of the deadline or fulfillment of the condition specified in the text.
Procedure for registering a deed of gift for an apartment
You need to know that the procedure for registering a deed of gift differs significantly from the process of inheriting an apartment. The donor transfers his property during his lifetime. There are many risks associated with the relationships between close and not so close relatives. After the donation agreement is drawn up and registered with Rosreestr, the previous owner of the apartment loses ownership of his home.
An important nuance is that the gift agreement is not valid after the death of the donor; it is necessary to enter into ownership rights during the lifetime of the former owner of the apartment.
Such actions facilitate the procedure for future inheritance of an apartment; now receiving property after the death of the donor is much easier and faster.
In the event that the gift deed is not registered with Rosreestr immediately and the donor dies, relatives may appear claiming the abandoned apartment, and the deed of gift is considered invalid. After completing the deed of gift and registering it with Rosreestr, you need to register the ownership of the donated apartment.
Expert commentary
Leonov Victor
Lawyer
For a deed of gift to have legal force, it must be registered in a legal or notary office. You cannot hide the nuances associated with the apartment that is being donated. For example, if the property is leased, then this must be formalized. Such information is needed so that the lawyer does not refuse to register the deed of gift for the apartment, and the heirs do not have problems in the future.
The procedure for donating an apartment is most often discussed in advance between relatives who trust each other; the apartment becomes the property of the heir after registration of the deed of gift, so after the death of the donor there is no need to enter into an inheritance.
Challenging deadlines
The gift agreement can be challenged by any interested person if the following conditions are met:
- the document is drawn up incorrectly;
- the transaction was concluded in the presence of blackmail, threats, psychological pressure or physical violence;
- the donee has committed a crime against the donor or members of his family (we are talking about causing harm to health);
- the owner of the object at the time of concluding the contract was incapacitated and did not account for his actions;
- as a result of the transaction, the donor received a profit, which automatically cancels the deed of gift.
As mentioned above, a donation can only be challenged through court. It should be understood that in order to file a claim, you must have a serious evidence base on hand. The court does not consider unfounded statements and does not take into account guesses.
Limitation period for an apartment donation agreement
According to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Part 2, Art. 181, the limitation period for an application to recognize a voidable transaction as powerless and to apply actions to invalidate it is equal to one year.
The limitation period is fixed only by the Civil Legislative Code , and an attempt by both parties to make any changes by agreement among themselves (discussion in the clauses of the contract itself, reflected in a special agreement) is illegal, and will subsequently be accepted as an agreement that has no legal force (that How to cancel a deed of gift, read this article).
Example:
The person’s civil right was violated in 2007. He became aware of the violation of this right in 2020. Despite the fact that the established statute of limitations is 3 years, in 2020, when filing a claim in court, the plaintiff may be denied legal protection because the statute of limitations has expired.
The statute of limitations for the deed of gift for an apartment is:
- 3 years - as a general rule and for void transactions;
- 1 year - for transactions that may be voidable if recognized as such in court.
Example:
In secret from his legal wife, Ivan Denisenko acquired real estate - a two-room apartment, which he later decided to give to his new mistress, Elena Strekozina. They entered into a deed of gift between themselves in simple written form, without notarization.
After some time (within 3 months from the day of imprisonment), Ivan’s wife, Marina, found out about her husband’s secret purchase and gift to his mistress; she was very outraged by this, since she did not give permission for such manipulations with real estate. Marina turned to a lawyer for help, who helped her professionally draw up a statement of claim in a short time, which was later sent to the court.
Thus, it turned out that the statement of claim was filed within a year from the day when Marina learned about the property, and also that there was no consent for her to complete the donation transaction, certified by a notary, the court decided to invalidate the deed of gift of the apartment. Therefore, the property was returned to the donor - Ivan. After some time, Marina and Ivan divided their jointly acquired property.
On our portal you can learn about the procedure for donating an apartment between spouses and other relatives.
Inability to complete a transaction
In some cases, issuing a deed of gift is impossible, since such actions contradict the norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. We are talking about the following situations:
- The owner of the apartment is incompetent. Moreover, neither the guardian nor the legal representative of such a citizen can carry out such transactions.
- The owner is undergoing treatment at a social clinic.
- The recipient of the property is a representative of government agencies, and the donor is his client.
If it turns out that the deed of gift was issued despite the presence of one of the above conditions, the court will declare it invalid. In addition, if fraud is discovered, the person responsible for such actions will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
When planning to donate property, a citizen must weigh the pros and cons, since it will not be easy to cancel such a transaction. It is recommended that the deed of gift be drawn up by a notary, which will avoid problems in the future.
About the deed of gift
A deed of gift or deed of gift is a legal formal procedure for transferring housing as a gift.
After the donor prepares a deed of gift for the donee, the latter becomes the owner of the gift and can dispose of it at his own discretion. This distinguishes this document from a will, according to which the use of property is possible only after the death of the owner.
When does the deed of gift come into force? This agreement is considered to come into force after it is signed by both parties and after the re-registration of ownership of the housing. The deed of gift has no expiration date. That is, it is considered unlimited.
What does a deed of gift look like and what is written in it? This document must contain the following information:
- FULL NAME. the one who gives the apartment and the one who receives it as a gift.
- Passport details of both parties.
- The right of ownership of the home to its current owner.
- Address of housing, its name and detailed characteristics.
- The real cost of housing (if the parties do not want to include it in the contract, this is not necessary).
No compensation should be mentioned in the deed of gift. The document can only be drawn up in a gratuitous transaction. Otherwise, such a deed of gift may be cancelled.
Both parties must be present at the transaction to sign the contract being drawn up. A representative may be present instead of one of the parties, in which case a power of attorney will also be required. Also, when transferring an apartment as a gift to a minor, his presence is not required. One of the parents may represent his interests.
The donation agreement comes into force
Does it depend on what they gave? In general, from the moment the Donation Agreement is signed, it comes into force. But the right to dispose of donated property, transactions with which are subject to state registration, arises from the moment of this very registration (receipt of the Certificate of Ownership).
No, no and NO! after state registration of the gift agreement, the donee becomes the full owner! In accordance with paragraph 3 of Art. 572 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation An agreement providing for the transfer of a gift to the donee after the death of the donor is VOID! The rules of civil inheritance law apply to this type of gift.
Features of state registration of a gift agreement
Immediately after signing the DD, it is recommended to register the rights to real estate in the Unified State Register of Real Estate. This will allow you to avoid many unpleasant situations regarding the possible challenge of the deed of gift or the presentation of rights to property by third parties.
Below we will look at what problems may arise with registration and how to solve them with minimal risks.
After the death of the donor
If a deed of gift is formalized, but the donor died before submitting documents to Rosreestr, the donated property is included in the inheritance estate. To submit documents, the personal presence of both parties is required, and the donor, for obvious reasons, will not be able to come. But there is a way out - to achieve recognition of property rights in court.
Everything changes if, instead of a regular DD, a promise of gift agreement is drawn up. According to Art. 581 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the obligations of the donor to the donee are transferred to the heirs. They must transfer the property specified in the document in full.
By court decision
If the donee has difficulties registering the donated property in his name, he has the right to appeal to the district court at the location of the property. The claims must indicate the recognition of the contract as concluded with the subsequent registration of ownership.
Most often, a court decision is required when a transaction is contested by third parties, or when the heirs refuse to fulfill the donor’s obligations under the promise of a gift agreement.
Voluntarily
With voluntary registration of rights, everything is simple: the donee and the donor submit documents together, and after 10 days the new owner receives an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate.
But in some cases, a government agency has the right to refuse a service:
- The donor has donated property acquired during marriage, and the notarial consent of the spouse has not been obtained. It is required by law;
- On behalf of the donee or donor, the application is signed by a representative. The agreement is notarized, but the power of attorney is not. It is important to remember: if the DD requires certification, then the power of attorney is certified by a notary;
- The property of a child under 14 years of age or incompetent is donated: the transaction is prohibited by clause 1 of Art. 575 Civil Code of the Russian Federation;
- The property of a child over 14 years of age is alienated, but there is no permission from the guardianship authorities. Before signing the DD, it is necessary to obtain this consent;
- The mortgaged property is given as a gift without the consent of the lender. His permission for the transaction is required.
Legal advice: It is better to take into account possible errors in advance and prevent them than to refuse to correct them and resubmit documents.
Lawyer, website author (Civil law, 6 years of experience)
