Is it possible to sue a deed of gift for an apartment? This question concerns those who do not agree with the execution of a deed of gift to another person. After signing the deed of gift, the property passes from one owner to the person whom the donor indicated in the agreement.
The legislation of the Russian Federation does not prohibit the execution of such types of contracts. Existing regulations establish certain rules that help resolve disputes related to challenging gift agreements.
The main regulatory document in this area is the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Our article will tell you whether it is possible to sue a deed of gift for an apartment.
Features of a deed of gift for an apartment
In order to make the right decision whether to go to court or not, you should carefully study the basic requirements for drawing up a gift agreement.
The agreement is drawn up, secured by the signatures of the parties and certified by a notary. When drawing up the contract, the conditions are not specified, upon fulfilling which the donee will receive ownership rights.
The deed of gift must also undergo state registration in the future. Without this it is invalid.
Please note: a deed of gift or gift agreement is a document, the form of which is approved by law, and represents a recording of the voluntary transfer of ownership of an apartment from one person to another.
The deed of gift specifies a specific calendar date when the donee will take ownership. This could be any event in his life, for example, coming of age, graduating from university or marriage. If there are no additional instructions, a person acquires ownership immediately after state registration of the agreement.
Please note: according to the law, the gift agreement cannot be canceled unilaterally. Only a court can revoke a deed of gift.
Grounds for refusal to increase shares in a house through the court
In order to reduce the risk of a court refusal, it would be the right decision to review your situation with specialists. Experienced lawyers will help you think through the best arguments to make in favor of your win.
In order for the court to make a positive decision, it is important to prove your right to property.
To do this correctly, you need the help of qualified specialists. You should also pay close attention to the preparation of the relevant documents - if there are not enough documents, the claim is filed incorrectly or the state duty is not paid, you will have to do everything all over again.
It is also important to remember that the court gives preference to the needier parties.
For example, if an ex-husband and wife are suing, and the wife has two more children, then she can be given ¾ of an apartment, and the husband only ¼. So before filing a lawsuit, you should find out all the nuances.
There are situations when the area is small and it is quite difficult to allocate a share. In this case, the best solution would be to immediately demand monetary compensation, since the court is unlikely to be able to help with the share. Or if there are too many people applying for one apartment - in this case, the court will not consider this case in order to separate everyone from each part of the house. It makes sense to agree on the sale of the premises and simply divide the money among themselves.
Conditions for challenging
It is important to take into account that the moment of ownership of the apartment occurs when the deed of gift is registered with government bodies, and not only during its signing.
This date will be the starting point in the future in order to cancel the transaction if necessary.
Lawyers recommend that a deed of gift can be registered only during the life of the donor. A signed agreement is not enough. Therefore, in order to avoid going to court again, you should follow the entire procedure correctly.
The legislation specifies a list of circumstances in the event of which it is possible to challenge a deed of gift:
- The donor has good reason to refuse to transfer ownership of the apartment to another person and independently wishes to cancel the deed of gift.
- A third party who is interested in terminating the gift agreement and has good reason to do so. This is possible in the event of the death of the donor, recognition of the person who donated the living space as incompetent.
Time to sue
If you decide to sue a donated apartment that was transferred into the possession of a new owner by signing a donation agreement, you need to do this quickly.
According to the current legislation of the Russian Federation (Article 181 of the Civil Code), a transaction can be declared invalid within three years after the terms of the contract enter into force. Or one year from the date of filing the claim.
It is worth noting: for a person who is not the donor or owner of the donated apartment, and who believes that the apartment was donated illegally, and he can present compelling arguments, there is a period of ten years. After this period, he will definitely not be able to do anything.
Cancel
If the decision to donate real estate was made hastily, the owner of the property has the right to refuse it. If the registration of the gift agreement has not yet been completed, then the donor can simply revoke the deed of gift without involving the court.
When the reasons that led to the decision to cancel the deed of gift arose after state registration, it is necessary to go to court.
When can a deed of gift be canceled (remember, all this is done within the framework of the law):
- The donor was attacked by the new owner of his property. As a result, intentional damage was caused to the donor or members of his family.
- When a gifted person does not handle real estate very well, which in the future can lead to its loss.
- On agreement of the parties.
The court will consider your claim if the reasons for the challenge are:
- The donor's living conditions have changed significantly for the worse. For example, loss of earnings, health problems. The court will consider this reason valid if the donor's defense proves his innocence in court. Such reasons could be natural disasters that caused serious damage to the apartment. Or if the donor is seriously ill. According to the bureaucratic system, any incident must be supported by all kinds of certificates, invoices and other supporting documents.
- Unscrupulous attitude of the gifted person towards the apartment, as a result of which the apartment may be destroyed or it will become impossible to live there. In court, the plaintiff should talk about the great moral value of the apartment for the person who donated the apartment. Watching his gift get spoiled gives him incredible mental pain and makes him depressed. Accordingly, all kinds of evidence of these claims must be delivered to the court: photographs, videos showing the condition of the apartment before and after the transfer of ownership. It is also necessary to prove to the court that all the damage to the apartment was caused by its new owner.
- Incorrect behavior of the new owner of the apartment towards the donor, possibly members of his family. It would be nice if the donor could record all this on video, or at least on audio media. Written statements from witnesses are also appropriate in this case.
- Very often, an apartment is transferred to a new owner after the occurrence of some events. For example, the death of the donor, his recognition as incompetent. In this regard, to speed up these events, an unscrupulous gifted person can create conditions that threaten the life and health of the donor. Severe bodily harm may occur. The donor or his relatives should collect all the necessary certificates, witness statements and boldly go to court. The decision will most likely be in favor of the donor.
- Death of a person who received an apartment as a gift. The donor can become the owner of his apartment again only if such a clause is specified in the deed of gift. Otherwise, the donated apartment will go to the relatives of the deceased.
Legal advice: the gift agreement should be drawn up with experienced lawyers. This is necessary in order to provide for all the tricky moments and not become a participant in unnecessary proceedings in the future.
Is it possible to sue a child from its mother?
I want to take my children away from their mother, what should I do?
You can get a general idea of how to sue the children of a drinking wife during a divorce in Russia from the Russian Family Code.
Chapters 4 and 12 deserve special attention. They describe the general procedure for ending a marriage (including the fate of the child) and the rights of parents in relation to children.
So, one of the reasons is the favorable living conditions that the father can provide. In this case, the maximum package of documents confirming these circumstances should be attached to the statement of claim or counterclaim.
Evidence for court:
- Income certificates.
- Copies of tax returns (if the ex-spouse is self-employed).
- Availability of savings in banks.
- Securities and shares.
You should also familiarize the judge with information about the availability of real estate, a car, and other property.
Determining the child’s place of residence can occur simultaneously with the decision on the divorce of his parents.
However, this issue may become the subject of a counterclaim in the case where the wife was the first to go to court. The judge will then make a joint decision on the two applications.
It often happens that in the claim the spouse initially does not raise the issue of the children’s place of residence. In the claim for divorce they write that there is no dispute regarding the children.
However, then the father begins to encounter all sorts of obstacles in his relationship with them.
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Roslyakov Oleg Vladimirovich
Lawyer, specialization civil law. More than 19 years of experience.
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In this case, determining his place of residence in court is the best way out of the problem situation.
Cancellation through court
If for some reason it was not possible to cancel the deed of gift, there is still the opportunity to cancel it.
It should be noted that cancellation of the deed of gift is quite possible. This method can also be used to sue for an apartment in court.
To do this, you should remember that all contracts are concluded according to a certain scheme.
Contracts are made by people, and people tend to make mistakes. Here you can’t do without a specialist in property matters.
Editorial advice: a good lawyer will help speed up the process and collect all the necessary documents, find the right arguments that should convince the court.
Grounds for allocating a share in a house through the court
There are several common situations when it comes to suing for your share. Here are some of them:
- Ex-spouses after divorce. If this is jointly acquired property, then it is divided in half. In cases where one has children and the second does not, the first gets a larger area than the one who is not responsible for raising the child.
- Children can claim their parents' living space. Sometimes you can come across a case where a child from a previous marriage also demands an inheritance.
- Other relatives - grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters and so on can also claim part of the house or apartment as their own property.
Important
: the court needs strong arguments and evidence, so if you want a positive result, it is important to prepare thoroughly. How to do this will be discussed below.
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Due to errors
It is quite often possible to sue an apartment through the court due to mistakes that were made when drawing up the gift agreement.
The most common cases:
- The document has not passed state registration with the Federal Registration Service. In such a case, the court returns title to the original owner of the property.
- In case of violation of the condition of gratuitous gift. A document such as a deed of gift involves the transfer of real estate into the private ownership of another person free of charge. Therefore, the agreement is not permitted to specify the value of such a gift. For example, the contract states: in order for the apartment to become the property of the gifted person, he must provide a service to the donor, or pay a certain amount of money. This clause negates the entire meaning of the deed of gift, and does not comply with the legal requirements for drawing up gift agreements.
- If there are known facts of threats to the owner of the apartment, blackmail, as a result of which he signs a gift agreement.
- The reason for cancellation of the transaction may also be the lack of written consent of the donor’s wife or husband.
- In court, a third party can seize a deed of gift for an apartment if he can prove that the donor is bankrupt and the deal was concluded within six months before the date of the official announcement of bankruptcy.
- Elementary absence of required signatures on the deed of gift.
- Errors in contact information, addresses, passport information, etc.
The cause of disputes in court may be a situation where the donor did not have the right to transfer someone else's real estate, and the person to whom the apartment was given did not have the right to accept it. Such situations are clearly stated in the legislation.
An apartment can be sued if:
- These are guardians of children under 14 years of age.
- Employees of specialized institutions cannot accept an apartment as a gift. For example, hospitals, nursing homes and other similar institutions. Even if the sick person himself really wants to give them an apartment, this cannot be done by signing a gift agreement. If a gift agreement is signed, relatives can appeal this decision and sue the apartment.
- Of course, employees of government agencies, who are prohibited by law from accepting apartments as gifts from third parties.
Please note: do not confuse a deed of gift and a will. If the gift agreement contains a clause on the basis of which the apartment will be transferred to another person only after the death of the donor. Only a will can be drawn up with this wording. The deed of gift, in this case, loses its legal force.
Tax authorities can also seize residential space from the owners if they can prove that the apartment was sold under the guise of a gift.
In this case, the deed of gift acts as a tax avoidance tool and is subject to cancellation. Be vigilant when you are offered to complete an apartment purchase transaction in this way.
At first glance, this reduces the cost of the apartment, but increases the chance of being left completely without housing. For example, the donor’s cunning relatives, having learned about such a transaction, can cancel it. You most likely will not get your money back.