One of the important aspects of the Legal Aid Service is to support beneficiaries in inheritance disputes. Inheritance disputes are matters related to an inheritance.

The Legal Aid Service offers free legal consultations in order to ensure protection of rights of beneficiaries. They are entitled to use person-to-person and telephone/online consultation services. Legal Aid Service provides legal assistance on inheritance disputes to an insolvent person whose case falls into the category of complex and important cases.

Inheritance law disputes are diverse and include following issues:

• Transfer of property in possession of a diseased person (testator) to another person (heirs);
• Hereditary succession and testamentary succession (inheritance by will);
• Order in case of hereditary succession;
• Division of property of testator according to the order of testamentary succession;
• Disputes related to the will drafted by a testator;   
• Disputes related to the transfer of property of testator through testamentary succession to the hereditary successors as well as to any other person not related to him/her including legal person;
• Disputes related to the form of will;
• Receipt of Compulsory portion
• testamentary burden (Legatee);
• Disputes related to the execution of will;
• Disputes related to the Preservation and administration of estate;
• Disputes related to the inheritance of the estate;
• Recognition of a child born out of wedlock as the heir of the father;
• Declaration of a person as an unworthy heir;
• Deprivation of the inheritance right by a court;
• Transfer of  disinherited person’s share in the estate on the rest of the heirs who have been called as successors and be divided into equal shares among them;
• Disputes related to the receipt of compulsory portion by the  first degree heirs from the property of testator in case of testamentary succession;
• Simultaneous hereditary and testamentary succession;
• Disputes related to obtaining inheritance certificate;
• Obtaining estate through de-facto possession or management of an estate;
• Accepting inheritance by a person incapable of contracting or those with limited capacity through their legal representatives;
• Disputes related to the  opening of the estate from the death of last member of the household with regard to common property of the household;
• Disputes related to the opening of the estate of people permanently residing abroad;
• Disputes related to the property rights (assets of the estate) and liabilities (liabilities of the estate) of a decedent as of the moment of his/her death;
• Disputes related to the Protection of a decedent’s non-property rights.

The decision regarding the rendering of free legal aid (court representation) on the inheritance law matters can be made by the legal aid bureau as well as court reasoned judgement based on the motion of a party. 

Legal Acts

• Constitution of Georgia
• Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Civil Code of Georgia
• Civil Procedure Code of Georgia
• Law of Georgia on Legal Aid
• Law of Georgia on Advocates
• Decree #424 of the Government of Georgia on Approval of a Rule for Determination of Insolvency of a Person
• Decision #20 of the Legal Aid Board on Approval of Regulation of the Legal Entity of Public Law –Legal Aid Service 
• Decision #27 of the Legal Aid Board on Approval of Criteria for Providing Legal Aid Service determined under article 5 and 3 of the Law of Georgia on Legal Aid 
• Professional Code of Ethics for Lawyers

Scope of Service

In the course of conducting defense on civil and/or administrative cases, the lawyer of Legal Aid Service, as the rule conducts following actions:

• Reviews the information and case materials.
• Meets with the client and provides legal advice
• Analyzes the information related to the case, ensures the collection of evidence and submission with the court for the purpose of successful conduct of the case.
• Represents the client in court
• Drafts legal documents related to the case – motions, claims, counterclaims, motions complaints, applications.
• Informs the client an in case of necessity his/her legal representative on the course of conduct of the case.

Terms of Use of the Service

The Legal Aid Service provides free legal assistance in inheritance law matters if a person is insolvent and his/her case falls into the category of complex and important cases.

A person is considered to be insolvent and entitled to use legal services on state’s expense if he/she is a member of a family registered in the unified database of socially vulnerable families, whose socioeconomic index is equal or below 70 000.

In addition, person is considered to be insolvent and has right to use the legal services on the state’s expense  in case he/she is a member of a family registered in the unified database of socially vulnerable families, whose socioeconomic index is equal or below 100 000 and belongs to one of the categories listed below: 

• Member of a multi-child family with more than 3 children under age of 18;
• War and the Military Veterans;
• Person with limited capacity status under age of 18;
• Adults with significant and severe expression of disabilities;
• A person with significant, severe or moderate expression of disabilities, in case it started from childhood;
• Orphan under the age of 18;
• People displaced as a result of the aggression by The Russian Federation against Georgia.

The legal services can be provided in special circumstances to those people who are not registered in the unified database of socially vulnerable families but due to difficult social-economical condition cannot afford to cover the expenses of legal assistance. This is regulated by the Decision #27 of the Legal Aid Service Board adopted on September 9, 2015. This condition applies to the persons who belong to the following categories:

• Persons who met the criteria of insolvency and their data is available at the archives of unified database of socially vulnerable families;
• Persons whose difficult social-economical condition is proved by the certificate issued by the local self-governing institutions;
• Persons with incurable and serious disease;
• Single mother who has juvenile children;
• Person acknowledged as a victim of political repressions;
• Pensioner;
• Lawyer employed by the Legal Aid Service, his/her family member and relative;
• Family who lost bread-winner;
• Beneficiaries of the Program on Rehabilitation and Resocialization of Former Prisoners of  LEPL “Crime Prevention Center”;
• Beneficiaries of international humanitarian union “Catharsis” (Charity House).