Below we present another clarification from the Supreme Court of the Republic of Armenia regarding the issue of considering inheritance accepted through actual possession and/or management of inherited property:
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Armenia, in its previous decisions addressing the ways of accepting inheritance, has stated that inheritance is considered accepted by the heir when they begin to actually possess that property, which is a prerequisite for the emergence of the heir's ownership rights over the inherited property (see, the decision of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Armenia dated 09.11.2007 in the case of Armine Hakobyan and Samvel Hakobyan vs. Notary Alvard Melkonyan of the Central Notarial District and others, case number 3a1621(VD)).
The prerequisites for considering the acceptance of inheritance in the discussed manner are:
1. The fact that the property possessed or managed by the heir belonged to the decedent on the date of the opening of the inheritance,
2. The fact that the heir undertakes active actions aimed at actually possessing or managing the property belonging to the decedent,
3. The fact that these actions are carried out within a six-month period starting from the date of the opening of the inheritance:
However, it is important to emphasize that the possession of property included in the inheritance by the heir does not confirm in all cases that the heir has actually accepted the inheritance.
The property included in the inheritance must pass into the possession of the heir on their own initiative; it must practically express the heir's intention to accept the inheritance. Therefore, in all cases where the heir takes possession of the property included in the inheritance under circumstances beyond their control or at the initiative of a third party within the legally established six-month period, the heir's actions cannot be assessed as acceptance of inheritance through actual possession.
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Armenia has also reached such a conclusion in its decision dated 2019 in civil case number EAKD/4912/02/15. The court specifically noted that the property received as a gift included in the inheritance cannot testify to the heir's acceptance of the inheritance, as acceptance of inheritance implies the manifestation of the heirs' will, which must be directed towards actually possessing or managing the inheritance, and a gift received from another heir does not testify and could not testify to the existence of the heirs' will to accept the inheritance.
Thus, not only the active actions of the heir in actually possessing or managing the inherited property are important, but also the question of taking possession and management of the property: