The cancellation of the certificate of succession can be requested by the person who shows that the issuance of the certificate harmed their rights. The law allows the court to cancel the certificate and determine the succession rights according to the proven circumstances. The certificate continues to prove the status of heir and the rights of the accepting heirs until it is cancelled by a judicial decision or until an amicable settlement is reached under the law.

Who can request the cancellation of the certificate

Article 120 of Law no. 36/1995 does not grant the right to challenge the certificate of any dissatisfied person, but to those who consider themselves harmed in their rights by its issuance. This may, for example, be the case of a person claiming an inheritance and claiming that she has been omitted, of an heir whose shares or rights have been determined incorrectly, or of another person who proves direct legal harm. The claimant must demonstrate both the interest and the right that he or she seeks the court to recognize.

What needs to be proven

Not every formal error automatically leads to the cancellation of the certificate. The action must explain what mention or conclusion in the certificate is contested, what the succession situation supported by the claimant is, and by what evidence it can be established. Depending on the cause, the following may be relevant:

  • the certificate of heir and the final conclusion from the notary file;
  • civil status documents showing kinship and connection with the deceased;
  • the will and documents regarding its existence, form or authenticity;
  • evidence of acceptance of the inheritance and compliance with the term of the succession option;
  • the property deeds and documents describing the assets in the estate;
  • the evidence regarding the citations, statements and documents used in the notarial procedure.

The fact that a person did not participate in the notarial procedure or that there is a discrepancy in an act must be evaluated together with the succession rights invoked and the concrete effect of the certificate on them.

What the plaintiff can ask the court for

The Notaries Act explicitly provides for two components: the total or partial cancellation of the certificate, as the case may be, and the determination of the succession rights in accordance with the law. The request must be formulated in such a way that the court can resolve the dispute regarding the status of heir, the shares and the assets involved. If exit from the indivisibility is also necessary, the claim for a property, the rectification of the land registry or the annulment of a subsequent act must be analyzed separately and motivated according to the concrete situation.

Before the trial, the injured parties can also turn to the public notary to have an authentic act drawn up that records the amicable resolution of the dispute; in this case, a new certificate is issued. The law excludes this route for the certificate of succession to the estate.

The competent court

Until the individualization phase, Article 118 of the Civil Procedure Code establishes the exclusive jurisdiction of the court at the deceased’s last residence for applications regarding inheritance and its duties, among others. The full subject matter of the application and the stage of the division matter, so the competent court must be verified in relation to all the claims made, not just the title of the action.

The term: do not assume it

Article 120 of Law No. 36/1995 does not specify a special time limit for the action to annul the certificate. However, it does not follow that any claim related to inheritance can be exercised at any time. The right to inheritance, the testamentary option, and any ancillary claims may raise issues of prescription or lapse. In principle, the Civil Code provides for a one-year time limit for exercising the testamentary option, but the applicable law and the calculation of the time limit depend, among other things, on the date on which the inheritance is opened and on the specific situation. Request a quick analysis of the time limits before deciding that the action is tardy or imprescriptible.

What happens to the goods and subsequent documents

Until the amicable resolution in accordance with the law or until the cancellation of the certificate by judicial decision, it retains the evidentiary effect provided by law. In the case of a total or partial cancellation, the notary public issues a new certificate based on the final judicial decision.

The cancellation of the certificate does not, in itself, mean that every sale, registration in the land registry or other act concluded subsequently is automatically invalidated. The effect on a subsequent act depends on the nature of the act, the rights of the acquirer, the rules of publicity and the requests made to the court. Good faith may be relevant, but it does not provide a general guarantee that the act will be maintained; the situation must be analyzed separately.

Practical steps before action

  1. Obtain a complete copy of the certificate and the documents from the notarial succession file.
  2. Determine exactly what succession rights you claim and what element of the certificate affects them.
  3. Check the date of succession opening, the acceptance of the inheritance and the applicable deadlines.
  4. Identify the successor assets and the documents concluded subsequently in relation to them.
  5. Draft the claim forms and necessary evidence together with an attorney experienced in succession disputes.

An individual analysis is important especially when the certificate concerns immovable property, there are additional beneficiaries or the will, acceptance of the inheritance or the shares of the succession are contested.

Legal texts

Informative material; the deadlines and solutions depend on the date of succession, the notarial deeds and the rights invoked.