When a spouse dies in Russia, the survivor does not inherit their own half of the couple's property — it is already theirs. Only the deceased's half becomes the estate, and understanding that line is what protects a surviving foreign spouse from receiving far less than they should.
Your marital share — normally half of everything acquired during the marriage — is not part of the estate. You keep it outright, on top of anything you inherit. Waiving the inheritance does not waive this share.
The deceased's half forms the estate, divided among first-priority heirs — the surviving spouse, children and parents — in equal shares, within a six-month deadline.
When a married person dies in Russia, working out what the surviving spouse receives happens in two steps, and getting the order right matters enormously. First, the couple's jointly-acquired property is divided, and the surviving spouse takes their own share of it — normally one half. Only then does the deceased's remaining share form the estate, which passes to the heirs.
The surviving spouse is also a first-priority heir, so they take a portion of the estate too, alongside the deceased's children and parents. The result is that a surviving spouse typically ends up with their own half outright, plus a share of the deceased's half — which is more than a straight division among heirs would give them.
This is the point foreign spouses most often get wrong, and it can cost them dearly. Under Article 1150 of the Civil Code, the surviving spouse's right to their share of the jointly-acquired property is not diminished by their right to inherit — the two are separate. The marital share (супружеская доля) is already the survivor's own property and does not go into the estate at all. Only the deceased spouse's share becomes inheritable.
A simple example shows why it matters. Say a couple jointly own a flat worth 100, all acquired during the marriage, and the heirs are the surviving spouse and one child. The survivor first takes their marital share — 50 — which is simply theirs. The deceased's 50 forms the estate and is split equally between the two first-priority heirs, so the spouse and child take 25 each. The surviving spouse ends up with 75 in total, the child with 25. Treating the whole flat as an estate to be divided among heirs — the instinctive but wrong approach — would have left the spouse with far less.
One further protection: declining to take a certificate of inheritance does not mean giving up the marital share. The share is a property right that exists independently of the inheritance.
Your share of jointly-acquired property is already yours — it isn't part of the estate. Foreign spouses often lose value by treating the whole joint asset as an estate to be split among heirs. Establish the marital share with the notary; don't assume it.
For a business owner, the same rule has a sharper edge. If a business was built during the marriage and is jointly owned, the surviving spouse already owns half of it — that half is not part of the estate. But the deceased's half becomes inheritable and is divided among the first-priority heirs, which can fragment ownership and control of the company across several people at once.
Imagine a founder who dies leaving a spouse, two children and a surviving parent. The spouse keeps their own half of the business. The founder's half is then split four ways among the first-priority heirs — so control of the company is suddenly shared between the spouse and, potentially, children and a parent who may have no involvement in it. For a working business, that fragmentation is exactly the disruption an owner would want to avoid, and it arrives at the worst possible moment.
You keep your half of a jointly-owned business, but the deceased's half is split among all first-priority heirs — spouse, children and parents. Control can suddenly be shared with people uninvolved in the company. A marriage contract, will or inheritance contract is how owners keep it intact — worth putting in place before it's needed.
Russian law divides heirs into priority classes. The first priority — who inherit before anyone else and in equal shares — are the deceased's spouse, children and parents. If there are first-priority heirs, later classes (siblings, grandparents, and so on) do not inherit at all.
So the deceased's share of the marital property, plus anything that was their separate property, is divided equally among whichever first-priority heirs exist. A surviving spouse with no children and no living parents-in-law would inherit the whole of the deceased's share; a spouse alongside children and parents shares it with them. This is the default under the law — a valid will can change who inherits and in what proportion, within limits.
Because the default can fragment assets and control, couples with a business or a substantial estate often plan around it. Three instruments do most of the work, and Russian law expressly allows the default to be varied by agreement:
A marriage contract can change what counts as jointly-acquired property, which in turn changes the size of the marital share and what falls into the estate.
A will lets the deceased direct who inherits their share and in what proportions — subject to the compulsory-share rules that protect certain dependants.
An inheritance contract (наследственный договор) or a joint spousal will can set out an agreed outcome in advance, which is particularly useful for keeping a business intact.
For an international couple, planning also has to account for property abroad, which a Russian instrument may not reach — so coordinated arrangements across jurisdictions are often needed rather than a single Russian document.
The mechanics are the same for a foreign national as for a Russian citizen — nationality does not bar a surviving spouse from their marital share or their inheritance. The key practical points:
There is a six-month deadline from the date of death to accept the inheritance through a notary. It cannot be extended without a court, so acting early matters.
There is no inheritance tax in Russia, but state duty is payable on the certificate of inheritance, calculated on the value of what is inherited, plus notary fees.
A surviving spouse abroad can act through an apostilled power of attorney rather than travelling.
The marital share should be formally established with the notary, not assumed — this is where a foreign spouse most often loses value by treating jointly-owned property as if it were all part of the estate.
Marital share: normally 1/2, kept outright. Deadline to accept inheritance: six months from death, no extension without a court. Inheritance tax: none — but state duty applies on the certificate.
No — and this is the crucial point. Your half of the property you acquired together during the marriage is already yours; it isn't part of the estate and you don't 'inherit' it. Only your late spouse's half forms the estate. You then also inherit a share of that half as a first-priority heir, so you typically end up with your own half outright plus a portion of theirs. Treating the whole asset as an estate to be split among heirs would wrongly reduce your share.
You keep your own half of the business — it's already yours. Your late spouse's half becomes part of the estate and is divided equally among the first-priority heirs (you, the children and the deceased's parents). That can fragment ownership and control across several people, some with no involvement in the business, which is why owners often plan ahead with a marriage contract, will or inheritance contract to keep the company intact.
The first-priority heirs — the surviving spouse, the deceased's children and the deceased's parents — inherit the estate in equal shares, before any other relatives. If there are no first-priority heirs, later classes inherit. A valid will can change this, subject to compulsory-share rules that protect certain dependants.
Yes — nationality doesn't bar you from either the marital share or the inheritance. The same six-month deadline to accept the inheritance applies, and you can act through an apostilled power of attorney if you can't travel. There's no inheritance tax, though state duty applies on the certificate. The important step is formally establishing your marital share with the notary rather than assuming the joint property is all part of the estate.
Practical support for international business in Russia.