Lawyer for inheritance cases in Almaty — we recover your share where the notary has already refused

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Lawyer for inheritance cases holds a meeting of two heirs at the office in Almaty

Free review of documents and deadlines for inheritance
Missed deadline, disputed will, division between heirs
We work with heirs from other cities and countries
Cost and list of work — in the contract

Inheritance disputes

We restore the deadline for accepting an inheritance and prove actual acceptance

We contest wills and defend them against unfounded claims

We allocate the compulsory and marital share, which are often forgotten

We divide the house, flat and business between heirs with compensation

We protect heirs from creditors' claims in excess of the value of the inheritance

Asel Kurmanova, specialist in inheritance and civil disputes

Send the death certificate, the will if there is one, and the notary's response — I will tell you what right you have and how to prove it.

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14^years

in civil and inheritance disputes

Inheritance, real estate and contracts are the core of the practice.
210⁺

inheritance cases

From restoring the deadline to dividing houses and shares in companies.
6^months

deadline for accepting an inheritance

It runs from the day the inheritance is opened; after that, the right has to be proven in court.
½^shares

compulsory share

Not less than half of what the heir would have received by law, even contrary to a will.

Restoring the deadline

We prove valid reasons for missing the six months and secure recognition as an heir with a redistribution of shares.

Actual acceptance of the inheritance

We establish the fact of acceptance if you used the property, paid for it or kept the belongings, but did not apply to a notary.

Challenging a will

Posthumous examination of legal capacity, violations of the form and procedure of certification, pressure on the testator.

Defending a will

We represent the heir under a will against claims by relatives and prove that the testator understood his actions.

Compulsory and marital share

We allocate the share of minor and incapacitated heirs and half of the jointly owned property to the surviving spouse.

Division of inherited property

House, apartment, car, share in an LLP: we determine the shares, compensation and the pre-emptive right to an indivisible item.

Debts of the deceased

We limit the claims of banks and creditors to the value of the inheritance received and check whether the debt is justified.

Inheritance with a foreign element

Heirs or property abroad, choice of applicable law, powers of attorney and apostille.

Has the notary refused or are the relatives arguing? A lawyer for inheritance cases will sort out your rights

The first consultation is free. We will look at the documents and tell you what ground you have — the deadline, actual acceptance, the compulsory share — and whether there is enough evidence to go to court.

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For heirs who missed the deadline
For relatives who disagree with the will
For heirs who cannot agree on the division

Cost

Cost of services lawyer for inheritance cases

Guidelines for typical inheritance cases. The price is affected by the number of heirs, the composition of the property and whether an expert examination is needed, so we give the final amount after reviewing the documents.

Service	What is included	Cost
Consultation on inheritance	Review of documents, order of inheritance and deadlines	free of charge
Written opinion on an inheritance case	Analysis of the heirs' rights and the prospects of the dispute	from 40,000 ₸
Support with registration at the notary	Collection of documents, applications, obtaining the certificate	from 100,000 ₸
Restoration of the deadline for accepting an inheritance	Statement of claim, evidence of valid reasons, hearings	from 200,000 ₸
Establishing the fact of acceptance of inheritance	Application, evidence of possession, hearing	from 150,000 ₸
Challenging a will	Claim, post-mortem examination, examination of witnesses	from 300,000 ₸
Defending an heir under a will	Objections and evidence of the testator's legal capacity	from 250,000 ₸
Division of inheritance in court	Valuation, shares, compensation, preferential right	from 250,000 ₸
Allocation of the compulsory or marital share	Calculation of the share and formalisation through a notary or court	from 150,000 ₸

This is not an offer. Notarial acts, valuation of property, post-mortem examination and state duty are paid separately — we state them in advance.

Find out the cost for my case

How we handle an inheritance case lawyer for inheritance

Review of documents

Death certificate, documents confirming kinship, will, the notary's reply — we look at what is already available.

Circle of heirs

We determine the order, the compulsory and marital share, and possible unworthy heirs.

Checking deadlines

We calculate whether the deadline for acceptance has been missed and on what ground it can be overcome: restoration or actual acceptance.

Composition of the estate

We request information on the deceased's real estate, accounts, shares and debts.

Engagement letter

We set out the scope of work and the fee, and separately state the costs of valuation and expert examination.

Attempt at settlement

We propose that the heirs divide the estate before a notary — this is faster and cheaper than court for everyone.

Court

Statement of claim, injunction on disposal of property, expert examinations, witnesses and hearings until a decision.

Registration of title

On the basis of the court decision we obtain the certificate and register title to our client's share.

Is the deadline for accepting the inheritance running out?

Send us the date of death and what has already been done — we will tell you whether you can still make it to the notary or whether court is needed.

Describe your situation

Team

Advocates and lawyers of the practice in Almaty

Defence in a criminal case, a court dispute and the documents for it — all within one team: the case is not passed between firms, it is handled by an advocate of the relevant profile.

Nurlan Beketov

Advocate for criminal cases

Defence from the moment of detention: participation in interrogations, appealing the preventive measure, work with expert examinations and the procedural agreement.

21 years of advocacy practice
Criminal cases, detention
Travel to the client at any time

Saule Tleubayeva

Advocate for family cases

Dissolution of marriage, determination of the child's place of residence and contact arrangements, alimony, division of the spouses' common property.

16 years of advocacy practice
Disputes over children and division of property
Work with guardianship authorities

Arman Doszhanov

Advocate for civil cases

Representation in court in contractual, housing, land and inheritance disputes, appeal and cassation.

12 years of advocacy practice
Courts of all instances
Advocate's requests and expert examinations

Dinara Yerzhanova

Advocate for economic and administrative cases

Defence of businesses and executives: tax and customs cases, searches and seizures, disputes with state bodies under the Administrative Procedural Code.

15 years of advocacy practice
Economic cases, inspections
Support during searches and seizures

Assel Kurmanova

Lawyer for civil cases

Prepares statements of claim, pre-action claims and calculations for the court case, gathers evidence and handles correspondence with government bodies.

14 years of practice
Documents for the court case
Pre-action procedure and claims

Gulnara Abisheva

Lawyer for family and social matters

Maintenance and property division agreements, consents for a child to travel abroad, documents for guardianship authorities and for court.

9 years of practice
Family agreements
Work with guardianship authorities

Practice

Recent case stories of our lawyers in Almaty

Details have been changed and anonymised: the content of the case is protected by professional privilege.

Actual acceptance

The son lived in his mother's flat but never went to the notary — his sister registered everything in her own name

Situation: After their mother's death, the son continued to live in her two-room flat, paid the utility bills and renovated the bathroom, but never went to the notary within eight months. The sister filed an application on time and received a certificate for the entire flat worth about 32 million tenge, and then asked her brother to move out.
What we did: The lawyer gathered evidence of actual acceptance of the inheritance within six months: receipts for utility payments from his card, a contract with a tradesman and receipts for the renovation, a certificate of address registration, and witness statements from neighbours. He filed a claim to establish the fact of acceptance, to recognise the right to half of the flat, and to have the certificate issued to the sister partially invalidated.
Outcome: The court established the fact of acceptance of the inheritance and recognised the brother's right to half of the flat. The sister's certificate was declared invalid in the relevant part, and the shares were registered under the new decision.

Challenging a will

A father with dementia willed his flat to his carer two months before his death

Situation: The elderly man had been ill for the last two years, and a hired carer looked after him. After his death it emerged that two months earlier he had made a will in her favour, even though his daughters visited him every week and had never heard of such a decision.
What we did: The lawyer requested the medical record from the polyclinic and hospital discharge summaries, which recorded signs of pronounced dementia in the deceased, and found witnesses — the district doctor and neighbours. He filed a claim to have the will declared invalid and secured a post-mortem comprehensive psychological and psychiatric examination, and pending the decision, an injunction on registering the carer's right.
Outcome: The examination concluded that at the time the will was certified the deceased could not understand the meaning of his actions. The court declared the will invalid, and the daughters inherited the flat by law in equal shares.

Defending a will

The nephews challenged a will in favour of the second wife — the court upheld it

Situation: A man left a house in Kaskelen to his second wife, with whom he had lived for fifteen years. His nephews, who under the law could also have claimed a share of the property if there had been no will, filed a claim: they said the uncle drank and did not understand what he was signing.
What we did: The lawyer for the heir presented medical records showing that in recent years there had not been a single visit for alcoholism or mental disorders, and a reference from his employer — the deceased had worked as an engineer until his final year. He called the notary who had certified the will and raised an objection to an expert examination without baseline medical data.
Outcome: The claim to have the will declared invalid was dismissed in full, and the appeal upheld the decision. The widow registered her right to the house four months after the dispute ended.

Compulsory share

A father left everything to his second wife, and his son from his first marriage was a minor

Situation: Under the will, all the property — an apartment and a car — passed to the deceased's second wife. He was survived by a fourteen-year-old son from his first marriage, who was not mentioned in the will at all, and the boy's mother believed nothing could be done.
What we did: The lawyer explained that a minor child is entitled to a compulsory share regardless of the will, and calculated it — half of the share the son would have received under the law. He prepared an application to the notary on behalf of the legal representative, and when the widow refused to agree the allocation voluntarily, he filed a claim.
Outcome: The court allocated the son a compulsory share in the apartment and compensation for half of his share in the value of the car. The share is registered in the child's name, and until he comes of age it can only be disposed of with the consent of the guardianship authority.

Spousal share

The husband's children from his first marriage wanted to divide the whole house, forgetting the widow's share

Situation: The house was bought during the marriage but registered in the husband's name. After his death, his three children from his first marriage demanded that the whole house be divided equally between the four of them — including the widow — even though half the house belonged to her as his spouse.
What we did: The lawyer filed an application with the notary for the widow to be issued a certificate of ownership of her share in the joint property of the spouses, attaching documents showing the house had been bought during the marriage and statements of payment. When the children challenged this in court, he presented evidence that the house had been acquired with joint funds.
Outcome: The court confirmed the spousal share: half the house belonged to the widow, and only the other half formed part of the estate, which was divided between the four. As a result, the widow's share was five eighths instead of one quarter.

Debts of the deceased

The bank demanded 6 million from the daughter, while the estate she received was a car worth 2.4 million

Situation: The client's father left a car and debts on a credit card and a consumer loan — about 6 million tenge in total. Having accepted the inheritance, the daughter was faced with a claim from the bank for the entire debt plus interest.
What we did: The lawyer argued that an heir is liable for the deceased's debts only up to the value of the property that has passed to them, and commissioned a valuation of the car as at the date the inheritance was opened. At the same time, he checked the bank's calculation and found that interest had continued to accrue at the default rate after the borrower's death.
Outcome: The court limited the daughter's liability to the value of the car — 2.4 million tenge — and excluded the penalty interest for the period after the death. The rest of the bank's claims were left unsatisfied.

Division of a house

Three heirs could not divide a house in which one of them lived

Situation: Two brothers and a sister inherited a house in Almaty in equal shares. The elder brother had lived in it all his life with their mother and did not want to sell it or let tenants in, while the younger siblings demanded that their shares be allocated in kind, which for a house of 90 square metres was impossible.
What we did: The elder brother's lawyer asserted his preferential right to the indivisible item as the heir who had permanently lived in the house, and commissioned an independent valuation. He proposed paying the sister and brother monetary compensation for their shares in instalments over six months and presented evidence of ability to pay — a bank loan approval.
Outcome: The court transferred the house into the ownership of the elder brother, with an obligation to pay compensation of 11.5 million tenge to each of the others. The payment was made within four months, after which the right was registered.

Foreign deceased

A Russian citizen left an apartment in Almaty to heirs from Novosibirsk

Situation: The deceased was a Russian citizen, lived in Novosibirsk, but owned a flat in Almaty. A Russian notary opened the inheritance file, but refused to issue a certificate for the Kazakhstan property, and the heirs did not know where to turn.
What we did: The lawyer explained that inheritance of immovable property is governed by the law of the country where it is located, and opened the inheritance file with a notary in Almaty. He arranged the execution of powers of attorney from the heirs with an apostille, translation of documents and a request for information on the deceased's rights in the Kazakhstan register.
Outcome: The heirs received certificates of the right to inherit the flat in Almaty without ever coming to Kazakhstan. Then, under the same power of attorney, the flat was sold and the money transferred to the heirs.

Useful information

Inheritance lawyer: when a notary is not enough

Arman Doszhanov Lawyer for civil cases

Published: 14 September 2026 Updated: 16 September 2026

You are faced with a situation where a notary only formalises undisputed matters, while the dispute remains unresolved. The deadline for accepting the inheritance has passed, the will raises doubts, one of the relatives already lives in the deceased's flat and does not let the others in, and sometimes creditors appear with claims for debts. At such moments it seems that bringing the documents is enough and the matter will resolve itself.

The mistake is that notarial acts do not replace court proceedings and do not resolve a conflict between heirs. While some wait for the notary to sort everything out, others manage to dispose of the property or set out their own conditions. An inheritance lawyer is needed to assess the prospects, gather evidence and assert claims in time.

Inheritance lawyer: when a notary cannot resolve the dispute

A notary formalises an inheritance when there is no dispute between the heirs: he checks the documents, the circle of heirs and issues a certificate of the right to inherit. But as soon as a dispute arises over the right itself — one heir believes he has been passed over, another disagrees with the will, a third has already occupied the flat — the notary cannot formalise the file and issues a refusal. In this situation an inheritance lawyer is needed: he prepares the claim, gathers evidence and represents the heir in court.

The typical dead ends that bring people to an inheritance lawyer look like this: the deadline for accepting the inheritance has been missed, the notary refused a certificate, another heir has effectively seized the property, or creditors are demanding the deceased's debts. A lawyer does not 're-register' the inheritance in place of the notary, but resolves the dispute itself — restores the deadline, challenges the will, recovers property from someone else's possession. The earlier an inheritance lawyer is brought in, the more documents and evidence are preserved.

When a notary is not enough and a lawyer is needed
Situation	What the notary does	What the lawyer does
Dispute between heirs	Formalisation is impossible	Prepares the claim and evidence
Deadline for acceptance missed	Issues a refusal	Restores the deadline through court
Will in favour of an outsider	Checks the form	Challenges or defends the will
Another heir took the property	Refuses to resolve the dispute	Demands the return of the property

If there is a dispute over rights between the heirs, the notary does not consider it — the dispute is decided by a court.

Lawyer for inheritance cases in Almaty: the specifics of inheritance disputes

In Almaty, most inheritance disputes are about dividing flats: housing is expensive, so the parties fight to the end, and the courts are overloaded with such cases. A notary only certifies undisputed rights, and where there is a conflict, you need a lawyer for inheritance disputes who will take the position through to court.

A lawyer for inheritance cases in Almaty works with local specifics: retrieves the title documents for the flat from the archives, orders extracts on registered rights, collects address certificates on who lived there, and represents the heir's interests in court. Almaty courts are overloaded, so precise preparation of materials and procedural discipline matter: a missed hearing or an incomplete set of documents drags the case out for months. When a lawyer handles inheritance disputes, the party has someone who is responsible for gathering evidence and for the course of the proceedings, not just for explaining the rules.

extracts on registered rights to immovable property from the Legal Cadastre
the technical passport and documents on the area of the flat
the death certificate and documents confirming kinship
the will and information on the circle of heirs
correspondence and evidence of actual acceptance of the property

Inheritance lawyer: when the deadline for accepting an inheritance has been missed

The law allows six months from the day the inheritance is opened to accept it. If the deadline was missed for a valid reason, for example the heir did not know and should not have known that the inheritance was opened, the court may restore the deadline — but only on condition that the application is filed within six months after the reasons for missing it ceased to exist. This is where an inheritance lawyer is needed: they help gather evidence that the reasons were valid and formulate the claims correctly.

There is another route. An heir who has actually taken possession of the property — lived in the flat, used the belongings, paid the maintenance costs — is considered to have accepted the inheritance, and this fact can be confirmed in court. And if all the other heirs who have already accepted the inheritance give their written consent, an heir who missed the deadline may accept it without going to court: in that case the inheritance is processed through a notary, without an unnecessary dispute. When entering into an inheritance, a lawyer assesses which of the options can realistically be proved on the documents.

birth and marriage certificates, and other documents confirming kinship;
certificates confirming cohabitation with the deceased;
receipts for utility payments and maintenance of the property;
correspondence, witness testimony, and other evidence of use of the inheritance.

Lawyer for wills: how to challenge or defend a will

A dispute over a will begins after the inheritance is opened. A will can be challenged in court if the form in which it was drawn up was breached, or if the testator did not understand the meaning of their actions at the time of signing, or was under the influence of deception, violence or threats. A lawyer for wills assesses the evidence: a post-mortem psychological and psychiatric expert report, medical documents, witness testimony, a video recording of the certification. How precisely the aim of the dispute is defined determines which claim to bring and which facts to prove. In such cases, a lawyer for inheritance matters also helps those who want to defend a will against unfounded claims.

If a will is made in favour of an outsider while a close relative is left with nothing, it is important to check that the form was complied with and to establish the testator's condition at the time of signing. If there is suspicion of pressure or that the testator was not aware of their actions, the court orders an expert examination. A lawyer for inheritance matters gathers evidence: medical certificates, character references, testimony of the notary and witnesses, and other documents. Proving a defect of will is not easy, so the position is built before the claim is filed, not during the proceedings.

Breach of the form of the will: no handwritten signature of the testator, defects in certification.
The testator did not understand the meaning of their actions — an expert report is needed.
Deception, violence or threats at the time of signing — evidence of pressure is required.
Defending a valid will against a claim by an interested heir.

Compulsory share and unworthy heirs: a lawyer for inheritance rights

The compulsory share is a rule that limits freedom of testamentary disposition. Even if the deceased disposed of property in favour of one person, minor or incapacitated children, and an incapacitated spouse and parents receive no less than half of the share that would have been due to each of them on intestate succession. A lawyer for inheritance rights checks who exactly falls into this category and calculates the share due, so that the notary does not issue a certificate in breach of the rules.

The question of unworthy heirs is dealt with separately: they are removed by a court decision, for example for intentional unlawful acts against the deceased or other heirs. Here it is important not to confuse the estate with the matrimonial share: a share in the common property acquired during the marriage is not part of the estate and is allocated to the surviving spouse. A lawyer for inheritance matters and an inheritance lawyer help to gather evidence of unworthy conduct, to file claims and to protect the compulsory share in court.

Minor or incapacitated children of the deceased
Incapacitated spouse and parents
The matrimonial share is allocated to the surviving spouse and is not part of the estate
Unworthy heirs are removed only by a court decision

Inheritance dispute: when another heir has taken over the flat or property

When one of the heirs has already moved into the flat, rents it out, changed the locks or sold the deceased's car and furniture, this does not mean the property is gone for good. Actual occupation of the flat does not in itself make a person the owner: the right to a share arises from law or from a will, not from who got the keys first. An inheritance dispute in such a situation is resolved in court, and before filing a claim it is important to record who uses and disposes of what.

The main instrument is a claim to recognise ownership of an inheritance share and to recover it from another's unlawful possession. The court determines the heirs' shares, recognises your right to part of the property and orders its return; if an heir is living in the flat without grounds, an eviction claim is filed. A lawyer for inheritance matters helps to gather evidence: certificates of registered rights, the technical passport, payment receipts, correspondence, witness statements, a valuation report. Inheritance disputes are dangerous because of the missed deadline and because the heir who has taken over the property manages to re-register it to third parties.

Keep evidence of payment for utilities and maintenance of the property
Request information on registered rights and encumbrances over the object
Record the fact that another heir is living in and disposing of the property
Do not move in by force and do not change the locks on your own — a dispute is resolved with documents, not by seizing property

Consultation with an inheritance lawyer: online or at the office

An initial consultation with an inheritance lawyer is needed to separate a disputed situation from an undisputed one and to understand what actions are possible at all. At an appointment or online, the lawyer reviews the documents, clarifies the dates of death and of opening of the inheritance, the composition of the property and the circle of heirs, and checks whether there is a will and whether it is being challenged. As a result you get an assessment of the prospects: where a statement to the notary is enough, and where you will have to go to court.

An online consultation with an inheritance lawyer is convenient when the documents are scattered across cities or the person does not live in Almaty: scanned copies of certificates, statements and correspondence with the notary can be shown in advance. At a consultation about inheritance, the lawyer asks roughly the following questions:

who else is claiming the property and in which order of priority;
which documents are already available and which are missing;
whether you filed a statement with the notary and what reply you received;
who actually owns the flat or other property;
whether there are debts of the deceased and claims by creditors.

Legal consultation on inheritance matters: which documents to prepare

For a legal consultation on inheritance matters, gather the documents that show the chain: the death of the deceased, your kinship with them, the composition of the property and what the notary has already done. The basic set is the death certificate (or a court decision declaring the person dead), documents on kinship: marriage certificate, birth certificate, adoption certificate, and if kinship is not confirmed directly — archival certificates or a court decision establishing the fact. Then you need title documents for the property: a sale and purchase agreement, gift agreement, privatisation agreement, the technical passport, a certificate of registered rights, documents for the land plot, information on deposits and securities, and on a share in a company.

Separately prepare the will, if there was one, and certificates of registration at the deceased's address — they show who lived with them and actually accepted the inheritance. If the notary refused to issue the certificate, bring their refusal order and the correspondence. A lawyer dealing with inheritance matters compares the dates, checks whether the deadline has been missed, whether the will has been amended, whether there is a spousal share and compulsory heirs, and assesses what has already been collected and which documents are still missing.

death certificate or a court decision declaring the person deceased;
documents confirming kinship: marriage, birth and adoption certificates, archival certificates;
title documents for the flat, house, plot of land, deposits, shares;
the will and certificates of the deceased's registration at their last address;
the notary's refusal order and correspondence with them.

Registration of inheritance by a lawyer: legal services for inheritance cases

Registration of inheritance by a lawyer begins with gathering evidence: the lawyer requests from archives and registration authorities certificates of kinship, the composition of the estate, the place of opening of the inheritance, and where necessary — a property valuation report and Legal Cadastre certificates. When the notary refuses to issue the certificate, these documents form the basis of an application to establish the fact of acceptance of the inheritance or a statement of claim.

Legal services for inheritance cases cover more than court work. The lawyer handles the registration of the inheritance in parallel with the notary: files applications, removes the grounds for refusal, and in disputes — prepares the claim, takes part in hearings, and secures enforcement of the decision through a private or state court enforcement officer. A lawyer's inheritance services also include assistance at the stage of accepting the property and protection of the heirs' rights in court.

gathering documents on kinship and the composition of the estate
preparing a claim or application to the court
representation at court hearings
liaising with the notary on the issue of the certificate
support during enforcement proceedings

What is included in a lawyer's services for inheritance cases
Area	Lawyer's actions	Result for the heir
Documents	Archival certificates, valuation, registers	Confirmation of rights to the property
Court	Claim, motions, participation in hearings	Decision recognising the right
Notary	Applications, removal of grounds for refusal	Certificate of inheritance
Enforcement	Work with the court enforcement officer	Actual transfer of property

The scope of work depends on the stage and complexity of the dispute.

Debts of the deceased: how an inheritance lawyer protects against creditors

Those who accepted the inheritance are liable for the debts of the deceased, but only within the value of the property that passed to them. If the debt exceeds the inheritance, the heir does not pay the difference out of pocket. This rule also applies when the inheritance was accepted in fact: the person lives in the deceased's flat, uses their belongings, withdraws money from the account. Creditors in such cases act aggressively, file applications with the court and try to recover the entire amount from the first person they can reach. An inheritance lawyer checks every claim: whether the deceased actually took out this loan, whether the time limit has expired, whether the debt was insured, whether it has already been recovered from another heir.

It is realistic to challenge a claim or limit liability if you work with the documents rather than simply refusing to pay. What an inheritance lawyer checks first:

the authenticity of the loan agreement and the deceased's signature
the deadline for creditors to submit claims and the limitation period for each claim
the amount of the debt and the value of the accepted inheritance
whether the same debt has been recovered twice — from different heirs

The cost of an inheritance lawyer's services: what it consists of

The cost of an inheritance lawyer's services does not come down to a single rate: it depends on whether you will have to go to court, how many defendants and interested parties are in the case, how tangled the composition of the property is and which documents need to be collected anew. If you are asking how much an inheritance lawyer costs, an honest benchmark is given by an initial consultation on inheritance matters: it examines your situation and determines the scope of work.

The length of the process has a separate impact: a dispute over a flat, a challenge to a will or protection against creditors' claims can go on for months, with expert examinations, requests to registration authorities and hearings. It is important at the consultation to state straight away what is critical for you: deadlines, preservation of the property or reduction of risks. This determines both the strategy and what the lawyer's fee will be made up of.

the complexity of the dispute and the number of participants in the case
the need for court representation
the volume of documents and requests
the expected length of the process

Inheritance lawyer: how to choose a representative for inheritance disputes

When a dispute has already begun, the choice of representative decides a great deal, so an inheritance lawyer must be specifically an inheritance lawyer, not a generalist across all practice areas. Look at how many years they have handled inheritance cases and how many such cases have gone through court: restoration of a time limit, challenging a will, division of property between heirs, disputes with creditors. A separate criterion is knowledge of notarial practice: a specialist understands why the notary refused to issue the certificate, which documents close the matter at the notarial stage, and where the dispute can only be resolved in court.

At different stages the assistance looks different. Before filing a claim, an inheritance lawyer examines the documents and says what the chances and risks are; during the process — gathers evidence, works with the valuation of the property, builds the position in court; after the decision — helps to obtain the certificate and register the rights. A consultation with an inheritance lawyer does not replace such work — it is needed earlier, to understand whether there is a dispute at all. If you are unsure where to start, break the situation down point by point together with a specialist:

When it is specifically an inheritance lawyer that is needed:

The time limit for accepting the inheritance has been missed, and the notary's refusal is already in hand.

The will was made in favour of an outsider, while you are a close relative.

Another heir has moved into the flat or disposed of the deceased's belongings.

Creditors are demanding the deceased's debts, while you are only just entering into the inheritance.

The dispute concerns real estate, shares or several heirs at the same time.

The main practical conclusion: do not wait for the notary to resolve the dispute himself — as soon as a second claimant, a seizure of property or a creditor's claim appears, you need to record the evidence and go to court, otherwise the right will remain on paper.

Reviews

Reviews of the work of an inheritance lawyer

4.9

Google

4.9 · 128

Yandex

4.8 · 94

2GIS

4.9 · 156

Zoon

4.7 · 41

Bakytzhan S. 6 September 2026

I lived in my mother's flat for many years and never got round to seeing a notary, thought there was time. After the funeral I found out my sister had registered everything in her own name. I went to a lawyer with almost no documents, but he gathered the receipts and bills for the renovation, and the court recognised half of it as mine