Legal advice

We would like to give an apartment as a gift to our daughter, who is 16 and wants to start living independently. According to the Land Register my husband is the only owner of the apartment. Is it true that a permission of the Orphan’s court is needed before we proceed with signing the gift agreement at a notary?

27.01.2010 Karina Katz, lawyer

It’s true. Orphan’s court is a guardianship and trusteeship institution established by a local government, which ensures the protection of rights and legal interests of children. One of the main duties of an Orphan’s court is to defend the personal and property interests of children, which also applies in cases when a child is to receive immovable property as a gift. An Orphan’s court shall ascertain whether there’s no encumbrances, pledges or debts of the immovable property.

Therefore, you should turn to the Orphan’s court of your place of residence first and bring the following documents with you:

  1. Land Register certificate;
  2. Passports;
  3. Your daughter’s birth certificate;
  4. Extract from the Land Register proving that the apartment is not encumbered with anything;
  5. Statement about declared residence place;
  6. Statement from house administration proving there are no debts for public services;

Your husband, as the owner of the apartment, will have to submit an application that he wants to give the apartment as a gift to his daughter. The written consent of the other parent is also necessary. Moreover, the Orphan’s court will have to find out the opinion of the child regarding the acceptance of the gift (the views of the child shall be ascertained considering the age when a child is able to formulate such).

You and your husband shall decide who will be the guardian of your daughter. The guardian is a person who accepts the gift on behalf of the child and administers the immovable property until child has reached the age of majority. Usually the parent, who doesn’t own the property, is appointed as the guardian.

The case hearing will be determined within a month from the date the aforementioned documents were submitted. The Orphan’s court will take a decision regarding the acceptance/denial of the gift by the child. The services of the Orphan’s court are free of charge.

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