After death, the father left a will, according to which all property bequeathed to one of two sons (spouse is absent). Does the other son owe a preferential hereditary share, despite the existence of this will? And can a will be challenged?

After death, the deceased leaves a hereditary mass – property. For example, an apartment.

The testator may bequeath an apartment to one of the heirs, thereby depriving the rest of the inheritance.

But the law allows other heirs to disagree with this and demand the allocation of a preferential hereditary share.

If the other heir refuses to conclude such an agreement, then the allocation of the share occurs through the court.

A preferential inheritance share – it is half the value of the part of the inheritance that the heir would inherit by law.

Each of the sons should have inherited the law 1/2, if there were no will. So, the preferential share will be 1/4 of the apartment.

A preferential share is allocated in money.

The preferential share is allocated from the cost of the apartment, which must be determined on the day of the death of the testator.

If you do not make an assessment of the market value of the apartment, then the value of the apartment can be determined by the cadastral value, which can significantly reduce the required amount in connection with the allocated preferential share in the inheritance. Therefore, an assessment of the market value of the apartment is needed. Of course, the other heir may not agree with such an assessment. Then this issue will be decided in court.

If we talk about contesting the will, it is not easy. You can appeal in court, but you need documentary evidence that the testator at the time of signing the will at the notary was not in his right mind and could not express his will. For example, he had a disease such as dementia. Then you can apply to the court with a request to contest the will.