List of inheritance documents for Ukraine when you live in Canada: the six-month clock in 2026

The list of inheritance documents for Ukraine starts with one item that has a deadline: the heir’s acceptance statement, due to a Ukrainian notary within six months of the death (Civil Code of Ukraine, Article 1270). An heir living in Canada can sign it before a Canadian notary and add an apostille, or sign it at a Ukrainian consulate. The rest of the file proves four things: the death, your right to inherit, your identity and the assets. A representative in Ukraine holding your power of attorney can then collect the certificate of inheritance, register the property and, later, sell it.

An heir has six months to accept an inheritance in Ukraine, counted from the opening of the inheritance, which is the day of death (Civil Code, Articles 1270 and 1220). An heir who did not live permanently with the deceased, which is typically the case for an heir living in Canada, accepts by filing a statement with a notary (Article 1269).

Four rules change the arithmetic:

• Late death registration. During martial law and for two years after it ends, if the death was registered more than one month after it happened, the six months run from the date the death was registered (Civil Code, Final and Transitional Provisions, item 20).
• Heirs who inherit because others declined. Their term is three months from the other heirs’ non-acceptance or refusal (Article 1270(2)).
• Missed deadline. The heir is treated as not having accepted the inheritance. Two ways back exist: written consent of the heirs who accepted, or a court order setting an additional term for a valid reason (Article 1272).
• Refusal. An heir who does not want the inheritance files a refusal within the same six months (Article 1273).

Start with the date of death and the date of its registration. Every later step depends on them.

The acceptance statement is personal: Article 1269(2) requires the heir to submit it personally, so you sign it yourself whichever route you use. Ukraine’s Free Legal Aid guidance of 13 May 2025 lists three routes for heirs abroad: in person at a Ukrainian notary, by mail with the signature notarised, or through a Ukrainian consular institution.

Canada has applied the Hague Apostille Convention since 11 January 2024. For a statement notarised in Canada, the competent authority depends on the province:

• Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan apostille documents notarised in their province.
• British Columbia and Quebec apostille a notarised document only when the original was issued in that province, such as a power of attorney or affidavit signed before a local notary.
• Global Affairs Canada handles documents notarised in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and the three territories.

Confirm the authority for the exact document with the Global Affairs Canada apostille search tool before sending. The full provincial breakdown sits on our apostille service page.

After acceptance, a representative in Ukraine with a power of attorney can handle the certificate of inheritance, the property registration and a later sale. The Free Legal Aid guidance confirms that the certificate can be collected through a representative, and that a power of attorney certified at a Ukrainian consulate is valid in Ukraine immediately.

Three drafting points save a second trip to the notary:

1. Obtaining the certificate, registering title and selling are separate acts. The wording must name each act the representative will perform.
2. Get the draft approved by the Ukrainian notary who handles the estate before you sign in Canada.
3. A consul certifies powers of attorney. Contracts disposing of real estate located in Ukraine are outside what a consul certifies (Law “On Notariat”, Article 38), so the sale itself happens in Ukraine through your representative.

See power of attorney for Ukraine for the signing and apostille route.

A complete list of inheritance documents answers four questions for the Ukrainian notary: who died and when, why you are the heir, who you are, and what the estate contains. Our inheritance document checklist groups the file the same way.

Two problems recur in files from Canada:

• Old or damaged certificates. Soviet-era forms can be handwritten or faded. A Ukrainian civil registry (DRACS) office can issue a repeat certificate from the registry record, including to a representative with a notarised power of attorney.
• Spelling mismatches. Transliteration in Canadian documents often differs from the Ukrainian register. Align the spelling in the translation with the passport before you pay for certification.

Translate after the apostille is attached, so the translation covers it. The Free Legal Aid guidance tells heirs abroad to translate the statement into Ukrainian and have a notary certify the translation and the translator’s signature. Confirm with the receiving notary whether the translation is done in Canada or in Ukraine.

The certificate of the right to inheritance is issued once six months have passed since the opening of the inheritance (Article 1298), and an heir who inherits real estate must apply for it (Article 1297). Where several heirs accept, each receives a certificate that names the other heirs and their shares (Article 1296).

You can receive the certificate in three ways: in person from the Ukrainian notary, at a Ukrainian consulate, which is authorised to issue certificates of inheritance (Law “On Notariat”, Article 38), or through your representative. The notary who issues the certificate normally registers your ownership in the State Register of Real Property Rights at the same time. A sale can only follow that registration.

Tax sits on the same step. Under Article 174.3 of the Tax Code of Ukraine, an heir who is a Ukrainian tax non-resident pays the tax before the notary formalises the inheritance. Check your tax residence with a tax adviser early; LexRoota does not give tax advice.

Typical timing, in our experience: acceptance within the first six months, the certificate and registration in the weeks after the six-month mark once the file is complete. Actual timing depends on the notary, the completeness of the documents and the work of the registries.

Selling inherited property and moving the proceeds are two further routes, and each one relies on the documents from the inheritance file. The sale needs registered ownership and a power of attorney that covers the sale. The transfer abroad follows the National Bank of Ukraine’s currency rules in force on the day of transfer, which change during martial law.

The Canadian bank will then ask where the money came from. Keep one chain of documents in which names, dates and amounts agree: death certificate, certificate of inheritance, register extract, sale agreement, Ukrainian bank statements. Our pages on selling property from Canada and inherited funds cover the document route. For a full walkthrough of a typical case, see a relative died in Ukraine.

An inheritance file from Canada involves several independent providers, and each one charges its own fee. Our quotes list them separately:

• Canadian notary fee for the statement and the power of attorney.
• Apostille fee of the provincial authority or Global Affairs Canada, where applicable.
• Consular fee, if you sign at the embassy or a consulate.
• Translation and, where required, notarial certification of the translator’s signature.
• Courier to Ukraine.
• Ukrainian notary fees and any taxes due on the certificate step.

1. We start from the outcome and separate what happens in Canada from what happens in Ukraine.
2. Every regulated step has a named owner: notary, lawyer, tax adviser, bank or authority.
3. Third-party costs stay visible, and the route is quoted before execution.
4. Our apostille routing by province was checked against Global Affairs Canada and provincial sources on 17 September 2026.
5. We are based in Ottawa and reachable by email, phone and WhatsApp.