Acceptance of inheritance and inheritor's responsibility for devisor's debts

Research subject: theoretical and practical issues of the bequest acceptance. It is an attempt to analyze rather problematic sphere of the Law Institute of Lithuania, that is still raising theoretical as well as practical problems, and one of the methods of the bequest acceptance still lacks of consideration of the law scientists and practitioners. The main goal of the work is to define a concept of the bequest acceptance, determine importance of the bequest acceptance to legatees and in descent legal relationship in general, analyze theoretical and practical issues of the methods of bequest acceptance, search for the problems’ solutions. With the view of the goal following tasks are raised – to analyze these questions: why should the bequest be accepted; since when is the legatee considered as the one who accepted bequest; what is the basis of origin of the ownership rights of legatee; from which moment does the legatee take over the testator rights and duties; why is it not possible to accept/resign only part of bequest; is legatee allowed to choose the basis of descent; what is the bequest acceptance; is it possible to accept bequest with the conditions; why is it not possible to revoke bequest acceptance; is it necessary to obtain court decision in order to accept bequest on behalf of the person under 18; what does it mean the principal of autonomy of the subjects of civil legal relationship in descent law; what are the consequences of bequest abandonment; is it possible to resign the bequest in somebody’s favour in conformance with Law of Lithuania; is it possible to resign the bequest after its acceptance; why is it not possible to recall abandonment of bequest acceptance; what period of time is available to accept bequest and resign it; what are the methods of bequest acceptance; what kind of the actions does it show that legatee accepted bequest entering de facto into ownership of the inherited asset; what does it mean “active” actions of the legatee, is it possible to accept bequest by means of “keeping silence”; is going to be actual possession of the asset, taking the thing as a memory; what does it mean the phrase “one controls the thing as an owner” frequently used by law theorists; to whom does belong prerogative to determine that the bequest is accepted after it is actually controlled; what kind of the problems does it rise because of the fact that there is not stipulated periods of issuing the certificate of bequest in legislation of Lithuania; and other pressing questions of these days. So the work is a try to clear the mechanism of the bequest acceptance, its problems, and shortcomings of legislation that prevent from effective implementation of the legislation requirements