Is the grandfather a close relative? Who is considered a close relative from the point of view of the law?
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The concept " close relatives"is disclosed primarily in Article 14 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation. In accordance with Art. 14 of the RF IC, close relatives are: relatives in a direct ascending and descending line (parents and children, grandfather, grandmother and grandchildren), full and half (having a common father or mother) brothers and sister.What's most interesting, Art. 14 of the RF IC sorts out brothers and sisters from close relatives. It is not known what exactly the legislator had in mind, but most scientists, despite this not entirely clear interpretation by the legislator of the concept of “close relative,” still believe that brothers and sister are also included in this circle. This is understandable, because in the moral sense, the concept of “close relative” correlates perfectly with brothers and sisters. But still, such an interesting legislative incident cannot be ignored.
In addition, Russian legislation has a very confusing definition of the concepts of “close relatives” and “family members”. These categories often overlap. In accordance with Russian legislation, a family member can also be a close relative.
Why define the concept of “close relative” at all and what advantages close relatives have over other persons can be seen from what is written below.
Close relatives in family law
In accordance with Art. 14 of the RF IC, marriage between close relatives is prohibited.In accordance with Art. 67 of the RF IC, close relatives have the right to communicate with the child. However, not only close ones, but also other relatives have this right. But close relatives have an advantage over other relatives.
In accordance with Part 3 of Art. 73 close relatives may be sued for deprivation parental rights.
Close relative in tax law
Income from transactions between close relatives is not taxed (Part 5, Article 208 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).In accordance with Art. 18.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, income received as a gift is exempt from taxation if the donor and recipient are family members and (or) close relatives in accordance with the Family Code Russian Federation(spouses, parents and children, including adoptive and adopted parents, grandparents and grandchildren, full and half (having a common father or mother) brothers and sisters).
Close relatives in housing law
The most interesting thing is that the Housing Code of the Russian Federation does not contain the concept of “close relative” at all. It contains only the concept of “family member” and all benefits, rights and obligations apply only to family members. But what is most interesting, in accordance with Art. 31 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, members of the family of the owner of a residential premises include his spouse living together with this owner in the residential premises belonging to him, as well as the children and parents of this owner. Other relatives, disabled dependents and, in exceptional cases, other citizens may be recognized as members of the owner’s family if they are settled by the owner as members of his family. Thus, in accordance with housing legislation, a family member can be a person who has absolutely no family relations, as well as a non-adopted person. 
IN Everyday life We hardly think about who our close relatives are. We call close - all blood and step-relatives from the same generation, as well as from the older or younger generation.
But in addition to the simple, philistine idea of kinship relationships, there is an official, legal definition of this phenomenon.
Confirmation or denial of a close family relationship may be required in many legal respects:
- upon marriage;
- upon deprivation or limitation of parental rights;
- when drawing up contracts;
- when paying taxes and state duties in case of receiving an inheritance or gift;
- when involved as witnesses in criminal proceedings;
- when inheriting by law, by will;
- when moving in and out of residential premises;
- upon employment, receiving paid and unpaid leaves, additional payments.
For example, the order of inheritance by law assumes that the priority applicants for inheritance are close relatives belonging to the first and second lines of inheritance. In other cases, if the testator left a will in which he indicated that the heirs were “close relatives”, but did not indicate specific persons, the husband or wife of the testator may find himself without a share, since by law he does not belong to this category.
But the given list of legal relations that follow from the concept of close kinship is far from complete.
The concept of kinship from the point of view of law is complex and ramified. In this article we will look at who is called a close relative by the legislation of the family, labor, housing, administrative and criminal branches of law.
Close relatives and family members
Oddly enough, in Russian legislation there is no uniform idea of kinship relations. Each branch of law categorizes different individuals as close relatives.
Close relatives
Close relatives are direct ancestors or descendants along a vertical line (children and parents, grandparents and grandchildren, granddaughters), as well as along a horizontal line (full, half-sisters and brothers). Close kinship is based on the principle of common blood.
However, there are exceptions to this principle. So, despite the presence of consanguinity, great-grandmother, great-grandfather and great-grandson, great-granddaughter are not close relatives. Not closely related uncle, aunt and niece and nephew, cousin and cousin.
On the other hand, despite the lack of consanguinity, they are recognized as close relatives - adoptive parents and adopted children, the relationship between which is identical to the relationship between children and parents.
As for the relationship between spouses, according to the principle of common blood, a husband and wife are not recognized as close relatives. The law calls such relationships a property. In-laws are also considered relatives from the spouse's side - mother-in-law and father-in-law, mother-in-law and father-in-law, son-in-law and daughter-in-law.
- common-law spouses;
- guardians, trustees and wards, wards;
- sister's husband, brother's wife.
Family members
The concept of family members is much broader. According to the Housing Law, a family is considered to be all persons living in the same residential premises, even not the closest relatives, for example, mother-in-law or father-in-law, mother-in-law or father-in-law, cousin or sister.
The concept of “close relatives” in the legislation of the Russian Federation
Constitution
…grandmother
The grandmother is a close relative for her grandson and granddaughter in accordance with Article 14 of the RF IC and other legislative acts.
…grandfather
A grandfather, like a grandmother, is a close relative to a grandson and granddaughter.
…grandson
A grandson and granddaughter are a close relative to the grandparents on the father's or mother's side.
...mother-in-law
The father-in-law and mother-in-law are not relatives - in relation to the daughter-in-law, father-in-law and mother-in-law - in relation to the son-in-law. The law calls such relationships a property. This category also includes the relationship between stepfather, stepmother and stepson, stepdaughter, as well as other relationships. However, relatives can be considered family members.
…brother or sister
Full-born (born from a common father and mother) and not full-born (born only from a common father or only from a common mother) are close relatives.
…cousin or brother
Unlike siblings, the law does not classify cousins as close kinship. For example, if we are talking about inheritance, then they relate only to the third line of heirs, and then only instead of the aunt or uncle of the deceased.
...brother's wife or wife's brother
The wife of a brother or sister, the brother or sister of a wife - there are no relations of consanguinity between these persons, but there are relations of property arising from a marriage between relatives.
Rubric “Question/Answer”
Good afternoon Is my stepfather a close relative if he was legally married to my mother for more than 30 years? Now he is dead. I work in a government agency. Can I receive financial assistance in connection with his death? The organization's wage regulations state that material aid paid in connection with the death of a close relative. Thank you!
No, the stepfather is not included in the list of close relatives by law (Article 14 of the RF IC). An exception is if he adopted you in court. A stepfather can be considered a family member if he lived with you for a long and continuous period of time. 30 years is a sufficient period for this. Check with your accounting department to see if you are entitled to payments in connection with the death of a family member? Proof of cohabitation will be an extract from the house register, a marriage certificate, copies of a personal account, etc.
If my brother and I have the same father, but different mothers, can we legally be considered close relatives?
The presence of legal relations arising from blood ties has led to the emergence of the concept of “close relatives” in the legal doctrine, which means that the questions become natural: “who are close relatives according to the law?” and “what are the legal consequences of close relationship?”
Relatives who are recognized by law as close to each other have rights and obligations in relation to each other. In different branches of law, the lists of who is a close relative under Russian law may differ slightly.
Therefore, let’s try to understand all the relatives and on what legal grounds various transactions can be made between them.
Most general concept relatives recognized as close ones is concentrated in Article 14 of the domestic Family Code (FC). Close relatives family code The Russian Federation is none other than:
- Vertical relatives, i.e. grandfather, grandmother, mother, father, son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter.
- Relatives horizontally, i.e. brother, sister. In this case, either two parents or just one can be common, i.e. a half-brother or sister is also recognized as close relatives.
The definition of close relationship is based on the principle of common blood. It follows from this that a husband or wife is not recognized by family law as close relatives, since there is no blood relationship.
Despite the presence of a blood relationship with a great-grandmother (great-grandfather) or great-grandchildren, the latter are not close relatives according to the RF IC.
At the same time, there is a category of persons who are recognized as close relatives according to the family code and are classified according to the first group. Such persons are adopted people or adoptive parents, since the relationships that arise after adoption are identical to the relationships between parents and children, although they are not based on blood kinship.
The rest of the relatives (uncle, aunt, cousin, cousin, nephew, etc.), including those from the spouse’s side (mother-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, etc.) are considered by law as brothers-in-law, since the family code recognizes them as property relations.
Relationships of property also occur in relationships with a stepfather, stepdaughter or stepson.
From the point of view of the law, the following are not considered as brothers-in-law or relatives:
- common-law husband (wife);
- guardian;
- sister's husband (brother's wife).
Branches of law where the concept of close relatives is found
Close relationship as a legal term is also used in other areas of legislation. In some industries, a greater number of relatives is recognized as a close relative than is stipulated in the RF IC.
Criminal Code
For example, the criminal law recognizes a spouse with blood relatives as a close relative.
This is due to the specifics of legal relations. For example, the norms of criminal legislation, including criminal executive law, include a husband or wife in the list of those persons who are considered close relatives under the criminal law.
However, not every regulatory legal act contains such a definition. In most cases, the norms reflect a reference nature to the family code, or imply this.
Civil Code
For civil norms, the definition of close kinship is acceptable, as in the RF IC, since the civil code regulates family relations only in that part that is not regulated by marriage and family norms.
Administrative Code
The Administrative Code has taken an intermediate position on the issue of determining who is considered close relatives under the law, since in a number of administrative articles relatives described in the RF IC occupy the same level as the spouse, but in fact the latter is distinguished separately.
Tax code
Close relatives according to the tax code of the Russian Federation coincide with the list from the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. Moreover, tax rules refer to family ones.
Legal consequences arising from close relationship
When between people there are family relations, recognized as close, this imposes on them certain mutual rights and obligations in relation to each other, the implementation of which is bound by law to certain conditions.
In particular, this concerns the questions:
- collection of alimony;
- restrictions (deprivation) of parental rights;
- entry into inheritance, since close relatives are included in the first and second stages of inheritance, which means they are presented for inheritance earlier than others and have a primary right to inheritance. In addition, under certain conditions, such relatives can claim a legal share in the inherited property if the testator, by his will, left the heirs “overboard” without including them among the approved heirs.
- payment of taxes, namely preferential income taxation;
- labor and social guarantees, when an employee has the right to unpaid leave due to the death of a close relative, or the right to receive a survivor’s pension (if there are grounds for its assignment), as well as to receive a pension accrued to a deceased relative, which was not actually paid .
This is not a complete list of the content of legal relations arising from the concept of close kinship.
Peculiarities in regulating transactions between relatives
The fact of close kinship in no way infringes on the rights of relatives to carry out transactions between themselves such as donation, purchase and sale, rent, inheritance, etc. Transactions between close relatives are carried out on the basis of the general requirements of civil law, taking into account certain features.
Purchase and sale of real estate
Buying and selling an apartment is the most common type of transaction in the real estate market. And, despite blood ties, close relatives often become mutual participants in market relations, when the transfer of the rights of one relative passes to another not on a free basis, but for a tidy sum.
If in reality this is the case, and in exchange for the apartment the person received the amount agreed upon in the contract, then the transaction took place and is recognized as valid within the framework of the law.
The tax on the sale of an apartment directly depends on the price of the contract, which is necessarily stated in it. Tax payments will be 13% of the contract price, and the burden will fall on the seller. However, they are exempt from this tax if:
- the apartment was owned for three years or more (for property sold since 2016, this period is set at 5 years);
- the cost of the apartment does not exceed 1,000,000 rubles, since the deduction is carried out from the amount exceeding this figure.
If the relatives decided to deliberately include a lower value in the contract in order to reduce the tax, then the discovery of such a fact may lead not only to an additional payment of the missing amount of tax (which will be calculated from the cost of the apartment, which the tax inspector will indicate), but also a penalty.
The purchase and sale of an apartment between close relatives without actual payment is also grounds for invalidating the transaction.
In order to legally purchase an apartment from a relative under a sales contract, you must pay for it not only on paper, but also actually transfer the money.
Donation of real estate
The donation agreement is concluded by general rules, and accordingly, unlike purchase and sale, property rights to a real estate object are transferred free of charge.
Completing such a transaction has a number of advantages, primarily for the donee:
- is not taxed when donating real estate to a close relative;
- If the recipient is married, the gift is not recognized as common joint property spouses and under no circumstances is subject to division.
However, if a person subsequently decides to sell the donated apartment, he will have to fork out taxes. The tax amount will be 13% of the difference: the cost of the apartment minus 1 million rubles.
There is also a positive point: if the new owner has used the gift for more than 3 years (or 5 years, starting from 2016), then he is exempt from any taxes when selling this real estate.
Inheritance
After the death of a person, close relatives have the right to claim property and property rights that belonged to the deceased during his lifetime. The Civil Code of the Russian Federation determines the order of inheritance, but not all relatives who are close according to the RF IC are included in the first line of inheritance.
The following are given priority for inheritance:
- children (adopted and biological);
- parents (adoptive parents);
- a spouse who is not considered by the RF IC as a close relative.
If there are no primary heirs, heirs from the second priority are represented:
- grandfather, grandmother;
- brothers and sisters (step and full siblings).
If there is a will, then the testator himself determines the circle of persons to whom the rights to property will be transferred by inheritance. Close relatives not specified in the will can claim the inheritance if they are entitled to a mandatory share.
The obligatory share is due to a strictly defined category of persons:
- children under 18 years of age, or older but disabled or incompetent;
- parents (adoptive parents) disabled or incompetent;
- a spouse who has lost the ability to work or have legal capacity.
Upon receipt, close relatives do not pay tax, but pay a state fee for registering the right to an apartment. The amount of the duty is calculated based on the value of the inherited apartment in the amount of 0.3%. And at the same time, the maximum fee is limited to 100,000 rubles.
An inherited apartment is sold according to general rules with payment of 13% tax on an amount exceeding 1,000,000 rubles in the cost of the apartment, if the period of ownership of the apartment is less than 3 years (or 5 years from 2016).
Participation of a minor relative in the transaction
The law provides for prohibitions on a number of transactions in which one of the parties is a minor. These include paid transactions of minors through legal representatives (parents, guardians, adoptive parents, trustees, spouses and close relatives).
Such a prohibition excludes any possibility of selling real estate owned by to a minor child his mother and other close relatives.
Taking the law literally, which prohibits any paid transactions involving minors, the latter also cannot acquire anything.
This prohibition also applies to transactions in which maternal capital, and accordingly the child. It turns out that it will not be possible to purchase an apartment from grandparents or other close relatives, but the latter have the right to inherit the apartment, donate it, or simply provide the right to use it free of charge.
If such a transaction is carried out, its registration will be refused, since it contradicts the rules of law.
Refund of personal income tax for transactions between relatives
Citizens can receive a tax deduction, or rather an income tax refund, when purchasing an apartment if they are officially employed and deduct 13% income tax from their wages.
But this general rule has a number of exceptions, including those related to relatives. That is, when buying an apartment from a close relative, a person does not have the right to a tax deduction upon personal income tax return.
But close relatives have the right to claim other types of deductions:
- . This deduction is provided to parents if they pay for the education of their children, or to persons paying for the education of a brother or sister whose age does not exceed 24 years. This deduction is made in the amount paid for training in the tax period.
- . The amount of the deduction coincides with the amount of payment for medical services provided and paid for in the tax period and is due, in the case of payment for such services to parents or minor children.
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