Property document issued with an error in the deceased's name: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. ⏰ Do not lose the deadline: the acceptance deadline is 6 months from the day of opening, and a dispute over the document does not suspend it (Civil Code Art. 1424). File the application for acceptance now. For property in the certificate, the notary needs all documents on its legal status (Instruction on the Procedure for Notarial Acts, Art. 89); the notary may postpone the act until the documents are obtained (Law on Notaries, Art. 46).
2. Find where the error is. In the registry entry, the registry must correct its own technical error, including a spelling error (Law on Public Registry, Art. 28); in the death certificate, an error in the civil-act record is corrected by the Public Service Development Agency (Law on Civil Acts, Art. 79).
3. Administrative route through the Public Registry: a discrepancy in letters, transliteration or a diminutive form, where other data match (personal number, patronymic, date of birth, address), is registered by the registry on the basis of the identity document (Law on Public Registry, Art. 24). Otherwise, the decision on whether the document belongs to the person is taken by a commission of the Ministry of Justice attached to the registry (Law on Public Registry, Art. 24). A registry decision may be appealed within 30 calendar days (Law on Public Registry, Art. 29).
4. Otherwise, the court: the court establishes that a title document belongs to a person if the first name, patronymic or surname does not match the passport (Civil Procedure Code Art. 312). Evidence is needed that the document cannot otherwise be corrected, such as refusals from the registry or archive (Civil Procedure Code Art. 315). The court is the one at the applicant's place of residence (Civil Procedure Code Art. 314); state duty is GEL 50 (Civil Procedure Code Art. 39); if a dispute over the right arises, the application is left without consideration and a claim is required (Civil Procedure Code Art. 311).
5. With the decision, go to the notary and the registry: the decision is the basis for registration and processing (Civil Procedure Code Art. 316).
6. Where to apply: notary; Public Registry (through the Public Service Hall); Public Service Development Agency; district court.
7. Evidence: the title document, registry extract, death certificate, the deceased's Soviet and Georgian passports, marriage certificate (maiden name), archival certificates of residence and privatisation, payments at the address, witnesses.
8. Traps: waiting for the document to be corrected and missing the acceptance deadline; going straight to court without applying to the registry, since the court requires proof that the document cannot otherwise be corrected; confusing this with establishing kinship, because here one proves that the document belongs to the deceased.

Be sure to check

• file the application for acceptance within the 6-month deadline, without waiting for corrections
• identify where the error is: the registry, the title document or the death certificate
• administrative route through the Public Registry: registration on the basis of the identity document, commission on whether the document belongs to the person
• court: establishing that the document belongs to the person; jurisdiction, state duty; if disputed, a claim