Abstract
It is said the law of succession is one of the most durable parts of civil law. If this statement were true, there would not be anything new to report and I should write about the unchanged succession rules. However, in the new Hungarian Civil Code, there are many important changes in this area. On March 15th 2014, the new Book Seven of the Hungarian Civil Code, containing the new law of succession, entered into force. Succession can occur under the law or by testamentary disposition. If the deceased has left a last will and testament then it determines the order of succession. If there is no testamentary disposition, the law provides for the order of succession (Article 7:3—Titles of Succession). In the NHCC, the structure of the succession law will follow the logic of the legal titles of succession but this article will not. Above all, the intestate succession needs to be examined because the testator can make his or her last will and testament only if the rules of intestate succession do not live up to their expectations. At the end of this article I will spend a little time on the changes in the rules on compulsory shares as well.
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Notes
- 1.
Sjef van Erp, New Developments in Succession Law, Electronic Journal of Comparative Law, vol. 11.3 December, http://www.ejcl.org/113/article113-5.pdf, 1.
- 2.
Urve Liin, Laws of Succession in Europe and Estonia: How We Got to Where We Are and Where We Should Be Heading, Juridica International 2001. VI. 114.
- 3.
Zoltán, Csehi, The Law of Succession in Hungary, Miriam Anderson and Esther Arroyo i Amayuelas (ed.), The Law of Succession: Testamentary Freedom: European Perspectives, CSIC Press 170.
- 4.
A brief discussion relating to terminology is inserted here to acquaint the reader with some of the vocabulary used throughout this article. The word “heir” is generally used as descriptive of all persons who share in the estate, either by testacy or intestacy.
- 5.
NHCC, Article 7:1 – HCC, Article 598.
- 6.
The fact that the succession is considered as having been passed over to the heir in its entirety on the death of the deceased person does not prevent the heir from disclaiming it.
- 7.
George A. Pelletier Jr. and Michael Roy Sonnenreich, A Comparative Analysis of Civil Law Succession, Villanova Law Review, 1966, Vol. 11, Issue 2, Article 3. 324–325.
- 8.
Alain-Laurent Verbeke and Yves-Henri Leleu, Harmonization of the Law of Succession in Europe. In: Arthur S. Hartkamp — Martijn W. Hesselink — Ewoud H. Hondius — Chantal Mak — C. Edgar du Perron, Towards a European Civil Code, Fourth Revised and Expanded Edition, 2011, Kluwer Law International BV, The Netherlands, 459.
- 9.
Verbeke – Leleu 2011, 466.
- 10.
Liin 2001, 119.
- 11.
HCC, Article 607, paras (1)–(3).
- 12.
HCC, Article 615, para (1).
- 13.
HCC, Article 616.
- 14.
HCC, Article 607, para (4).
- 15.
Pelletier Jr.—Sonnenreich, 1966, 336.
- 16.
HCC, Article 608.
- 17.
HCC, Article 609.
- 18.
HCC, Article 610.
- 19.
HCC, Article 599, para (3).
- 20.
NHCC, Article 7:55, para (1).
- 21.
NHCC, Article 7:58, para (1).
- 22.
Liin 2001, 121.
- 23.
NHCC, Article 7:58, para (2).
- 24.
NHCC, Article 7:59, para (2).
- 25.
NHCC, Article 7:62 – HCC, Article 601, paras (1)–(3).
- 26.
NHCC, Article 7:61.
- 27.
NHCC, Article 7:60.
- 28.
NHCC, Article 7:63.
- 29.
NHCC, Article 7:64.
- 30.
NHCC, Article 7:65.
- 31.
The total absence or disinheritance of descendants who could be regarded as legal heirs (particularly children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren) is the first criteria necessary to qualify for linear succession.
- 32.
NHCC, Section 7:67 [Lineal property] – HCC, Section 611.
- 33.
NHCC, Section 7:68 [Lineal heirs], paras 1–2. — HCC, Section 612, paras 1–2.
- 34.
Under the HCC no inheritance, under the title of lineal succession, may be claimed with regard to furniture and equipment of the apartment used in common from the surviving spouse after fifteen years of marriage. Section 613, para 3.
- 35.
NHCC, Secion 7:69 [Spouse’s usufruct on lineal property] — HCC, Section 615, para 1 and Section 616, para 4.
- 36.
NHCC, Section 7:68 [Lineal heirs], para 3. — HCC, Section 612, para 3.
- 37.
NHCC, Section 7:71 [Lineal estate] — HCC, Section 614.
- 38.
HCC, Section 613, para 1. Gifts of common value are also exempt from these provisions. Substitution or compensation for the value of lineal property that does not exist at the time of the deceased’s death (e.g. property that was transferred, consumed, or has perished) is not affected according to para 2.
- 39.
PK No. 81, Point a).
- 40.
NHCC, Section 7:70 [Property excluded from lineal succession]. The provisions on lineal succession shall not apply to gifts of ordinary value. The provisions on lineal succession shall not apply to any property that no longer exists at the time of the testator’s death, however, they shall apply to any substitute property or a property purchased from the proceeds received for such property. No claim can be filed, on the grounds of lineal succession, for furnishings and/or household accessories of common value against the deceased’s spouse.
- 41.
Testamentary gift is a special testament. If a gift has been given under the condition that the donee outlives the donor, the regulations governing gifts shall apply to the contract, with the exception that the formal requirements to be applied shall be the same as those for contract of inheritance. A testamentary gift shall be deemed valid only for a bequest that would qualify as a specific legacy in a will. NHCC, Section 7:53 [Testamentary gift].
- 42.
Lajos Vékás, Öröklési jog (Law of Succession) 2013, Eötvös József Könyvkiadó, Budapest, 39.
- 43.
HCC, Section 634 — NHCC, Section 7:20 [Exceptional nature of oral wills].
- 44.
HCC, Section 625, para 1.
- 45.
HCC, Section 627.
- 46.
HCC, Section 628, para 3.
- 47.
HCC, Sections 629–630.
- 48.
NHCC, Section 7:14 [Notarial will], para 1.
- 49.
NHCC, Section 7:23 [Joint will], para 1. — HCC, Section 644.
- 50.
NHCC, Section 7:23 [Joint will], para 2–3.
- 51.
NHCC, Section 7:43 [Annulment and revocation of joint wills], paras 1–2.
- 52.
Pelletier Jr. — Sonnenreich, 1966, p. 348.
- 53.
NHCC, Section 7:43 [Annulment and revocation of joint wills], paras 3–4.
- 54.
HCC, Section 645, para 1. — NHCC, Section 7:28 [Reversionary heir], para 1–2.
- 55.
NHCC, Section 7:28 [Reversionary heir], para 3–4.
- 56.
HCC, Section 655, para 1.
- 57.
HCC, Section 586, para 3.
- 58.
HCC, Section 591, para 1.
- 59.
HCC, Section 655, para 2.
- 60.
HCC, Section 656. — NHCC, Section 7:49 [Validity of a contract of inheritance].
- 61.
BH 1996. 534. — Legf. Bír. Pfv. V. 22.148/1995. sz., BH 2000. 105. – Legf. Bír. Pfv. III. 20.539/1995. sz.
- 62.
Section 73 of the Decree-Act No. 11 of 1960.
- 63.
HCC, Section 657, para 1.
- 64.
BH 1994. 80. — Legf Bír. Pfv. II. 20 791/1993. sz.
- 65.
NHCC, Section 7:48 [Contract of inheritance], paras 1–2.
- 66.
NHCC, Section 7:51 [Contract of inheritance concluded by spouses].
- 67.
NHCC, Section 7:50 [Transfer of estate], para 1.
- 68.
The elimination of compulsory share has been raised in the Hungarian legal literature, see Lajos Besenyei, De lege ferenda gondolatok az öröklési jog köréből. [De lege ferenda Reflections on the Law of Succession] In: Acta Universitatis Szegediensis de Attila József Nominatae, 2008, LIII, 33–43.
- 69.
Csehi 2011, p. 177.
- 70.
In the Anglo-American jurisdictions, freedom of a will is not restricted, but those persons whom the deceased was bound legally or morally to support during their lifetime may claim a right of maintenance from the estate. The courts are given a discretionary power to award a so-called family provision.
- 71.
Verbeke — Leleu 2011, p. 468.
- 72.
HCC, Section 661. — NHCC, Section 7:75 [Compulsory heirs]. In Europe there is a tendency towards reducing the class of heirs entitled to a forced share. Descendants are invariably recognised as being entitled to a forced share. Often also the surviving spouse is protected through a reserved right. Forced share rights for ascendants have been limited or abandoned. Reserved rights for brothers and sisters are very rare and seem to have been increasingly excluded. Verbeke — Leleu 2011, p. 468.
- 73.
HCC, Section 665, para 1.
- 74.
HCC, Section 666, paras 1–2.
- 75.
HCC, Section 665, para 2.
- 76.
NHCC, Section 7:82 [Extent of compulsory share of inheritance].
- 77.
See further Lajos Vékás, Bírálat és jobbító észrevételek az új Ptk. Törvényjavaslatához (a zárószavazás előtt). [Comments, criticisms and improvements on the new Civil Code (before the final vote)] In: Magyar Jog [Hungarian Law], 2013, Nr. 1, 1–7.
- 78.
NHCC, Section 7:76 [Lapse of right to compulsory share].
- 79.
See Act of 23 June 2006.
- 80.
Verbeke – Leleu 2011, p. 468.
- 81.
Liin 2001, p. 124.
- 82.
Verbeke – Leleu 2011, p. 462.
References
Besenyei, Lajos (1998) De lege ferenda gondolatok az öröklési jog köréből. [De lege ferenda Reflections on the Law of Succession] In: Acta Universitatis Szegediensis de Attila József Nominatae, LIII, p 33–43
Csehi, Zoltan (2011) The Law of Succession in Hungary. In: Miriam Anderson and Esther Arroyo i Amayuelas (ed.) The Law of Succession: Testamentary Freedom: European Perspectives, CSIC Press, p 167–190
Gárdos, Péter (2013) Öröklési jog [Law of Succession]. In: Vékás, Lajos (ed.) A Polgári Törvénykönyv magyarázatokkal [The Civil Code with Commentaries], Complex, Budapest, p 985–1031
Liin, Urve (2001) Laws of Succession in Europe and Estonia: How We Got to Where We Are and Where We Should Be Heading. In: Juridica International VI. p 114–124
Pelletier Jr., George A. and Sonnenreich, Michael Roy (1966) A Comparative Analysis of Civil Law Succession. In: Villanova Law Review, Vol. 11, Issue 2, Article 3. p 323–356, http://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/vlr/vol11/iss2/3
van Erp, Sjef (2007) New Developments in Succession Law. In: Electronic Journal of Comparative Law, vol. 11.3 December, http://www.ejcl.org/113/article113–5.pdf
Verbeke, Alain-Laurent and Leleu, Yves-Henri: Harmonization of the Law of Succession in Europe. In: Hartkamp, Arthur S. – Hesselink, Martijn W. – Hondius, Ewoud H. – Mak, Chantal – du Perron, C. Edgar (2011) Towards a European Civil Code, Fourth Revised and Expanded Edition, Kluwer Law International BV, The Netherlands, p 459–479
Vékás, Lajos (2013) Bírálat és jobbító észrevételek az új Ptk. Törvényjavaslatához (a zárószavazás előtt). [Comments, criticisms and improvements on the new Civil Code (before the final vote)] In: Magyar Jog [Hungarian Law], Nr. 1, p 1–7
Vékás, Lajos (2013) Öröklési jog [Law of Succession]. Eötvös Kiadó, Budapest
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Molnár, H. (2017). The Law of Succession in the New Hungarian Civil Code. In: Menyhárd, A., Veress, E. (eds) New Civil Codes in Hungary and Romania. Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice, vol 63. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63327-5_14
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