Law of succession

Due to the fact that matrimonial property and inheritance issues are closely intertwined, in some situations the determination of rules which should be applicable to particular relationships seems problematic. This fully applies to marriage contracts which cover both types of issues.  The presence of a cross-border element in such contracts raises the question of the delineation of the legal regimes of the Matrimonial Property Regulation and the Succession Regulation applicable to matrimonial property and succession issues respectively. This paper analyses the rules which should be applicable to choice-ofcourt agreements for matters arising out of marriage contracts which cover both matrimonial property and inheritance issues and include a cross-border element. For this reason, the paper reveals the interaction between the regimes of the Matrimonial Property Regulation and the Succession Regulation, and the requirements of choice-ofcourt agreements under both regulations. Some of the requirements of these regulations of choice-of-court agreements coincide (eg formal requirements), while others differ. The main differences include: the precondition for the conclusion of a choice-of-court agreement under the Succession Regulation, which is not required under the Matrimonial Property Regulation; the courts which may be chosen; and the circle of matters which can be resolved by the courts on the basis of the choice-of-court agreement.  It is concluded that a choice-of-court agreement, included in the marriage contract, can meet the requirements of both the Succession Regulation and the Matrimonial Property Regulation if: the dispositions upon the death of a spouse, included in the marriage contract, are an  ‘agreement as to succession’ in the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Succession Regulation; the marriage contract includes a choice-of-law agreement in favour of the law of the Member State whose nationality a deceased spouse possessed when the choice-of-law agreement was concluded; this choice of law agreement covers the succession of the deceased spouse ‘as a whole’; the choice-of-court agreement grants jurisdiction to the courts of the Member State whose nationality a deceased spouse possessed at the time of the conclusion of the choice-of-law agreement; it provides the
jurisdiction of ‘the courts’ of a Member State (not ‘a court’).

This article examines how 'safety case' experts working on Finland’s nuclear waste repository project at Olkiluoto summoned, conjured, or channeled memories of Seppo—a deceased colleague whose ‘specter,’ as some put it, still ‘haunts’ their scientific community. For some, Seppo’s postmortem presence manifested as gaps in knowledge left behind by an expert often reluctant to document the methodological assumptions underlying his knowledge-practices. For others, it manifested as anecdotes about Seppo’s stubbornness, irritability, and intellectual intensity as well as his more jovial demeanor during sauna nights, workplace parties, or trips abroad. Still others caught themselves asking ‘What Would Seppo Do?’ while troubleshooting at work. Inspired by anthropological and philosophical work on ancestors and haunting, the article unpacks how the multi-millennial time horizons of nuclear waste risk, the intergenerational time horizons of expert succession, and the everyday time horizons of a single expert life-course shared entwined fates. It focuses less on what knowledge disappeared when an expert’s body died – or how it could have been preventatively backed-up or managed – and more on what has lived on of the expert in and through surviving colleagues. Analysis of 'afterlives of expertise' like these can, it concludes, provide insights for a current moment of intergenerational transition in nuclear energy sectors in Europe, North America, and beyond.

A free sample taken from the published work.

The monograph “Dziedziczenie. Konstrukcja prawna i ochrona” [Legal construction and the protection of inheritance] (p. 556) published by Lexis Nexis Publishing Company in 2013, is the only study of Polish legal doctrine that comprehensively discusses legal constructions related to inheritance and all legal consequences resulting from the death of a deceased. The concept of inheritance is the most important aspect of inheritance law. The book aimed to fully present the principles relating to inheritance and its protection in Polish law and comparative law.
The monograph was a revised and updated version of a doctoral dissertation, which in June 2013 received the first prize in the category of PhD Dissertations in XLVIII “Państwo i Prawo” Contest for the best Doctoral and Habilitation Dissertations in Legal Sciences (the oldest and the most prestigious competition in Poland for habilitations and PhD’s in the field of legal sciences). This book also received a distinction in the 6th edition of the competition organised by the journal “Przegląd  Sądowy” for the most useful law book for judicial practice in 2013.

La produzione del testamento olografo non in originale ma in copia giustificherebbe, secondo la costante giurisprudenza di legittimità, la presunzione che il de cuius lo abbia revocato distruggendolo deliberatamente, presunzione che potrebbe vincersi mediante la prova dell’esistenza della scheda al tempo dell’aperta successione.
Siffatta presunzione non appare giustificata se solo si considera il rapporto tra documento e dichiarazione, e tra dichiarazione e documentazione. Ai fini dell’esistenza del negozio è, infatti, sufficiente e necessaria la formazione del documento (documentazione), là dove il risultato della documentazione (documento) è piuttosto funzionale alla prova del negozio.
Se il testatore fotocopia la scheda testamentaria oppure ne redige una copia in carta carbone, nemmeno può sostenersi che egli con ciò abbia inteso revocare soggettivamente le disposizioni di ultima volontà, giacché tra le due determinazioni volitive (il testamento e la produzione della copia) non si ravvisa alcuna incompatibilità materiale. Non si avrà, dunque, revoca e la successione non sarà regolata dalla legge ma dalla copia del testamento, che non può che essere oggettivamente compatibile con il contenuto del negozio mortis causa.

According to the case law of the Court of Cassation, the availability of a copy and not original will upon the testator’s death raises the presumption that the will was destroyed by the testator with intent to revoke. This presumption may be rebutted by evidence showing that the will was found at the time of the death.
However, holding the will revoked does not seem reasonable given the relation between document and declaration, and between declaration and documentation. The development of the document (i.e. documentation) affects the effectiveness of the legal act, whereas the result of the documentation (i.e. document) concerns the evidence of this act.
Nor can it be maintained that where the testator made a photocopy or carbon copy of the will, by doing so he meant to intentionally revoke the will. Indeed, there is no objective incompatibility between the two decisions (the will and the making of a copy). Hence, the will is not revoked and the rules of intestate succession do not apply, being the copy surely compatible with the content of the will.

A testator may change his mind and revoke the testament which he/she has created at first by a second testament. If he/she changes his mind again and revoke the latter testament by a third one, the fate of the first testament may be questionable: Does it enter into force again or does it stay void? The subject is not resolved in the terms of neither Turkish nor Swiss Civil Codes. Doctrine and jurisprudence admit that the last will of the testator should be examined and interpreted in order to answer the question. Especially, the problem arises when there’s no possible interpretation which could lead us to find out if the testator wanted to revive the terms of the first testament or he/she wanted to rely on the legal succession system. In this article, the legal effects of retraction of a second testament which has already revoked the first testament will be analyzed.

Mirasbırakan, hazırladığı bir vasiyetnameden her zaman vazgeçebilir ve bu ölüme bağlı tasarrufunu geri alabilir. Hatta fikrini bir kez daha değiştirip, hazırlamış olduğu ikinci bir vasiyetnameyi de sonradan geri alabilir. İşte bu halde, ilk başta meydana getirmiş olduğu ilk vasiyetnamenin hukuki kaderi tartışmaya açıktır: İşbu ilk vasiyetname, üçüncü bir ölüme bağlı tasarrufla ikinci vasiyetnamenin geri alınması üzerine, tekrar yürürlüğe girerek geçerlilik kazanacak mıdır yoksa hükümsüz kalmaya devam mı edecektir? Mesele Türk ve İsviçre Medeni Kanunlarında çözüme kavuşturulmuş değildir. Sorun, daha ziyade, yorum yoluyla dahi mirasbırakanın ilk vasiyetnameye geri dönmeyi mi yoksa kanuni miras paylaşımı sistemine mi dönmeyi istediğinin anlaşılamadığı durumlarda ortaya çıkmaktadır. Bu makalede, ilk vasiyetnameyi geri alan ikinci vasiyetnamenin de üçüncü bir vasiyetnameyle geri alınması halinde ilk vasiyetnamenin hukuki durumu incelenecektir.

El autor analiza y reflexiona sobre la necesidad de actualización del Código Civil vigente, particularmente en los libros de Obligaciones, Sucesiones y Contratos - parte general; para ello cuestiona de manera general la importación de las instituciones jurídicas, pero de manera particular se resalta el análisis del trasplante del protocolo familiar que sirve de base del planeamiento hereditario de empresas familiares, desde una interpretación coherente y sistemática. De allí que se analice las diferencias entre los negocios de última voluntad y los negocios mortis causa.

All’indomani delle Sezioni unite del 2006, la dottrina si è interrogata sull’estensibilità del principio della cristallizzazione delle quote di legittima all’apertura della successione, e della loro invariabilità per effetto della rinuncia all’azione di riduzione, alla diversa ipotesi della rinuncia del legittimario all’eredità. La sentenza in commento prende posizione sul tema, affermando che nella successione necessaria la quota spettante al legittimario rinunciante all’eredità non si accresce a favore degli altri legittimari accettanti, né occorre procedere al ricalcolo, dovendo l’individuazione della quota di riserva essere effettuata sulla base della situazione esistente al momento dell’apertura della successione. La debolezza argomentativa della pronuncia induce, tuttavia, ad una riflessione piú attenta sugli effetti del venir meno di un legittimario alla morte del de cuius e sull’opportunità di distinguere le diverse fattispecie applicative.

In the aftermath of the Joined Sections decision in 2006, scholars have cast doubt on whether the principle that forced shares must be determined at the testator’s death and do not vary where the heir dismisses his claim, might also apply to the heir dismissing his inheritance. In the case at hand, the Court of Cassation took a stance on the issue and held that the forced share of the heir dismissing his inheritance does not add to remaining forced shares, for the shares must be determined when the succession opens. As the Court’s line of reasoning appears quite weak, due regard must be had to the consequences of a dismissal by the forced heir after the testator dies. It appears that different situations must be distinguished.

O presente curso de direito civil foi elaborado com o propósito específico de servir como obra didática. A exposição da matéria é feita de forma clara e condensada, mas sem deixar de cuidar, de maneira panorâmica e atual, dos elementos técnicos mais relevantes.
Dá-se ênfase às disposições do Código Civil de 2002, seguindo-se a ordem de apresentação escolhida pelo legislador. O trabalho adotou metodologia clássica de exposição, a qual parece conduzir a melhores resultados no aprendizado.
Seu conteúdo examina tanto os temas tradicionais como os debates doutrinários e os questionamentos jurisprudenciais mais recentes e relevantes, o que inclui a influência do direito constitucional na construção hodierna do direito civil.
A despeito de não ter sido elaborada uma obra com a profundidade de um tratado, acredita-se que o rigor e a precisão técnica, que caracterizam este trabalho, permitem sua utilização como relevante fonte de informação e pesquisa não somente para estudantes de graduação, mas também para todo o público da área jurídica.
O objetivo foi elaborar um livro útil, claro, conciso e eficiente, que efetivamente auxilie no preparo dos estudantes de graduação, mas que igualmente seja de grande valia como material de consulta para estudantes de pós-graduação e profissionais do direito.
Espero que esse trabalho seja de agrado do leitor.

The period prior to 1st July 1981, when the Law of Succession Act came into force, was characterized by a plural application of succession laws in Kenya. Each socio-cultural group had its own body of succession law. This scenario obtained because of historical reasons. There were four legislations in force governing the law of succession in Kenya together with customary law. These were: African Wills Act, Hindu Succession Act, Indian Succession Act, Mohammedan Marriage and divorce Act. When the 1Law of Succession Act Cap. 160 were enacted as Act No 14 of 1972. It was intended to merge and consolidate all the above legislations into uniform law of succession applicable to all the section of the Kenyan population. However, due to intense agitation by the Muslim community between 1981 when the Act came into force till 1990 the Act was amended by statute law (miscellaneous amendment) Act No 2 of 1990 which misapplied the law of Succession Act (Cap. 160) to persons who at the time of their death were Muslims. Instead, Islamic law as contained in the Koran would govern the estate of such persons. The law of succession came about as a result of report compiled by a commission appointed by the late President J. Kenyatta on 17Th March 1967 to enquire into the law of succession. The Law applying to Africans(Pre-colonial period) 2The 1897 Order-in-Council provided under article 52 that African customary law was to apply to Africans as long as it was not repugnant to justice or morality. Matters of succession were therefore to be governed by African customary law. The above legislation did not, however, provide for the law applicable to the so called 'westernized' Africans who had converted to Christianity, got western way of life, seeking to divorce themselves from the operation of African

Il lavoro monografico mira a porre in discussione la tesi tradizionale in materia di donazioni c.d. indirette, dimostrando, attraverso un ragionamento storico-sistematico, che è possibile ed, anzi, auspicabile un'interpretazione in chiave oggettiva delle norme, prevalentemente, codicistiche in materia di liberalità non donativa. Tale percorso ermeneutico rivela come l'impostazione oggi più accreditata, volta a considerare lo spirito di liberalità (aliasa causa donandi) l'elemento comune fra donazione e liberalità non donativa, si ponga in contrasto con il sistema di diritto privato italiano in cui la causa negoziale è concepita in senso unitario sono ammesse mistioni ovvero commistioni produttive di effetti c.d. indiretti. Si pone, dunque, in discussione la stessa terminologia di donazione indiretta (nonchè quella di negozio indiretto, da assimilarsi al negozio simulato), proponendone una alternativa, incentrata sull'unico elemento comune alle fattispecie sopra menzionate: l'effetto liberale o arricchimento mero. In altre parole, si capovolge la prospettiva, individuando la liberalità nell'effetto e non nella causa. Ciò comporta una revisione dei criteri di applicazione delle norme in materia di liberalità non donativa alle fattispecie che si ascrivono, tradizionalmente, alla categoria delle "donazioni indirette". Tali fattispecie sono analizzate individualmente tra il primo e il secondo volume. Nel volume cui questo abstract si riferisce vengono considerate le fattispecie negoziali ad efficacia esclusiva inter partes (con specifica attenzione alle fattispecie aleatorie) e gli atti unilaterali, rinviando al secondo volume l'analisi delle fattispecie triangolari e degli effetti liberali derivanti da fattispecie non negoziali. I risultati finali dell'indagine portano ad una revisione complessiva dei criteri di individuazione dell'effetto liberale con particolare riguardo alla c.d. vendita mista a donazione (ridenominata vendita ad effetti liberali) e alle altre ipotesi negoziali che realizzano attribuzioni lesive dei diritti dei creditori e/o dei legittimari.

En el presente comentario se efectua un brevisimo analisis de las posturas teoricas asumidas por el profesor Fernandez Arce en lo concerniente al testamento. Por tal motivo, se intenta resaltar las influencias de dichas posturas teoricas así como el fundamento historico de algunas de ellas.

Our new book examines the operation of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act and the rules of succession formulated in Bhe v Magistrate, Khayelitsha. The object of the research was to show how legislators in a new democratic constitutional framework have sought to do justice to customary rights that, in the areas of marriage, its effects and its dissolution as well as succession, fall within a normative context that is historically prior to the new Constitution of South Africa, and above all that are based on different value systems. In 'Reform of Customary Marriage, Divorce and Succession in South Africa: Living Customary Law and Social Realities' the authors  show clearly the prudence of the legislators, who did not create a tabula rasa but neither did they fully subscribe to the existing customary morns or rights. This difficult balance is illustrated by analysis of both case law and the experiences of people’s experiences of law in daily life

The Administration of Estates involves a number of principles which define the responsibilities that attend the office of the personal representatives of the estate of the deceased. The usual assumption is that the minor has no stake in the administration of estates as he can neither be appointed an administrator nor take the mantle of executorship until he attains majority in either case. It is contended that this assumption is not entirely correct as the minor plays some critical part in the said exercise through the mechanisms of guardianship and trusteeship. Personal representatives are equally not immune to liability where minority interests in the estate of the deceased are compromised. This paper discusses the place of the minor in the administration of estates as a subject of limitations and an object of liabilities.

Nel diritto ereditario romano è documentata in maniera inusualmente ricca la circostanza per la quale si dispiegano effetti giuridici a favore dello schiavo, mentre lo stesso esegue con efficacia azioni giuridiche, afferma interessi nell’ambito di processi regolati o rivendica diritti riconducibili a se stesso. Ciò giustifica una trattazione della posizione „attiva“ dello schiavo nel diritto ereditario non solo come fine a se stessa, ma anche al contempo paradigmaticamente in considerazione della posizione giuridica complessiva dello schiavo. Questa viene descritta sulla base di 552 fonti testuali attraverso il graduale riconoscimento di ipotesi di una capacità giuridica dello schiavo.

Recensioni critiche: Straus, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2017 (http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2017/2017-10-38.html); Stagl, Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte (Rom. Abt.) 135 (2018), S. 709-713

Per la prima volta in giurisprudenza, la corte d’appello di Roma ammette la trascrivibilità immediata – cioè senza attendere un accertamento giudiziale di simulazione – di un atto di opposizione (art. 563, comma 4°, cod. civ.) avverso un negozio dispositivo dell’ereditando che il futuro legittimario ritiene dissimulare una donazione, purché sia contestualmente trascritta la domanda di simulazione. Il commento si sofferma sulle ragioni della decisione, che viene inquadrata in un contesto dottrinale in evoluzione e nel solco di un percorso giurisprudenziale non ancora giunto al termine.

O direito das sucessões, tradicionalmente, coloca-se a serviço da preservação da família enquanto unidade social relevante ou célula menor do Estado, mediante manutenção da propriedade do de cujus no seio familiar. Daí os mais variados sistemas de direito abarcarem, além dos mecanismos enquadrados no direito de família, estruturas normativas que visam a assegurar o atendimento das necessidades básicas de familiares desamparados após o falecimento de um provedor. A acepção jurídica de família, informada pela dinâmica do mundo dos fatos, mudou: dum modelo transpessoal, patriarcal e hierarquizado (inclusive quanto aos filhos), converteu-se, com a tábua axiológica inaugurada pela Constituição Federal de 1988, num instrumental e eudemonista, que se volta à tutela e promoção da pessoa. Da mesma forma, o aumento na expectativa média de vida e a inserção, cada vez mais precoce, da pessoa no mercado de trabalho põem em xeque a legitimidade do contemporâneo modelo de sucessão forçada, que se impõe mediante severas restrições à liberdade de testar e doar – expressões da faculdade de dispor da coisa, inerente ao direito de propriedade. Numerosas experiências jurídicas, defronte a essa problemática, revisaram, de variadas maneiras, o modelo de sucessão imposta aos destinatários de suas normas. Neste diapasão, a reserva de uma porção legítima do patrimônio do de cujus perde espaço para restrições a posteriori, como as atinentes à ordem pública (public policy) e à segurança alimentar de dependentes do falecido. Este trabalho intenta, à luz do direito comparado, esboçar os lineamentos deste quadro, de modo a tecer críticas à sucessão mortis causa brasileira e, com isso, estimular debates conducentes a sua revisão.

L’atto notarile di rinuncia all’azione di restituzione è pienamente valido e può essere oggetto di segnalazione pubblicitaria nei registri immobiliari.
(Testo completo di una nota pubblicata, per estratto, su Guida al diritto, Gruppo 24ore (Milano, IT), n. 49-50/2014, del 3 novembre 2014, consultabile anche all’indirizzo www.quotidianodiritto.ilsole24ore.com/art/civile/2014-10-30/la-rinuncia-restituzione-donazione-e-annotabile-conservatoria--160909.php?uuid=ABqMjV8B

In the light of above basic doctrine of jurisprudence, I
hold that the right having been given to a widow or mother or
women under the Act of 1956, she cannot be told that though she
has a right to get share, but she cannot file a suit for recovery of
share of her deceased husband as she has no right to file a suit.
When a right is given, the remedy has to be there namely; remedy
to file a suit for partition, which cannot depend upon the desire or
demand of other coparceners in the family to have a partition of
the  joint  family  property.  I  don't  think  that  personal  law  of
Hindus, in this context, can be said to be affected in any manner.
Any  contrary  interpretation  would  be  in  violence  to  the  dicta
discussed above by me on the subject, and would be a retrograde
step.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
Second Appeal No.119/2013
Mr. Santosh Popat Chavan,

...V E R S U S...
Mrs. Sulochana Rajiv @ Raju Chavan,



CORAM:­ A. B. CHAUDHARI, J.

Date of pronouncing the judgment: 12.12.2014