Inheritance Laws in Slovakia

In legal succession, inheritance is inherited in four groups, with the children of the deceased from the first group inheriting with the spouse of the deceased and in equal shares. If one of the children does not inherit, his share of the first group is divided equally among the children. If these children or some of them do not inherit, their descendants inherit equally. Slovakia applies the law of succession of the country of residence of the deceased to movable and immovable property. However, if the legislation of the testator`s country of residence applies Slovak law, the succession procedure is governed by the Slovak Civil Code and the Code of Civil Procedure. However, inheritance proceedings relating to property located in Slovakia are governed by the Slovak courts if: However, a foreigner is advised to settle his inheritance matters, especially with regard to immovable property, by executing the will, whether the will is executed under Slovak law or the domicile of the testator. The execution of the will is likely to speed up the succession procedure. A will relating to movable or immovable property in Slovakia is valid under Slovak private international law if it complies with the laws of the testator`s domicile. However, it will only be admitted to succession proceedings in Slovakia if it meets the requirements of Slovak law, i.e. if it is handwritten and signed by the testator or, if executed in printed form, signed by the testator before witnesses and signed by them for this purpose or signed in the form of a notarial deed. Testamentary inheritance treatment is rare in Slovakia: 10 to 15% of cases compared to inheritance proceedings governed by the Civil Code. Nevertheless, Slovak lawyers generally advise foreigners to execute a will, whether it is drawn up under Slovak law or the laws of the testator`s country of residence.

It is assumed that a will is appropriate to expedite the succession process. When executing a will under Slovak law, as mentioned above, the testator must comply with the legal requirements for the reserved portion. For security reasons, it is advisable to draw up the will as a notarial deed, as this will is stored electronically in the central register of wills. If such a will is destroyed, a scanned copy is admissible in succession proceedings. This is not possible if a will is drawn up personally by the testator. If such a will is destroyed, it cannot be replaced and the procedure is carried out in accordance with the Civil Code, even if the heirs jointly deny the existence of the will. In the case of an inheritance, the ratio of the estate assets of each heir is determined by law. The right to inheritance may be reduced by gifts to individual heirs during the testator`s lifetime. The court has the power to offset the value of these gifts for life against the amount of the estate of certain heirs.

Slovakia is a civil law system strongly influenced by German and Austrian legal traditions. It is not a party to the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition, but generally recognizes trusts established in foreign legal systems. The legislation governing the ownership and inheritance of Slovak property is based on multilateral treaties and agreements, as well as on national legislation: the Private International Code, the Civil Code and the Code of Civil Procedure. The average length of succession proceedings in Slovakia is six months, but this time can be influenced by factors such as the production of information from the real estate register, correspondence with heirs, the residence of heirs and the need for expert advice and translations. The right to own and own property in Slovakia belongs to every natural (or legal) person, regardless of nationality, citizenship or religion. However, this general rule does not apply in cases where the legislation of the country concerned does not grant the same rights to Slovak nationals. Although the court is competent for probate procedures, its competence for probate procedures is delegated to the notary`s office in the judicial district. The notary then carries out all the necessary steps of the succession procedure and the final settlement of the succession is formally approved by the court.

Relations relating to immovable property are governed by the law of the place of immovable property – rei sitae. If the Slovak citizen dies abroad, the applicable law for the settlement of his or her succession is usually the law of the person`s nationality at the time of death, in accordance with private international law. In answering your question, I assume that Slovak law is applicable to the present case. Please note that escheatment is governed by Article 469a of the Slovak Civil Code. Provided that the grounds provided for by law are met, it is possible to disinherit both the legal heir (descendant of the testator) and the descendants of the disinherited heir, but only if this is expressly stated in the testator`s certificate of disinheritance. The person who made the will has the possibility, until his death, to change his mind and otherwise change the way in which his assets are inherited. The law considers that registration in the cadastre is valid, unless proven otherwise. Lawsuits challenging ownership of real property are relatively common with respect to the restitution of land or property seized by the government in the past. However, such lawsuits are very rare in estate proceedings. In cases (b), the Slovak courts have exclusive jurisdiction.

However, the court shall apply the substantive law of succession of the country of which the deceased is a national, unless the laws of the deceased`s country of residence provide otherwise. Therefore, this succession procedure is governed by Slovak law. In this context, please note that the entire estate, i.e. All assets forming part of these assets should be governed by Slovak law, regardless of the type of property and whether they are located in another EU Member State or in a third country. If a person dies without an inheritance, his or her inheritance is treated in accordance with the law. If the succession procedure is conducted under Slovak law, the heirs are divided into four groups. Persons in each group have the right to inherit only if there is no heir in the previous group. The certificate of disinheritance may be drawn up either by hand or in another written form in the presence of witnesses or in the form of a notarial deed; He can also include a disinheritance in his will and thus exclude his descendants from the inheritance. If a person dies without inheritance, the law regulates the division of the inheritance.

If the succession procedure is conducted under Slovak law, the heirs are divided into four groups. Persons in each group have the right to inherit only if there is no heir in the previous group. In the first group, all heirs are entitled to an equal share of the inheritance. This group includes the spouse and children of the deceased. If there are no eligible children of the deceased, his children (the grandchildren of the deceased) have the right to inherit, and if there are no grandchildren, his children (the great-grandchildren of the testator) have the right to inherit. If there are no heirs in the first group other than the spouse of the deceased, the spouse inherits in the second group of heirs. The second group includes the spouse of the deceased, the relatives of the deceased and those who lived with and cared for the deceased for at least one year before the death of the deceased. All persons in the second group are entitled to an equal share of the inheritance; However, the spouse has the right to inherit at least half of the testator`s property.