Brussels, 14/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 14 December, EU27 justice ministers managed to sketch out agreement on most areas of the new EU regulation (unveiled in October 2009) on cross-border inheritance and the law that shall apply, but were forced to leave some areas pending.
When unveiling the regulation, the Commission explained that some 450,000 international inheritance cases are opened every year in the European Union, worth more than €120 billion, and families today face complex and differing rules over property and bank accounts in the 27 EU member states, a problem that the regulation hopes to address.
Under the partial agreement reached on 14 December, a single criterion shall apply, namely the place of habitual residence of the person at the point of death, but this will be the default only if the individual did not choose otherwise during his/her lifetime to indicate that s/he wants the law of his/her country of origin to apply.
The compromise struck on Wednesday will create an EU inheritance certificate to allow an individual to prove they are entitled to inheritance when it comes to filling out formalities at home or in another member state.
On Tuesday, the ministers failed to agree on more controversial aspects, like clawback (gifts before death to avoid inheritance tax) which do not have to go to the same people as in the will. In this area, each country has its own laws and customs. It is not legally possible in some countries to disinherit one's children, for example, but in other countries it is not a problem.
This area is very tricky for the British and Irish, which may decide to opt in to a section of the laws on clawback. Both countries want to ensure that any individual who has acquired a property in good faith will not be forced to give it up to legal inheritors (of countries where children cannot be disinherited, for example). Other countries take a different approach, so agreement was not possible despite a suggestion from the Polish Presidency that each member state should settle this matter as they see fit. Another area of disagreement to which a solution may be found quite rapidly, however, is whether a member state managing the property of a deceased person will be entitled to do so in the country chosen by the individual to deal with his/her will and inheritance. (SP/transl.fl)