Restrictions on the freedom to dispose of one’s succession by will (reserved portion).
Last update: 10/3/2012
Part of the estate is reserved for the deceased’s descendants. This reserved portion amounts to half of the legal share in the legacy of the forced heir concerned. Where there are descendants who are minors, their reserved portion amounts to the full value of their legal share in the legacy. A forced heir is a statutory heir, and if the will opposes this, this section of the will is invalid if the specified descendents have not been disinherited. However, the invalidity of the will is relative, which means that the court can only consider it if a statutory heir contests it in the inheritance proceedings. If this heir was not a party to inheritance proceedings, he/she can claim their right in civil court proceedings within a period of three years.
Detailed information
Is there a reserved portion set aside for heirs? What percentage of the estate does this reserved portion represent? What is its legal nature?
Slovak law restricts the freedom of the testator by the statutory right of his/her descendants who have the capacity of forced heirs. Neither the surviving spouse nor the ascendants have the right to a reserved portion. This reserved portion amounts to half of the legal inheritance of the heir to the reserved portion concerned. In the presence of descendants who are minors, their reserved portion amounts to the full value of their legal inheritance. The reserved portion is a right to a portion of the entire estate left and not only a simple monetary claim against the heirs.
What is the procedure to be followed to assert a right to the reserved portion? What are the time limits?
The person who inherits the reserved portion is a forced heir and the will has no effect with respect to this party, insomuch as it limits his/her right unless the testator has disinherited him/her. However, the invalidity of a will is relative, which means that there is a right to the legal reserve but only if the heir to the reserved portion takes advantage of it within three years of the moment when this right could be invoked for the first time (before a court or before a civil law notary during the succession procedure). The will is entirely valid if the eligible party does not take advantage of his/her rights to the reserved portion.
Is it possible to renounce the reserved portion?
The beneficiaries of the reserved portion can only renounce the reserved portion after the death of the deceased, as they do not take advantage of their inheritance right during the procedure.
