The questions to be asked prior to applying succession law.

Some questions will arise prior to the application of succession law: these are the questions referred to in Article 1(2) a,b,c,d.[1]

  • The status of natural persons is excluded from the Regulation.

    To answer the question of whether a person has the status of spouse or child of the deceased, we must look at the law applicable to the marriage in the former case and the law applicable to parenthood in the latter.

  • The legal capacity of natural persons is excluded from the Regulation, but the capacity to inherit and capacity to make dispositions are subject to the Regulation. This exclusion is therefore only partial.

  • Conditions relating to disappearance, absence or presumed death are excluded from the Regulation. However, if the absence or disappearance of a person results in their succession being opened, that succession is governed by the Regulation.

  • Matrimonial property regimes and the property regimes of the other relations of the couple are excluded from the Regulation.

Note

NB: For the time being, there is no European-wide text on matrimonial questions. A text is currently under discussion, however (Proposals of 16 March 2011: COM (2011)126 and COMM(2011)127).

Maintenance obligations other than those arising by reason of death

The question of the active or passive inheritability of maintenance obligations other than those arising by reason of death is not subject to the Regulation. On the matter of jurisdiction, in those Member States bound by the Regulation it is Regulation n°4/2009 of 18 December 2008 [pdf] that will apply, and as regards legislative competence, the Hague Protocol of 23 November 2007 [pdf].