The European Regulations on Succession of July 2012: A Path Towards the End of the Succession Conflicts of Law in Europe, or Not?

The International Lawyer, Vol . 47, Issue 2 (Fall 2013)

21 Pages Posted: 10 Mar 2013 Last revised: 3 Apr 2014

See all articles by Angelique Devaux

Angelique Devaux

CHEUVREUX NOTAIRES; French Licensed Attorney (Diplômée Notaire), LL.M American Law (Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law)

Date Written: March 8, 2013

Abstract

In recent years, the mobility of people within the European Union has created major problems such as the settlement of cross-borders inheritances that may accelerate in the coming years.

Europeans as well as foreigners own estates in different countries. This ownership triggers the application of multiple inheritance laws and creates conflicts of law. Currently in Europe, there are two types of inheritance law, the principle of scission (known in France, UK, and Belgium, but also outside Europe as in USA) and the law of the Unity Estate (currently applied in Germany, Spain, Italia or Portugal).

Previous attempts to unify the rules of succession in Europe have been unsuccessful. Nevertheless, since 2005 , the European Union has focused on succession. The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted last July 4th 2012 a European regulation on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions, and acceptance, and enforcement of authentic instruments in matters of succession, and on the creation of a European Certification of Succession. Except for the United Kingdom, Denmark and Ireland, this text is primarily geared to avoid conflicts of law of succession with a universal character. This means, for example, that an American citizen, owner of a property in Europe, could use these regulations. It retains the principle of one law applicable to the succession by determining the deceased’s habitual residence. This regulation denies all actual references to the rule of scission. It also admits the professio juris rule, holding that any citizen can decide the law applicable to his estates, which could be the law of his citizenship or the law of his habitual residence.

In this paper, I examine some of the potential problems with the new European legislation such as the theoretical aspects of the rule of the habitual residence. Does the rule anticipate any conflicts of law? The paper also addresses the practical aspects of the regulations. One likely consequence is that the legal practitioners, who are mostly Notaries in the European continental law countries, will have to receive training about the relevant foreign laws. Till now, the question of how they will have access to this training and be ready to apply it to actual cases has not been adequately addressed.

I suggest a new approach to deal with these issues. Since the European countries will have three years to reform their national laws to conform to the European regulations, the time is ripe to discuss the challenges that law ahead with respect to the succession laws.

“Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.”

Keywords: Conflict of laws, European Regulations on Succession of July 4th 2012, Inheritance, Legal Education, forced share

JEL Classification: K30, K33, K39

Suggested Citation

Devaux, Angelique, The European Regulations on Succession of July 2012: A Path Towards the End of the Succession Conflicts of Law in Europe, or Not? (March 8, 2013). The International Lawyer, Vol . 47, Issue 2 (Fall 2013) , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2230663 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2230663

Angelique Devaux (Contact Author)

CHEUVREUX NOTAIRES ( email )

55 Boulevard Haussmann
Paris, 75008
France

HOME PAGE: http://www.cheuvreux-notaires.fr/

French Licensed Attorney (Diplômée Notaire), LL.M American Law (Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law) ( email )

530 West New York Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
1,072
Abstract Views
3,933
Rank
38,084
PlumX Metrics