Inheritance by law

Inheritance from a testator is possible by will or by law . Inheritance by law is considered if the testator did not write a will, or if this will is invalid. The testator is understood to be the person from whom the inheritance is made (i.e. the deceased person). Inheritance by law is also possible partially, i.e. if the will is partially invalid or concerns only part of the inheritance. In this case, part of the inheritance is inherited by will and part by law. At the same time, however, there must not be a deed of disinheritance (Section 469a of the Civil Code). However, only descendants, not other persons, can be disinherited. However, other persons can be excluded from inheritance by the testator establishing a will (rather, one) where he bequeaths his property only to specific persons designated by him.

Therefore, if there is no will, or it is invalid (either in part or in whole), there is statutory inheritance. For the purposes of statutory inheritance, the law establishes four inheritance groups, which are defined in Sections 473 to 475a of Act No. 40/1964 Coll. of the Civil Code.

The first group of § 473 of the Civil Code

In the first group, the testator's children and his/her spouse inherit, each inheriting an equal share. For example, if the testator had two children and a wife, each inherits one-third of the property. In this inheritance group, the testator's children inherit, and if some of the children do not inherit, their share is acquired by their children. If neither the children of the children, or some of them, inherit, the descendants of these children inherit. Descendants are understood to mean a child, a grandchild, a great-grandchild, etc.

However, in the first inheritance group, the husband (wife) alone cannot inherit. This means that the husband (wife) in this group cannot be a so-called. independent heir. Therefore, if the testator has no children, only the husband (wife) of the testator cannot inherit the entire inheritance, but inheritance in the first inheritance group does not occur and is transferred to the next inheritance group, where the husband (wife) is again included among the other heirs of the second group.

The second group of § 474 of the Civil Code

The second group includes the spouse, the testator's parents, and those who lived with the testator for at least one year before his or her death in a common household and who, for this reason, took care of the common household or were dependent on the testator for maintenance.

Persons who lived with the testator for at least one year before his death do not have to be relatives of the testator. It is essential that at the time of the testator's death this status must exist, i.e. if even an hour before the testator's death the person mentioned in the household, for example, permanently moved out, he will no longer be such an heir. This may be a partner, but also a sibling, as well as a friend, girlfriend, acquaintances, etc. However, the following must also be fulfilled:

a) these persons lived together with the testator in a common household for at least one year before his death and took care of the common household, or

b) these persons lived with the testator in a common household for at least one year before his death and were dependent on the testator for maintenance.

In this group, the heirs each inherit an equal share, but the spouse of the testator always inherits at least half of the inheritance.

In this group, the spouse can inherit the entire property, if there are no other heirs in this group. The testator's parents, or one of them, can also inherit the entire property in this group. Persons who lived with the testator in a common household cannot be separate heirs in this group. Therefore, if neither the testator's spouse nor one of the testator's parents inherit in this group, the inheritance goes to the third inheritance group.

The third group § 475 of the Civil Code

If neither the spouse nor any of the parents inherit, the testator's siblings and those who lived with the testator for at least one year before his death in a common household and who therefore took care of the common household or were dependent on the testator for maintenance inherit in equal shares in the third group.

If any of the testator's siblings do not inherit, their children inherit their share in equal shares. However, if these children do not inherit, the inheritance does not pass to other descendants of the siblings, as is the case in the first group with the testator's children and the descendants of the testator's children.

In this group, each of the heirs designated therein may be a separate heir.

The Fourth group of § 475a of the Civil Code

If no heir inherits in the third group, in the fourth group the testator's grandparents (grandfather, grandmother) inherit in equal shares, and if none of them inherit, their children inherit in equal shares (essentially the testator's uncles and aunts).