The most recent case to be decided by the European Court of Justice in relation to the EU Succession Regulation no. 650/2012, in a request for a preliminary ruling, concerned the estate of a deceased resident in Germany and the renunciation of inheritance by a Polish heir who was a minor.
The Polish heir’s lawyer missed the deadline prescribed by Polish law to make the formal renunciation, and applied to the courts in Poland to remedy this, seeking to avoid the legal consequences of the failure to renounce. The Polish courts applied to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling.
Article 4 of the European Succession Regulation provides that, as a general rule, where litigation is commenced in relation to a cross-border inheritance matter: “The courts of the Member State in which the deceased had his habitual residence at the time of death shall have jurisdiction to rule on the succession as a whole.”
The principle beind the EU Regulation is to bring clarity for a testator and their family when planning a future succession to cross-border property, and further to this also aims to simplify the practical procedures faced by the heirs. The rules provide for an acceptance or renunciation also to be made in the place of habitual residence of the heir. Article 13 states that “In addition to the court having jurisdiction to rule on the succession pursuant to this Regulation, the courts of the Member State of the habitual residence of any person who, under the law applicable to the succession, may make, before a court, a declaration concerning the acceptance or waiver of the succession, of a legacy or of a reserved share, or a declaration designed to limit the liability of the person concerned in respect of the liabilities under the succession, shall have jurisdiction to receive such declarations where, under the law of that Member State, such declarations may be made before a court. “
In its preliminary ruling in this case, the ECJ found that while a court may “receive” declarations of acceptance or waiver of an inheritance in the courts of the member state of habitual residence of the heir, that court is not competent to make decisions in relation to the legal consequences of failing to meet the required deadline.
A link to the report of the “Lawida” case can be found here: Corte di giustizia UE, sentenza 27 marzo 2025, causa C-57/24.