Question:
Dear lawyer, I have a question about the following issue, and I would like to receive legal advice. Thank you in advance!
Which cases are not entitled to inheritance according to the provisions of the Civil Code 2015?
Reply to the consultant:
In your case, I would advise the following:
The acknowledgment and distribution of inheritance is a procedure that occurs after the person who left the inheritance dies. The division of the inheritance can be determined by the will or by division by law. However, in some cases, the heirs are not entitled to inherit the deceased’s estate.
What is inheritance?
Inheritance is defined as the transfer of a deceased person’s property to a living person. Inheritance is divided into two forms:
Inheritance according to the will: the transfer of a deceased person’s property to a living person as designated by that person in their will, while they were still alive, according to Article 624 of the 2015 Civil Code.
Inheritance by law: inheritance according to the line of inheritance, and the conditions and order of inheritance are determined by law, as specified in Article 649 of the 2015 Civil Code.
According to the provisions of Article 612 of the 2015 Civil Code: “The estate includes the separate property of the deceased and the part of the property of the deceased in common property with others.”
As stated in Article 105 and Article 107 of the 2015 Civil Code:
Assets are objects, money, valuable papers, and property rights.
Assets include both real estate and movables. Real estate and movables may be existing assets or assets formed in the future. Specifically:
Real estate includes land, houses and construction works attached to the land, other assets attached to land, houses, construction works, and other assets as prescribed by law.
Movables are assets that are not real estate.
Therefore, inheritance refers to the property of the heir while they are still alive, which can include objects, money, valuable papers, and property rights. Estate property is classified as immovable and movable. Inheritance property may include land, other properties attached to land and houses, construction works, and other assets as prescribed by law. Property rights of the deceased that are left include the right to claim debt, the right to claim compensation for damage, and moral rights attached to property such as copyright and rights to industrial property objects.
Inheritance is the portion of the estate that remains after the obligations of the person’s property and expenses related to the inheritance are paid. Debts, compensation for damage, or obligations related to property left by the deceased are not considered estates or inheritances as specified in Article 658 of the 2015 Civil Code.
3.What is an heir?
According to Article 613 of the 2015 Civil Code: “An individual heir must be a person who is alive at the time of the inheritance’s opening or was born and is still alive after the opening of the inheritance, but was conceived before the person who left the legacy died. If the heir under the will is not an individual, it must exist at the time of opening the inheritance.
An heir is the person who inherits the estate either according to the will or the law. If the heir is an individual, they must be alive at the time of the inheritance’s opening, or if they were born after the opening of the inheritance, they must have been conceived before the person who left the estate died.
If the heir under the will is an agency or organization, they must exist legally at the time of the inheritance’s opening.
4.Cases not entitled to inheritance
4.1. Persons who are not entitled to inheritance
According to the provisions of Article 621 of the 2015 Civil Code, those who are not entitled to inheritance include:
Persons convicted of intentional acts of infringing upon life and health or of serious mistreatment, abusing the legacy leaver, seriously infringing upon that person’s honor and dignity.
This is the case where the person entitled to inherit the inheritance intentionally commits acts of infringing upon the life, health, or seriously ill-treating, abusing the person leaving the estate, seriously infringing upon the honor and dignity of that person. Those acts have been sentenced by a competent court with a legally effective judgment or decision.
Persons who seriously violate the obligation to nurture the estate leavers. It is considered a serious violation of the obligation to nurture and leave an estate when that person has a support obligation and has the practical ability to perform support for a person for whom he or she has a support obligation as prescribed by law, but knowingly refuses or evades the support obligation, causing that person to fall into a miserable or life-threatening situation. Such a person does not have the right to inherit the estate left by that person. For this case, a person can only be deprived of the right to inherit the estate when there are enough grounds to assert that they seriously violate the obligation to take care of the estate leaver. If there is no basis, the person is still entitled to inherit the estate.
Persons convicted of intentionally infringing upon another heir’s life in order to enjoy part or all of the estate to which such heir is entitled. Unlike the case of encroachment on the person leaving the estate, here the heir is only deprived of the right to enjoy the estate when there is an act of infringing on the life of the heir, and this is in order to enjoy a part of the estate. As in the first case, the person who commits these acts must be convicted and must intend to lose the right to inherit.
Persons who deceive, coerce, or prevent bequeathers from making wills; forging wills, modifying wills, canceling wills, concealing wills in order to enjoy part or all of the estate against the will of the estate leavers. The right to make a will to dispose of property is the right to dispose of the owner’s property while he is still alive. The act of obstructing the testator is an illegal act. Therefore, the person who obstructs will be deprived of the right to inherit the estate left by the person who has the estate. Forging wills, modifying wills, destroying wills, concealing wills in order to enjoy part or all of the estate against the will of the estate leavers means that if the above acts are performed without going against the will of the deceased, this person will not be deprived of the right to inherit.
Note: The people mentioned above are still entitled to the estate if the person who left the estate knows the behavior of such people but still allows them to enjoy the estate according to the will.
4.2. Those disqualified from inheriting by the person who leaves the estate
According to the provisions of Article 626 of the 2015 Civil Code, the testator has the right to deprive an heir of the right to inherit.
Thus, disqualification is the situation where the person leaving the inheritance does not wish to leave his or her part of the property to someone and this is stated in the legal will. This is the right of the testator.
It means that the person who is deprived of the right to inherit is someone who is not entitled to inherit according to the will. At the same time, the disqualification of someone’s inheritance is also related to the division of the inheritance according to the law, as stated in Clause 3, Article 651 of the 2015 Civil Code: “Those in the line of inheritance may inherit only if no one is left in the first line of heirs due to death, no right to inherit, disqualification of inheritance, or refusal to receive the estate.”
Therefore, there is only one case of disqualification of inheritance due to the will of the testator. This is one of the rights of the person leaving an inheritance.
Note:
Although being deprived of the right to inherit means they are not entitled to inherit according to the will, the provisions of Article 644 of the 2015 Civil Code still allow for inheritors regardless of the will’s contents, including minor children, father, mother, wife, husband, and adult children without working capacity. These people are entitled to a share of the estate equal to two-thirds of the share of a legal heir if the estate is divided according to law, in case they are not allowed to enjoy the estate by the testator or only entitled to enjoy a portion of the estate less than two-thirds of a share if the estate is divided according to law.
5. Legal grounds:
Civil Code 2015
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