EU Succession Regulation 650/2012: How It Affects Czech Inheritance

EU Succession Regulation 650/2012 (ESR) applies to the succession of persons who died on or after 17 August 2015. Its primary purpose is to ensure that a cross-border succession within the EU is governed by a single national law and handled through a single procedure. HABITUAL RESIDENCE AS THE PRIMARY CONNECTING FACTOR The Regulation abandoned nationality as the default connecting factor. Instead, Article 21 ESR designates the law of the member state where the deceased was habitually resident at the time of death as the law governing the succession. Habitual residence is not defined in the Regulation but is assessed holistically: the duration and regularity of presence, living conditions, family ties, economic activities, and the deceased's own intentions all matter. CHOICE OF LAW (PROFESSIO JURIS) Article 22 ESR allows a testator to choose the law of their nationality (at the time of the choice or at the time of death) to govern their entire succession. This choice must be made expressly in a will or other disposition of property upon death. A simple recital "I make this will in accordance with Czech law" may suffice if the intent to choose Czech law is clear. THE EUROPEAN CERTIFICATE OF SUCCESSION (ECS) Article 62 ESR introduces the ECS as a document that certifies the status of heirs, administrators, and executors across all member states. A Czech notary can issue an ECS; it is valid without further authentication in all EU member states (except Denmark and Ireland, which opted out of the Regulation). NON-EU ASSETS AND THIRD-COUNTRY NATIONALS The Regulation applies to all assets of EU residents regardless of where those assets are situated. If the deceased owned property in a non-EU country, that country's private international law rules govern whether Czech law or local law applies to those assets. INTERACTION WITH CZECH DOMESTIC LAW Czech courts (and notaries) apply ESR as directly applicable EU law. When Czech law governs the succession, the notary will apply the Czech Civil Code on intestate succession, forced shares (nepominutelný dědic), wills, joint wills (not permitted under Czech law), and inheritance agreements (dědická smlouva). PRACTICAL CONSEQUENCES FOR FOREIGN HEIRS • A German heir of a Czech resident will have their Czech inheritance governed by Czech law, not German law, unless the deceased made a valid professio juris. • A British heir is unaffected by the above rules from a Czech perspective; the ESR still applies because Czech courts are not concerned with whether the UK has left the EU. • The ECS obtained from the Czech notary can be used directly in other EU member states to prove heirship without further legalisation.