ABOUT VACANT INHERITANCE
ABOUT VACANT INHERITANCE

Summary/Abstract: An inheritance is considered to be vacant when there are no legal or testamentary heirs or, in case such heirs exist, they are not entitled to inherit the entire successor mass. Vacant inheritances become the property of the village or county where the goods are located at the time of the inheritance and become part of the county’s private property. The procedure by which an inheritance becomes vacant begins by request of any interested party and is finalized once the public notary issues a certificate of vacant inheritance. In case of international inheritances, within the limits of the law which applies, if there is no legal heir for the goods of the successor mass and no legal heirs, the law which applies must not impair on the law of another member state or an entity which is entitled to inherit those goods, provided the creditors are still able to request the payment of their debts from the successor mass. The current paper aims to discuss theoretical and practical aspects regarding vacant inheritances in the context of the unification of European law. From a theoretical point of view, we believe it is necessary for the lawmaker to intervene in order to regulate the title by which the state inherits, because it entails significant procedural meanings, as previously shown. From a practical point of view, the solution to a vacant inheritance is a difficult and expensive procedure. It entails attention and responsibility from the public notary, as, by issuing a certificate of vacant inheritance, certain heirs can be abusively removed from succession, thus being forced to file a complaint in court in order to valorize their rights.

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