Słowa kluczowe
konkubenci
de facto małżeństwa
prawo spadkowe
dziedziczenie beztestamentowe
dziedziczenie ustawowe
Europa
prawo do dziedziczenia
roszczenie o spadek
Abstrakt
The increasing numbers of unmarried partnerships, the introduction of legislation affecting unmarried partners’ legal position, and the growing inclusiveness of succession law lead to a question: Should unmarried partners also be among each other’s intestate heirs? The majority of European countries do not provide for unmarried partners to inherit from one another in intestacy. Only some jurisdictions grant rights or claims to unmarried partners in intestacy; from the European perspective, such provisions are both exceptional as well as innovative. They are also largely unexplored in international legal literature. Thus, the first aim of this paper is to collect and analyze the relevant provisions from across Europe. Accordingly, the discussion begins with a systematic overview of the rights and claims currently available to unmarried partners in Europe in intestacy (Part I). This part of the publication comprises four sections: The first two provide an overview of the different types of intestate rights unmarried partners can exercise; the third and fourth survey the claims they can pursue. Part I concludes by stressing the profound diversity of the various legal solutions across Europe. The second aim of this paper is to support efforts to draft legislation to grant intestate rights or claims to unmarried partners to remedy the current situation in which unmarried partners do not inherit from each other in most European jurisdictions. Based on the overview provided in Part I, Part II therefore examines the policy questions (and challenges) that legislators must consider and address when regulating entitlements for unmarried partners. It emphasizes that there is no universal solution that could be implemented in every country; the introduction of rights or claims for unmarried partners must be preceded by consideration of the unique legal and socio-cultural framework in a given jurisdiction and must be harmonized with other succession-law rights and claims available there.
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