Succession as a whole

For the purposes of the European Succession Regulation (Brussels IV), ‘succession’ means succession to the estate of a deceased person and covers all forms of transfer of assets, rights and obligations by reason of death, whether by way of a voluntary transfer under a disposition of property upon death or a transfer through intestate succession. See Art. 3(1)(a) Eureopean Succession Regulation. Pursuant to Article 23 of the European Succession Regulations, this includes in particular. 

(a) the causes, time and place of the opening of the succession;

(b) the determination of the beneficiaries, of their respective shares and of the obligations which may be imposed on them by the deceased, and the determination of other succession rights, including the succession rights of the surviving spouse or partner;

(c) the capacity to inherit;

(d) disinheritance and disqualification by conduct;

(e) the transfer to the heirs and, as the case may be, to the legatees of the assets, rights and obligations forming part of the estate, including the conditions and effects of the acceptance or waiver of the succession or of a legacy;

(f) the powers of the heirs, the executors of the wills and other administrators of the estate, in particular as regards the sale of property and the payment of creditors, without prejudice to the powers referred to in Article 29(2) and (3);

(g) liability for the debts under the succession;

(h) the disposable part of the estate, the reserved shares and other restrictions on the disposal of property upon death as well as claims which persons close to the deceased may have against the estate or the heirs;

(i) any obligation to restore or account for gifts, advancements or legacies when determining the shares of the different beneficiaries; and

(j) the sharing-out of the estate.