Acceptance of Inheritance by Inventory

Article 60, paragraph 2 of the Inheritance Act (IA) limits the liability of an heir who has accepted the inheritance by inventory to the value of the inherited property (i.e. to the extent covered by the inherited assets, as stated in Interpretative Decision No. 3/2013 of the General Assembly of the Civil and Commercial Chambers of the Supreme Court of Cassation, items 4 and 5).

This rule is established to protect the heir, as clearly follows from Article 61, paragraph 2 of the IA, which provides that legally incapacitated persons, the State, and public organizations may accept inheritance only by inventory.

The fact of accepting an inheritance by inventory affects the heir’s liability, but not the existence of the debt itself. Acceptance of inheritance by inventory does not constitute a fact that extinguishes the obligation; it merely prevents creditors from satisfying their claims from the heir’s personal property beyond the value of the inherited estate.

According to the Supreme Court of Cassation’s case law (Decision in commercial case No. 1906/2016), liability for inherited debts up to the amount of the inherited property is assessed on a general basis in civil proceedings. Claims are upheld up to the value of the inheritance accepted by inventory, based on the appraisal made under Article 553 et seq. of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC).

The assessment of the scope of liability of an heir who has accepted the inheritance by inventory must be carried out in the proceedings on a claim brought against him for the decedent’s debts and concerns his passive legal standing.

The general rule is that each heir is liable in proportion to his or her share of the inheritance, i.e. according to the hereditary quota (Article 60, paragraph 1 IA).

This article does not constitute legal advice or an opinion regarding a specific case. For legal assistance in inheritance matters, please consult a lawyer specializing in family and inheritance law.