The European Commission has today adopted a proposal that should greatly simplify the rules on successions with an international dimension in the EU.

The aim is to make life easier for citizens by laying down common rules enabling the competent authority and law applicable to the body of assets making up a succession to be easily identified, wherever the assets may be.

In addition to providing more effective guarantees for the rights of heirs, legatees and other interested parties, the proposed regulation will take some of the stress out of succession planning by enabling people to choose the law that will govern the transmission of all their assets. The commission is also proposing the creation of a European Certificate of Succession, enabling an heir or the administrator of a succession to prove their capacity easily throughout the EU.

Welcoming the proposal's adoption, vice-president Jacques Barrot, member of the Commission for Justice, Liberty and Security said: ‘It is imperative that citizens and legal practitioners be able to understand and, to a certain extent, choose the rules applicable to the assets making up a succession, wherever they may be located. By proposing that the place of habitual residence determine the competent authority and the law applicable by default while allowing a person to opt to have their succession governed by the law of their country of nationality, we are offering greater legal certainty and greater flexibility, enabling people to contemplate the future more serenely. As for the European Certificate of Succession, it will enable people to prove that they are heirs or administrators of a succession without further formalities throughout the EU. It brings us one step closer to a genuine European Civil Judicial Area.’