Part three of our series on disputes over immovable property in an estate. Find out who is entitled to bring an action for a determination that property belongs to the estate, and why the courts require all heirs to act together in the proceedings.
In the previous parts we explained what type of action this is and which court has jurisdiction to hear it. In this part we look at who is entitled to bring such an action and who must be sued – that is, the question of standing to sue and standing to be sued.
The person with standing to sue – that is, the one who may bring the action – is an heir of the deceased (or a person who comes into consideration as an heir) who asserts that certain property should have been included in the inventory of the estate's assets but was not.
The person with standing to be sued – that is, the one who must be sued – may be either an heir or a third party who is not an heir but is registered in the Land Registry (kataster) as the owner of the disputed immovable property.
Since this is a declaratory action, the claimant must demonstrate an urgent legal interest in the determination. A creditor of the deceased may also have such an interest. Where the ownership right of another person (not the claimant) is entered in a public register, an urgent legal interest in the determination is always present.
A more complicated question arises where there are several heirs. It follows from the settled decision-making practice of the Slovak courts that where there are several heirs, all of them must act together in the proceedings – the courts regard them as so-called indivisible (compulsory) co-litigants. If the action is not brought by all heirs together, the courts generally dismiss it for lack of standing.
This practice has been confirmed by several decisions of the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic and the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic. The Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic has stated, for example, that since the heirs are regarded as fractional co-owners of the entire property until the inheritance order is issued, and are bound jointly and severally by legal acts concerning property belonging to the estate, they have the position of indivisible co-litigants. At the same time, however, the dismissal of an action for lack of standing does not prevent the heirs from later bringing a new action with the correct set of parties.
Despite this settled practice, there are also legal opinions that call it into question, principally for the following reasons:
The Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic partly addressed these arguments in decisions from 2019, but the claimants did not succeed with their line of argument – the court confirmed that in a dispute over whether property belongs to the estate, all of the deceased's heirs must be parties to the proceedings.
Despite this settled case law, we take the view that in this type of proceedings the heirs should have the position of independent co-litigants and that even a single heir should be entitled to bring the action.
In practice, where the heirs do not agree on whether and how to bring the action, a suitable solution is to name those heirs who do not wish to join the claimant's side as defendants. In this way, the requirement that all heirs participate in the proceedings can be satisfied even though there is no unanimity among them.
Are you considering an action for a determination that immovable property belongs to the estate, and are you unsure who must be a party to the proceedings? We will assess the circle of heirs in your case and prepare the action so that the court does not dismiss it for lack of standing.
Contact us for a no-obligation consultation.
