Practical insights, legal updates and analysis from practice — by JUDr. Zuzana Vlková, PhD.
Part six of our series on disputes over immovable property in an estate. Find out why a court cannot dismiss an action merely for an incorrectly worded prayer for relief, and what we recommend to heirs when preparing the action.
Part five of our series on disputes over immovable property in an estate. Find out which three ways of wording the claim court practice recognises and which of them are legally correct.
In the fourth part of our series on the determination that property belongs to the estate, you will learn why it is advisable to file an application for an interim measure together with the action, and how this measure is reflected in the Land Registry (kataster).
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.
The second part of our series on the dispute that arises when a property is missing from the inventory of the estate. Find out which court has jurisdiction to hear such an action, and why jurisdiction based on the location of the property or the venue of the inheritance proceedings does not apply.
Part one of our series on the dispute that arises when heirs assert that the estate should also have included immovable property that is missing from it. Find out what type of action this is, when it can be brought, and why it is not a dispute arising out of the inheritance proceedings themselves.
Attempting to conclude an agreement on the settlement of community property of spouses (bezpodielové spoluvlastníctvo manželov, "BSM") — or a contract for a future contract — before the divorce often seems a pragmatic step in practice, but it carries an enormous legal risk. The prevailing judicial practice regards BSM settlement agreements concluded before the divorce judgment becomes final as absolutely invalid, on the grounds of circumventing the law, conflict with § 149 of the Slovak Civil Code, and the indeterminacy of their subject matter. If your ex-spouse decides after the divorce not to honour the agreement, you will have to settle the BSM properly. The safe alternatives are narrowing the scope of the BSM by notarial deed during the marriage, or signing a pre-negotiated draft of the agreement immediately after the divorce judgment becomes final.
Find out when a dispute over the right of inheritance arises in inheritance proceedings, what the difference is between a complete and a partial denial of the right of inheritance, and how the notary, acting as court commissioner, proceeds in resolving it.
Is your cadastral area facing comprehensive land consolidation proceedings? Learn how land is reorganised across the entire municipal district, what statutory limits apply to the provision of equivalent replacement land (a permitted deviation of no more than 5% in area and 10% in value of the original plot), and what legal remedies are available where land consolidation is ordered by the authorities of their own motion.
If one spouse acquired a business share before the marriage, the share itself remains their sole property. Whether the increase in the company's value (its appreciation) during the marriage falls within the community property of spouses (BSM) has no express basis in statute. Case law and legal doctrine liken it to a rise in the market price of real estate and do not include the appreciation itself in the BSM. The solution for spouses is a preventive agreement extending the BSM, in the form of a notarial deed, in which the appreciation of the share is expressly included in the BSM and the method of calculating it is defined.
The question of whether a business share in an s.r.o. (Slovak limited liability company) falls within the community property of spouses (bezpodielové spoluvlastníctvo manželov, "BSM") has undergone a long evolution in the case law of the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic. Today the legal position is settled: if a business share was acquired during the marriage at least partly from joint funds, its economic value belongs to BSM. On settlement, the share is allocated to the spouse who is the member of the company, and the other spouse is entitled to financial compensation based on the market value determined by an expert opinion. Dealing with the share (e.g. its sale) requires the other spouse's consent, and a preventive safeguard is to agree a narrowing of BSM by notarial deed before the share is acquired.
Is your immovable property fragmented into co-ownership shares spread across dozens of title deeds, or recorded as register "E" parcels with no secured access to a road? Learn how land consolidation removes the historical fragmentation of land holdings, transforms co-ownership shares into separate, consolidated register "C" parcels, and improves the usability and marketability of your immovable property.
This article explains why, for married couples where even just one spouse is in business, having the community property of spouses (bezpodielové spoluvlastníctvo manželov, 'BSM') cancelled by a court is a more effective protection of family assets than the usual narrowing of the BSM by notarial deed. It describes the difference between the two institutions, the statutory grounds and conditions for cancelling the BSM, and the subsequent process of settling the property.
Are you facing an exchange (rearrangement) of plots as part of land consolidation? Learn what statutory limits apply to the permissible deviation of the newly allocated plots from the original state – in the plot's value (tolerance up to 10%) and in area (tolerance up to 5%) – and under what conditions you are entitled to financial compensation instead of replacement in kind.
Are you planning a development project or an industrial hall, or do you simply need to consolidate agricultural land? Learn how simplified land consolidation (jednoduché pozemkové úpravy, "JPÚ") works under § 8c to § 8e of Act No. 330/1991 Coll., who bears the costs of financing it, and when it is conditional on compliance with the municipality's planning documentation.
