Unmarried partners will also be legal heirs

The Bill on Inheritance in FBiH will not mean a radical change compared to the Law on Inheritance of SR BiH from 1973, which is currently in force, but rather harmonization with constitutional reforms and amendments to certain regulations, it was announced after the session of the FBiH Government, reports Patria.

As stated, the new legal text takes into account the guarantee of property rights and freedom of disposition by will or contract (e.g., by introducing the institution of inheritance contracts, expanding the circle of legal heirs, in order to prevent estates from easily remaining without heirs and thus becoming state property, abolishing restrictions on the inheritance of copyrights, etc.).

Work is also underway on adopting a new Family Law, which will regulate the right to equality between marital and unmarried unions, which will mean including an unmarried partner in the circle of legal heirs, which has not been consistently implemented in inheritance law in the previous Family Law of SR BiH from 1979.

The Bill on Inheritance in FBiH would include substantive inheritance law and the probate procedure, and in order to relieve the courts, the Bill provides for entrusting undisputed probate cases to notaries, thereby fulfilling the Federation of BiH's obligations from the adopted Strategy for the Development of the Justice Sector in BiH.

Also, the new law would harmonize inheritance relations with the countries of the region, which represents compliance with positive European standards in this area.