Wills, Disinheritance and Provisions for Inheritance Trustees

Wills can be made to resolve property matters and prevent subsequent property disputes among heirs. In particular, single people with no children should be informed about who the law says will inherit their assets and consider making a will.

If the will is prepared in the form of a notarial deed, the original is kept by the notary and the existence of the will is electronically registered in the central register of wills which is maintained by the Notary Chamber of the Czech Republic. Unlike other legally acceptable forms of making a will, the author of a will drawn up in the form of a notarial deed will have the utmost assurance that the inheritance will be truly settled according their last will.

Heirs appointed by the author of a will have priority over heirs prescribed by law, with the exception of the author‘s descendants who may claim an share of the inheritance prescribed by law. The will may be modified or cancelled at any time. Should you wish your descendants not to inherit from you and provided that there are legal reasons for it, you may draw up a disinheritance deed. The disinheritance deed is a very formal and demanding document therefore it is best to let a notary prepare it.

Due to complications that may arise in course of inheritance proceedings with an international element, it is recommended that foreigners who wish to write their last will and testament in the territory of the Czech Republic should consult the matter with a notary. The notary will make appropriate efforts so that the last will and testament meets all the formal and content requirements, thus protecting the interests of the testator, as well as their heirs, and so that it is written in accordance with the international private law.

The law now offers the opportunity to appoint an inheritance trustee to deal independently with inheritance matters from the time of the death of the devisor until the settlement of the inheritance. Especially entrepreneurs that own or partly own a business or have ownership interests in a business should consider appointing an inheritance trustee to avoid irretrievable damages resulting from disputes among heirs. An inheritance trustee may only be appointed in the form of a notarial deed drawn up separately from a will. An inheritance trustee must express their consent with their appointment.

In the Czech Republic, notaries perform a notarial activity, provide legal assistance, perform property administration, and perform other activities for which they are entitled compensation the amount of which, as well as the manner in which it is established, is governed by the provisions of the Decree No. 196/2001 Coll., as amended. The amount of notary's remuneration shall be determined in accordance with the compensation rate per act or total of acts concerning the notary's activity determined by a fixed amount or as a percentage of a tariff rate, whereas the value of the subject of the act serves as the tariff value (e.g. the usual price of a thing, the price of transferred property, the amount of a claim, etc.). Due to a complex calculation of the compensation for the notary's activity, the potential applicants / clients are recommended to address their possible inquiries directly to the notary having the sufficient knowledge of the relevant language.