Community property of spouses (BSM) and inheritance

The community property of spouses concerns exclusively the spouses, not the children of the spouses. Therefore, children do not have a claim to a part of the property belonging to the BSM during the lifetime of their parents. The property in the BSM is divided between the former spouses themselves, either by agreement or by a court.

However, children of the spouses can assert claims from the community property in inheritance proceedings, and thus in the event that the marriage terminated due to the death of one of the spouses, or by a declaration of death. In this case, during the settlement of the community property, the circle of subjects of the settlement changes. That part of the property which, after the settlement, falls to the deceased spouse becomes the subject of inheritance. That is to say, in inheritance proceedings, the things in the BSM are in principle divided in half and one half will be the subject of inheritance. If, for example, the spouses had a common apartment, the subject of inheritance after the deceased parent will be only 1/2 of the apartment.

We note marginally that the only provision in which Act No. 40/1964 Coll. the Civil Code, as amended (hereinafter referred to as the “Civil Code”), mentions minor persons is Section 150 of the Civil Code, which regulates the size of shares in a settlement: “furthermore, regard shall be paid primarily to the needs of minor children, to how each spouse cared for the family, and to how they contributed to the acquisition and maintenance of the common things.”