The rules of liability of the recipients of a specific bequest and of a donation made by the deceased for the legitimate portion : some critical remarks

Bibliogr. s. 15-16

The subject of the article is the critical analysis of the rules concerning the liability of the recipients of a specific bequest and of a donation made by the deceased for the legitimate portion in the Polish succession law. The Polish legislator provided a subsidiary (in relation to the liability of heirs) liability of the recipients of a specific bequest for the legitimate portion as well as a subsidiary (in relation to the liability of heirs and of the recipients of a specific bequest) liability of persons who received from the deceased a donation added to the estate. These provisions should be assessed critically. As it was rightly pointed in the legal literature, such provisions weaken the position of the persons who are entitled to the legitimate portion. They are, however, also an excessive burden for the heirs the position of which is worthy of special protection. Such excessive burden particularly takes place in case of the simple acceptance of the inheritance (without limitation of liability for inheritance debts) but it may also occur in case of the acceptance of the inheritance with the benefit of inventory (with limitation of liability for inheritance debts). The proposal de lege ferenda described in the article consists in making changes within the rules of liability of the recipients of a specific bequest and of a donation made by the deceased for the legitimate portion in order to avoid negative consequences of these rules in their current form.