Inheriting the property by the social care facility / its employees under Czech law
There are cases when a Czech testator wants to give some or all of his property to a caretaker or a social care facility. This might be a legitimate decision, but in some cases of senior citizens there might be a pressure and manipulation by the (social) caretakers or institutions in order to obtain their property through a will.
Therefore, since an heir can question the last will because of testator´s manipulation, it is required by law (under the sanction of invalidity) that the testator, if he wants a part or all of their estate to be given to the social care facility, or directly to one of its employees through a will, does so through a notarial deed (notářský zápis) which is a special form of public document written by a Czech notary. During such procedure, it should be proved that the testator was fully mentally capable and acted according to their own will.
This form of will is governed by § 1493 of the Czech New Civil Code, where is said: „If a decedent made a disposition mortis causa at the period when he was in the care of a facility which provides health care or social services, or when he otherwise received its services, and if he designated a person who administers, is employed or otherwise engaged in such a facility to be an heir, such designation of these persons as heirs or legatees is invalid unless it is made by means of a testament in the form of a public instrument“
This measure should prevent a social care facility or its nurse or other employee from obtaining their patient´s property through a last will by coercion or manipulation.
This procedure reduces the chance of invalidation of the testator´s last will, but it does not completely eliminate it, due to the fact that the notary is not a psychiatrist and therefore, he cannot properly evaluate the mental state of the testator at the time of writing of the notarial deed. So also even if this procedure is undertaken the disposition might be challenged at court, but the chance of success is much smaller.
For more information please contact:
Michal Dobiáš, attorney at law
rutland & partners, law firm
tel: +420 226 226 026
michal.dobias@rutlands.cz
