In the master's thesis I present the regulation of legal inheritance in Slovenia, as well as the regulation of legal inheritance in Croatia, Italy and England. With the help of comparative law analysis, I try to determine whether the Slovenian regulation is comparable to foreign law and whether it is appropriate in view of recent development trends in this field.
Two development trends have emerged in recent decades. The first is an increase in the rights of the surviving spouse compared to other heirs, and the second trend is in equating the rights of same-sex partners with the rights of spouses or extramarital partners.
A comparative legal analysis showed that Slovenia is lagging behind in terms of the first trend, as it does not offer increased hereditary protection to the surviving spouse. In this sense, the Slovenian system is similar to the Croatian one. Compared to Italy and England, the position of the spouse in the Slovenian arrangement is less protected, as the Italian and English arrangements offer the surviving spouse more rights than other heirs. Taking into account the second development trend, the Slovenian regulation is appropriate, as same-sex partners have the same rights in legal inheritance as spouses or extramarital partners. The same goes for Croatia. The rights of same-sex partners who enter into a civil partnership or marriage are also equal in Italy and England to the rights of spouses. However, if same-sex partners do not enter into a civil partnership or marriage, they do not have the right to legal inheritance.
The key finding of the master's thesis is that the Slovenian inheritance law in the field of legal inheritance is outdated and therefore needs to be renewed or reformed.
|