Considerations of surviving spouse inheritance rights under the legal inheritance

• Author: Carmen Teodora Popa
• Position: Faculty of Law, Department of Law University of Oradea, Oradea, Romania
• Pages: 15-22

AGORA International Journal of Juridical Sciences, http://univagora.ro/jour/index.php/aijjs

ISSN 1843-570X, E-ISSN 2067-7677

No. 1 (2016), pp. 15-22

15

CONSIDERATIONS OF SURVIVING SPOUSE INHERITANCE RIGHTS UNDER

THE LEGAL INHERITANCE

C.T. Popa

Carmen Teodora Popa

Faculty of Law, Department of Law

University of Oradea, Oradea, Romania

*Correspondence: Carmen Teodora Popa, University of Oradea, General Magheru St. Oradea,

Romania

E-mail: bnppopacarmen@gmail.com

Abstract

This article examines the inheritance rights of the surviving spouse as a legal heir in

light of the current rules of the civil code. The current regulations of The Civil code deals

with the complex and comprehensive manner the rights of surviving spouse upon inheritance

left by the deceased. The current Civil code operates a subversion of moral rights for the

surviving spouse thereof, giving him legal status and dignity that he deserves.

Keywords: surviving spouse, inheritance rights, the special right of inheritance, the legal

heir.

General notions

Just as remarkable a great Russian writer said, “death is an old joke, but new for every

one of us”

1

, so is the Romanian legislation in the field of the right of inheritance of the surviving

spouse.

In the current legislation established in the Civil code, the surviving spouse, although

not a part of any class of heirs, benefit from the inheritance rights of their own regardless of

their own class of heirs whom he would encounter.

This situation is somewhat privileged for the surviving spouse if we analyze the

position that it had under the old Civil Code of 1864, which was unfair conditions. The Civil

Code system after which the surviving spouse would be called to the legacy of the deceased

spouse only if they did not leave heir degree inheritance, it was defective and was criticized in

the old doctrine

2

. He was gaining inheritance if the four classes of heirs were missing and the

widow without fortune had certain rights of succession in competition with other legal heirs.

In an exceptional way, she had a share of usufruct when she came into the competition with

the descendants of the deceased, and in their absence entitled to a quarter full ownership. This

situation of inequity was directed by Law no. 319/1944, for the surviving spouse for the right

to inheritance, now repealed, which brought a number of improvements to the surviving

spouse inheritance situation, recognizing him the right to inheritance in competition with any

other class of heirs, including the right to reserve succession, and some inheritance rights and

accessories

3

.

Succession rights of the surviving spouse are currently governed by the provisions of

art. 970-974 of the Civil Code in Book IV of inheritance and liberties, Title II Legal

inheritance, Chapter III Legal heirs, Section I, The survivor spouse. This order of the new

rules in civil matters is justified primarily by the fact that the surviving spouse comes to

1

I. S. Turgheniev, Părinți și copii, Colecția Carte de buzunar, Editura Litera, 2010 .

2

M. Eliescu, Moștenirea și devoluțiunea ei în dreptul RSR, Editura Academiei, București, 1 966, p. 125-129.

3

Dumitru Văduva, Moștenirea legală. Liberalitățile, Editura Universul juridic, București, 201 2, p. 45.