In parliament tonight, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said that mobility of persons from one country to another is on the increase causing cross border successions issues, meaning inheritance rights when family member with property in another EU Member State passes away.

Within the European Union there are two systems in place.  In the United Kingdom, Belgium and Luxembourg, immobile property belongs to the country in which the possessions are.  In Germany, Spain and Portugal, such property belongs to the country of which the individual in question is citizen of.

The EU Succession Regulation has created the European Certificate of Succession which ensures that given succession is treated coherently, under a single law and by one single authority. Citizens are able to choose whether the law applicable to their succession should be at their habitual residence or that of their nationality. This ensures that conflicting judicial decisions are avoided and a mutual recognition of decisions relating to succession is ensured.  Denmark, the United Kingdom and Ireland have chosen to apply this regulation.

In January, a local committee was created to evaluate this regulation and propose the way forward. In cases where individuals have property spread across different countries, the succession certificate ensures one procedure and not multiple, in different member states.

If this was not the case, heirs might have to go through various court procedures in different member states.  

The succession certificate will be published by the Maltese courts or by notaries.