The Renvoir rules in an inheritance procedure
The benefit of living in a modern society such as the possibility to travel, live and work in any corner of the world, has given people the opportunity to consider investing in properties and assets situated in different countries and…
The benefit of living in a modern society such as the possibility to travel, live and work in any corner of the world, has given people the opportunity to consider investing in properties and assets situated in different countries and places that are not their habitual state of residence.
If that is the case, then one should be aware of the fact that in the case of inheritance then the rules of inheritance may create a slight variation of the procedure that they are aware of.
Therefore, when you have to deal with an inheritance procedure involving assets that are based in another jurisdiction than you need to be aware of the Renvoir rules may be applicable regarding those assets.
In international private law “Renvoi” (wording coming from French, meaning "send back" or "to return unopened") refers to the rules regarding the choice of law and it may be applied whenever a court or authority is directed to consider the law of another state.
Usually in most jurisdictions around the world, an inheritance procedure is dealt with in accordance with the law applicable in the country where the deceased had its habitual residence at the time of death.
If after the procedure is opened and when compiling the list of assets that belonged to the deceased it is discovered that some of the assets are situated in another country and therefore in another legal jurisdiction, then the applicability of Renvoir must be verified.
If the jurisdiction of the habitual residence of the deceased sends you to the jurisdiction of the place where the assets are located then you are in the presence of the Renvoir rules.
Most jurisdictions in the world comprises such dispositions from United Kingdom to Israel or Japan mentioning that in case of the assets situated in another jurisdiction then for those assets the inheritance procedure will be held under the rules of that jurisdiction (lex situs).
Furthermore, within the member states of the European Union, the EU Succession Regulation 4th July 2012 (EU Regulation 650/2012) – also known as Brussels IV –although it establishes as a main rule that the courts of the Member State in which the deceased person had their habitual residence at the time of death will have jurisdiction to rule on the succession as a whole, it also refers to Renvoir rights where applicable.
In the event that the foreign law is Romanian law and the assets are situated in the jurisdiction then what you must be aware of is the fact that in this situation, then for the assets situated in Romania, an inheritance procedure must be initiated in Romania which will result in the issuing of an inheritance certificate under Romanian law.
