Probate proceedings in Novi Sad

Who conducts the proceedings

The court with territorial jurisdiction is the one in whose area the deceased had their residence or place of stay at the time of death. The court may entrust a public notary with drawing up the death record and conducting the probate hearing. The decision of a public notary acting as the court's commissioner can be challenged by legal remedies as if it had been made by the court.

How the proceedings run

1. The death record (smrtovnica): it is drawn up on the basis of the extract from the death register and contains data on the deceased, the possible heirs, the property and the will, if there is one.
2. Inventory and valuation of the property, when necessary or when one of the heirs requests it.
3. The hearing at which the heirs state whether they accept the inheritance or renounce it. If there is a will, it is read out.
4. The decision on inheritance, which determines who the heirs are and what their shares are.

Accepting and renouncing the inheritance

The estate passes to the heirs by operation of law at the moment of the deceased's death. Until the first-instance proceedings are concluded, an heir may renounce the inheritance by a statement before the court or by a written statement with a certified signature. If the heir does not renounce by then, they are considered to have accepted the inheritance, and the same applies where they have disposed of the whole estate or part of it, whereas measures to preserve the estate and current management do not count as such. A renunciation cannot be partial, and someone who has already accepted the inheritance can no longer renounce it. A statement of acceptance or renunciation is irrevocable, but it can be annulled if it resulted from coercion, threat, fraud or mistake.

Statutory heirs and wills

If there is no will, the statutory heirs inherit, in order of succession. In the first order are the descendants and the spouse, who inherit equal shares. In the second order are the spouse and the parents of the deceased, and the spouse receives half of the estate. Next in line are the grandparents and other ancestors. A will can be handwritten, written in the presence of two witnesses, court-made or notarial, and special forms exist in exceptional circumstances. It can be made by a person who is at least fifteen years old and capable of reasoning, and to be valid it must be made in the form and under the conditions prescribed by law.

Forced share

Forced heirs are the descendants and adoptees of the deceased, the spouse and the parents, while brothers and sisters, grandparents and other ancestors are forced heirs only if they are permanently unable to work and have no means of subsistence. The forced share is one half of the share that would belong to them by law (descendants and spouse), or one third (other forced heirs). The deceased cannot reduce it by will or gifts, and a forced heir can claim their share within three years, counted from the reading of the will or, where the forced share was infringed by gifts, from the death of the deceased.

If the heirs are in dispute

If there are disputed facts on which the right to inherit depends, for example whether certain property forms part of the estate, the court stays the probate proceedings and refers the parties to civil litigation. Once the decision on inheritance becomes final, the estate is, as a rule, not dealt with again: property discovered later is distributed by a new decision, and rights based on a will found later are pursued in litigation.

What is useful to prepare

• the extract from the death register
• details of the possible heirs (name, personal ID number, address, relationship)
• the will or a lifetime maintenance agreement, if there is one
• documents about the property (property registry extracts, vehicle registration documents, bank statements, sale or gift contracts)

Common questions

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