The Subject of the Matter

In connection with an inheritance dispute between a well-known comedian and his sons, I was approached to give my opinion on the case, among other things as an inheritance lawyer. In parentheses, I will add that with this I also pulled off the feat of appearing at the same time in Hungary’s leading tabloid daily and in the world’s leading scientific journal, Nature. Although both are only a tiny contribution, it sounds rather nice from a marketing point of view. When I received my diplomas back in the day, I would have placed a small bet against both. I assume the reader is less interested in prehistoric archaeology, so let us stick to inheritance law from here on.

To be fair, I do not know the specific facts of the case in detail, I only received a short article as a summary. The family tree, the movements of assets, who paid or gave what to whom and when, and exactly what agreements were made, verbal or written, I cannot know. A responsible lawyer only gives an opinion on a specific case with knowledge of the facts, so I too could only speak in general terms.

But when I wrote my reply, it occurred to me that this is in fact a very typical case. I often come across this sort of thing in practice, and that is precisely why I thought I would write about it at a little more length, so that the reader can draw lessons for their own life.

When the Money Disappears From the Account

There is a recurring pattern that often comes up. After the death of the deceased, the balance of the bank account mysteriously begins to shrink. Whoever had access to the account, say a bank card or an online banking password, simply withdraws the money and spends it. Do not do this! For three reasons.

First, it is simply not ethical. I know this sounds strange coming from a lawyer, but there is no law without morality. When it comes to the deceased’s assets, they generally belong to the heirs, not just to whoever happens to have access.

Second, it can also have criminal consequences if someone reaches into the deceased’s assets without authorization.

Third, and from a practical point of view perhaps the most important, it is very easy to prove. The bank sees exactly who withdrew how much and when. There is no getting around it, no ‘it wasn’t me’.

The balance existing on the day of death is, as a rule, part of the estate, so it has to be divided among the heirs in the probate procedure, according to the legal or testamentary inheritance shares.

There is an important exception to this. If the deceased, while still alive, designated a beneficiary on death for their account, then that sum is not part of the estate but goes directly to the beneficiary. This is a completely lawful solution, it just has to be done in advance, deliberately, rather than concluding after the fact, arbitrarily, that ‘it would have been mine anyway’.

A Verbal Agreement in Inheritance. Why Is It Worth (Almost) Nothing?

The other lesson, which also comes up often, is the fate of verbal agreements. I have written about this once before in a business context, where you can also read that a handshake on its own is rarely enough. In inheritance law, however, this problem arises many times over.

Why? Because it usually involves large assets, and precisely for this reason the law prescribes strict formal requirements for a testamentary disposition to be valid. This strictness is not bureaucratic hysteria, but serves to protect the deceased. No one should be able to decide on the assets of an entire lifetime on the basis of misunderstood or hastily spoken words.

Verbally, without formal constraints, you can make a valid will only in very, very exceptional situations. This option is reserved for cases where someone is in mortal danger, may die within a short time, and physically has no way to make a will otherwise.

An example. On the front, a piece of shrapnel severs someone’s femoral artery, and they have minutes left. In such a case, the last will spoken to their comrades may be valid. Beyond this level, that is, in everyday, ‘normal’ life situations, a verbal testamentary disposition is not legally valid. If you want your grandchild to inherit rather than your child, or a charity, or even your neighbor, it is not enough to say so over the family dinner. You have to go to a lawyer and record your intent properly, in the formally correct manner.

This principle, that the deceased’s intent is paramount, is in fact one of the important guiding ideas of the new Civil Code. The law is strict about form not to make our lives difficult, but so that when the final intent really is established, no one can later dispute or rewrite it, neither on the basis of verbal memories nor of good-faith misunderstandings.

This is why a verbal agreement in inheritance is worth something only as long as everyone keeps to it. If someone gets caught up and spun around by the whirlwind of greed, then the other party has, legally speaking, talked into thin air.

Why Do Family Wars Begin After the Funeral?

I have an observation that I very often see confirmed. A significant part of family troubles only really begins after someone has died. If that person did not properly deal with their financial affairs while alive, then with their death they leave behind not only an emotional but also a serious financial burden for the family.

And this is not right, in either a legal or a moral sense. If someone made their relatives’ lives harder while alive with their unsettled affairs, they should not compound it by having the family litigate for years after their death, or simply stop speaking to one another.

I assume most people do not leave things unsettled out of bad intent, but rather just keep putting it off because it is an unpleasant topic. Yet the head buried in the sand solves nothing, it only delays the problem and usually makes it more expensive and more painful by the time someone finally has to face it. And that may be exactly the person we loved most in our life.

What Can You Do if You Want to Arrange Things Differently Than the Law Prescribes?

If you too feel that you would like to arrange your assets differently from the order of legal inheritance, there is a legally secure way to do so.

Making a Will

Preferably with a lawyer or a notary, so that it certainly meets the formal requirements and cannot later be challenged on the grounds of a formal defect.

An Inheritance Contract

If you would like to transfer your assets on death to someone in exchange for care or maintenance.

Designating a Beneficiary on Death

On your bank account, if you would like to give a particular amount of savings to someone in a targeted way, even outside the circle of heirs, without waiting for the probate procedure.

Each of these is a real, valid legal instrument. By contrast, a verbal agreement in inheritance, however sincerely everyone meant it, is worth nothing in the event of a legal dispute.

Very Important! Do Not Bury Your Head in the Sand!

This topic, by the way, is true not only of inheritance but of almost every area of life that has a financial dimension. If we do not deal with our affairs in time, we solve nothing, we merely shift the problem onto those we love most.

If you arrange your financial and inheritance affairs properly and honestly while you still can, you kill two birds with one stone. You yourself sleep more soundly, and your relatives will not fall out over it when you are no longer there to calm tempers. A timely legal consultation can help a great deal with this, and it is much cheaper than an inheritance lawsuit dragging on for years.

If you feel that, based on what you have read, there is something for you to do, come in for a consultation, and together we will review how you can arrange your financial and inheritance affairs with certainty.