The obsolescence of the right to claim inheritance through a lawsuit is a legal institute that regulates the period within which heirs may exercise their right to an inheritance by filing a lawsuit.
Obsolescence plays an important role in law, as it ensures legal certainty and stability in legal relations.
In the legal systems of many countries, the right to claim an inheritance through a lawsuit is subject to a statute of limitations, meaning that after the expiration of a certain period, the heirs lose the possibility to exercise their right through judicial proceedings.
In the Republic of North Macedonia, the statute of limitations on the right to claim inheritance through a lawsuit is regulated by the Law on Inheritance.
According to Article 136 paragraph 1 of the Law on Inheritance, it is stipulated that the right to claim an inheritance through a lawsuit, as an heir against the holder of the estate, becomes time-barred two years from the day the heir learned that a final decision had been rendered, and no later than ten years from the day the decision on inheritance became final.
According to paragraph 2 of the same article, the right to claim the inheritance in any case becomes time-barred upon the expiration of twenty years from the death of the decedent.
From this statutory provision, it clearly follows that in paragraph 1 of this article, our legislation, with regard to the right to claim inheritance through a lawsuit, distinguishes between two types of time limits: a subjective time limit, which begins to run from the day the heir learned that a final inheritance decision had been rendered, and an objective time limit, which begins to run from the day the inheritance decision became final.
The subjective time limit presupposes that a final inheritance decision has been rendered, determining the heir and the share with which he or she participates in the inheritance, and it amounts to two years from the day the heir learned that the final decision had been rendered.
The objective time limit likewise presupposes that a final inheritance decision has been rendered, and it amounts to ten years from the day the inheritance decision became final.
The Law on Inheritance, in paragraph 2 of Article 136, also provides an absolute limitation period of twenty years from the death of the decedent, upon the expiration of which the right to claim the inheritance becomes time barred.
The Law on Inheritance sets the period of twenty years as an absolute statute of limitations for the right to claim the estate of the deceased, meaning that it begins to run from the moment of the decedent’s death. This implies that if the heir did not take part in the probate proceedings, the right to claim the inheritance becomes time-barred after the expiration of twenty years from the death of the decedent.
In legal theory and judicial practice, the prevailing legal position is that once the limitation periods have expired, the presumptive heir – the heir-claimant to the estate – can no longer exercise the right to inheritance through judicial proceedings if an objection of limitation is raised. This applies even if the claimant’s legal basis for inheritance is stronger than that of the person currently holding the estate. In such a case, the inheritance decision by which a person has been declared an heir becomes materially final, and it can no longer be altered, nor can the estate be awarded to the claimant, even if that claimant has a superior legal basis for inheritance.
This statutory provision extends to all forms of inheritance provided for in the Law on Inheritance, which in the present case applies as lex specialis, meaning a special law whose provisions take precedence over those of the Law on Ownership and Other Real Rights.
Finally, it is important to note that limitation does not only entail the loss of the right to file a lawsuit, but also the loss of the right to seek any other form of legal protection related to the estate. Therefore, timely action and awareness of the limitation periods are of crucial importance for any heir wishing to exercise their right to inheritance.