An inheritance can increase both assets and contribute to increasing liabilities. Often, the obligations resulting from the inheritance contributed to the deterioration of the financial situation of the heirs. Therefore, it was necessary to introduce some flexibility in the relations between the heirs and those entitled to the reserved share. Therefore, the legislator introduced changes to the Civil Code in the Family Foundation Act by adding Art. 997 1, providing for the possibility of, among other things, spreading the legitim into installments.
The first paragraph of the new provision was given the following wording: „The person obliged to satisfy the claim for the reserved share may demand a postponement of its payment deadline, spreading it into installments, and in exceptional cases – its reduction, taking into account the personal and financial situation of the person entitled to the reserved share and the person obliged to satisfy the claim from the title of the reserved share.”
The quoted provision allows for greater flexibility of the heir, who until now did not have the right, resulting directly from the provisions of the Civil Code, to spread the repayment of the legitim towards the entitled person in installments. When spreading the reserved portion into installments, the general regulation of Art. 320 of the Code of Civil Procedure, providing for the possibility of spreading the benefit into installments in particularly justified cases. Jurisprudence and doctrine treated this premise quite restrictively, narrowing it down to fortuitous events or natural disasters. The premise described in the above provision is less restrictive than the one in Art. 320 of the Code of Civil Procedure. It is worth noting that the provision in question is not revolutionary, but it is a continuation of the existing jurisprudence in inheritance cases as well as the position of the doctrine developed over the years on the above subject.
The second paragraph of the new provision specifies the period for which the claim for the reserved share may be divided into installments and special cases in which the repayment date may be postponed once and the deadline extended: „In the case of spreading the claim for the reserved share into installments, the dates for their payment may not exceed a total of five years. In cases deserving special consideration, the Court, at the request of the principal, may postpone the payment of installments already due or extend the period referred to in the first sentence. The revised term may not be longer than ten years.”