Classes of heirs and the intestate succession rights of the surviving spouse in the European civil law tradition

Abstract

The Roman law heritage is present even today in all legislations that are part of the European civil law system. Since one of the most stable parts of all civil codes is the one concerning intestate inheritances, in the light of the inheritance rights of the surviving spouse and the classes of heirs, this article attempts to highlight the perpetuation of some characteristics of the intestate succession since the late Roman law till the modern era in France and Germany, without overlooking some aspects of our old legal systems. Our analysis will confirm that some of the principles laid down in Justinian’s legislation survived till nowadays.