Buying property from heirs before inheritance proceedings end

An apartment or house left by a deceased parent is sometimes offered for sale before the notary has concluded the inheritance proceedings. The heirs need money, and the buyer does not want to miss a good opportunity. However, the deceased is still named on the title record. A contract signed at this stage must comply with the rules governing both inheritance proceedings and the land register. The buyer also lacks the protection that the law provides only once inheritance has been confirmed. The rules below concern Slovak law.

Who inherits, and when this is conclusively established

Under the Slovak Civil Code, inheritance is acquired upon the deceased’s death (Section 460 of the Civil Code). However, the identity of the heirs and what they have acquired are conclusively established only by the inheritance order. The order is issued by the notary appointed by the court to conduct and decide the proceedings (Section 161 of Act No. 161/2015 Z. z., the Civil Non-Contentious Procedure Code). It may, for example, confirm acquisition of the estate by a sole heir, approve the heirs’ settlement agreement, confirm acquisition according to their inheritance shares, or determine what each heir has acquired (Section 203(1)).

If the apartment formed part of the spouses’ joint marital property, that property is also settled in the proceedings (Section 195(1)). The surviving spouse may also be among the sellers if the property or a share in it is allocated to that spouse in the settlement. The inheritance proceedings end when the order becomes final (Section 204(1)). The land registry then records the heirs’ ownership on the basis of an official instrument (Section 34(1) of the Slovak Cadastral Act).

A sale during the proceedings requires the court’s consent

The key rule is contained in the Slovak Civil Non-Contentious Procedure Code. The statutory quotation is reproduced in its original Slovak wording.

Dedičia môžu veci patriace do dedičstva počas konania scudziť alebo urobiť iné opatrenia presahujúce rámec obvyklého hospodárenia len so súhlasom súdu.

Section 201 of Act No. 161/2015 Z. z.

Unofficial translation: During the proceedings, heirs may dispose of assets forming part of the estate or take other measures exceeding ordinary management only with the court’s consent.

The consent is decided on by the notary conducting the inheritance proceedings, because it is not among the acts reserved to the court itself (Section 161(2)). When deciding on registration of a transfer, the land registry also examines whether the transferor is entitled to dispose of the property (Section 31(1) of the Cadastral Act). For a contract drawn up as a notarial deed or authorised by an attorney, it examines only consistency with the cadastral records and compliance with the procedural conditions for approving registration (Section 31(2)). This form of contract does not replace the consent required in the inheritance proceedings. Section 201 itself does not expressly specify the consequences of missing consent. We therefore do not recommend paying the purchase price under a contract concluded without the necessary consent.

Even an estate administrator appointed by the court is not automatically entitled to sell the property. The administrator performs acts necessary to preserve the estate’s value, within the scope defined by the court (Sections 183 and 184).

What can change while the proceedings are ongoing

Until the order is issued, it is not certain who will acquire the property. A will or another heir may emerge, and the heirs may agree that the apartment will go to just one of them. If assets or debts are disputed between the participants, the notary records that they are disputed and disregards them when calculating the estate’s net value, unless a court has finally decided the issue before the proceedings end (Section 198). If the estate is overindebted, meaning that its debts exceed its assets, the court may order its liquidation if the heirs and creditors do not agree on transferring the estate to the creditors. The notary then sells the deceased’s assets (Section 205(1) and Section 207).

The buyer’s protection also differs. The law protects a person who acquires an asset in good faith from an heir whose inheritance has been confirmed, even if someone else later turns out to be the rightful heir. A buyer purchasing before the proceedings end cannot rely on that protection, because the provision requires confirmation of inheritance.

Original Slovak statutory wording:

Kto dobromyseľne niečo nadobudol od nepravého dediča, ktorému bolo dedičstvo potvrdené, je chránený tak, ako keby to bol nadobudol od oprávneného dediča.

Section 486 of the Slovak Civil Code

Unofficial translation: A person who in good faith acquires something from a person who was not the rightful heir but whose inheritance had been confirmed is protected as if they had acquired it from the rightful heir.

How to protect your purchase

If you want to buy property from heirs, we recommend the following steps:

• Before signing the sale contract, obtain the inheritance order bearing confirmation that it is final and check the title record to ensure that the heirs are already registered.
• If you want to reach an agreement earlier, first check with the appointed notary who the heirs are and whether the proposed agreement to conclude a future sale contract requires consent under Section 201. That provision covers not only the sale itself but also other measures exceeding ordinary management. If consent is required, obtain it before signing. The agreement must be in writing and contain the essential terms of the sale contract and the period within which it is to be concluded (Section 50a(1) of the Slovak Civil Code).
• Identify the future sellers specifically, based on the review of the inheritance proceedings and any settlement of the spouses’ joint marital property. The agreement does not bind another heir merely because that heir joins the proceedings later. We therefore recommend making the obligation to conclude the sale contract conditional on a final order confirming acquisition of the property by the agreed seller. Also set out the procedure and repayment of any money deposited if this condition is not met.
• Place the purchase price in escrow, for example with an attorney, with release only after your ownership has been registered.
• If the heirs acquire shares and only one of them sells, the other co-owners have a right of pre-emption unless the transfer is to a close person within the meaning of the law (Section 140 of the Slovak Civil Code).
• If a sale during the proceedings is necessary, ask the heirs to obtain the court’s consent under Section 201 first, and sign the contract only afterwards.

If the other party does not conclude the main contract within the agreed period, an application may be made within one year for the court to substitute its judgment for that party’s declaration of intent (Section 50a(2)). This does not guarantee that the buyer will acquire the property. The agreed conditions must be met, and it is necessary to check whether the obligation has ceased because of a material change in circumstances (Section 50a(3)). Even a judgment cannot override a statutory or court-imposed restriction on the sale, as the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic explained in decision 1Cdo/47/2022. That case concerned restrictions on a sale outside inheritance proceedings, not the assessment of consent under Section 201. The difference between this type of agreement and a reservation agreement is explained in our article on reservation agreements and agreements to enter into a future contract.

These rules are based on the Slovak Civil Code, Act No. 40/1964 Zb., as effective on 28 October 2026. The National Council approved the new Civil Code on 1 October, and the President signed it on 20 October 2026. When checking on 28 October, we did not find its promulgated text in the Collection of Laws. We therefore do not use it in this article to establish rules for the purchase or the date on which those rules take effect.

If the deceased lived in Czechia or the property is in Czechia, it is first necessary to determine which state’s courts have jurisdiction over the succession and which law applies. The deceased’s habitual residence at the time of death is generally decisive (Articles 4 and 21 of EU Regulation No. 650/2012). However, the outcome may be affected, for example, by a valid choice of law under Article 22. If Czech law applies, administration of the estate until confirmation of inheritance is governed by Sections 1677 to 1679 of the Czech Civil Code.

How we can help

As part of our property purchase service, we prepare both an agreement to conclude a future sale contract and the sale contract with the heirs. Through attorney escrow of the purchase price, we arrange for the money to be released only after ownership has been registered. We review the inheritance order, title record and encumbrances as part of our legal due diligence on property. Our answer on co-owners’ rights of pre-emption explains how this right works when only one co-owner is selling.