Reforming Austrian Succession Law 2015

In July 2015, the Austrian Parliament passed the bill on the reform of succession law (ErbRÄG 2015) which will take effect on January 1st, 2017 and thus replace the old provisions on succession law which had not been subject to any substantial reform since the entry into force of the ABGB in 1811. This project aims to undertake an historical and comparative analysis of two core areas of succession law, namely intestate succession and legacies, in which some of the most innovative changes were made. This will be the first project to study the new provisions on intestacy and legacies from a comparative and historical perspective and will thus contribute to a better understanding and thus smoother implementation of the new Austrian succession law. Furthermore, it will be the first project to make important innovations in Austrian succession law available outside of Austria.

Within the project "Reforming Austrian Succession Law", the new Austrian succession law with special regard to intestate succession and legacies was analyzed and commented on from a historical-comparative perspective. Furthermore, it was placed in an international context and made known through publications abroad.