During the 67th Congress of the UIA held in Rome from October 25 to October 29, 2023, Peter Kun has been nominated to Vice President of the International Estate Planning Commission of UIA Union Internationale des Avocats. He will be working with Carlos Anglada, President of the Commission.
News
INHERITANCE OF FAMILY BUSINESSES IN HUNGARY
Kun Péter
Published in Inheritance and the family business: how to deal with inheritance when the main assets are in a family business, october 2023 (editor: Isabelle Rein-Lescastereyres, LexisNexis).
‘A man will more easily find purpose in life by working in a family business rather than in a multinational company, in which everything is focused on achieving a few percent increase in performance in the given year. A family business can better survive, since they strive for more than simple money. What is crucial is a belief in something, something one can be proud of, especially when the company bears their name. This intrinsic motivation provides an added value to the company leader and to all employees’ – Izabella Zwack – Member of the Board of Director of Zwack Unicum Nyrt, representing the 6th generation of the Zwack family.[1]
The importance of family businesses is becoming increasingly recognised worldwide. In all markets based on the freedom of trade, family businesses play a key role. Nevertheless, the evolution of family businesses cannot be set apart from the evolution of the economic, social and legal environment where the business operates. The notion of ‘family’ also varies from culture to culture and for each different time in history. The recognition of these ever changing economic, social, legal and cultural factors is essential to understand the functioning of the family businesses of a given society.
ADJUDICATION BY AN ARBITRATION COURT OF LEGAL DISPUTES ARISING FROM TRUST RELATIONSHIPS
Kun Péter, Sándor István, Spiriev Olivér
Published in Trusts & Trustees, Volume 29, Issue 7, September 2023, Pages 649–658.
A BIZALMI VAGYONKEZELÉSI JOGVISZONYBÓL SZÁRMAZÓ JOGVITÁK VÁLASZTOTTBÍRÓSÁG ÁLTALI ELBÍRÁLÁSA
Kun Péter – Sándor István – Spiriev Olivér
Published in Gazdaság és Jog, 04.03.2023, p. 22-30 (ORAC, 2023.)
A választottbírósági törvényi szabályozásnak a közelmúltban két jelentős módosítására is sor került. 2018. január 1-e után a fogyasztóval kötött szerződések arbitrálhatóságát megtiltotta a jogalkotó, majd 2021. január 1-től lehetővé vált a bizalmi vagyonkezelési jogviszonnyal összefüggésben keletkező jogviták választottbíróság előtti rendezése. A tanulmány a két módosítás közötti összefüggéseket elemzi, bemutatva a bizalmi vagyonkezelési jogviszonyokból eredő jogviták arbitrálásának előnyeit, a külföldi példák alapján a hatályos magyar jogi környezetben esetlegesen felmerülő jogértelmezési kérdéseket.
TRUST ARBITRATION IN HUNGARY
TRUST ARBITRATION IN HUNGARY – PETER KUN EXPLAINS WHY THE LATEST
AMENDMENT TO ARBITRATION LEGISLATION MEANS THE START OF A NEW ERA IN RESOLVING TRUST DISPUTES IN HUNGARY
Kun, Peter (2021): Trust arbitration in Hungary. STEP Journal, 78.-79. STEP.ORG/JOURNAL
New inheritance rules in the United Arab Emirates
In recent years the United Arab Emirates, in particular Dubai has been an attractive destination for many investors. However, succession of wealth acquired in the country also presented lesser-known risks. While prudent estate-planning remained essential, with newly introduced rules these risks are reduced significantly.
On 7 November 2020 the UAE government introduced a range of changes to the country’s legal system in order to enhance a favourable investment environment. The decree issued by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan not only include changes to criminal law, fundamental freedoms and family law, but also have a significant impact on the laws of inheritance.
Prior to these changes, in case of intestate succession of non-Muslim expatriates the Sharia based UAE inheritance law applied to the distribution of their assets linked to the UAE, while inheritance of Muslim residents was automatically governed by Sharia.
Religious Islamic inheritance law is effectively a very strong forced heir system, in which the deceased’s property is distributed among the deceased’s family members in the proportions specified in the “lawful” order of succession.[1] Inheritance rules under Sharia typically allocates a larger share of assets to the male than the female heirs, which distribution may well go against the non-Muslim deceased wishes and expectations.
Under newly introduced laws, the distribution of the deceased estate in the UAE, in principle, will be governed by the law of their citizenship at the time of death. From now on, the order of succession will be determined by the deceased own national law instead of the rules of Sharia law even in the absence of a will, irrespective of the deceased’s religion. It is important to note that there is one exception: in case of intestate succession the Sharia will be applicable to the inheritance of a real property situated in the UAE. Therefore importance of choosing one’s national law in a will regarding UAE real properties remains significant.
In the UAE where expatriates outnumber local citizens nearly nine to one, these changes to the laws of succession aimed at making the investment climate more predictable and attractive for foreign direct investment and expats, facilitating decision making on estate planning and investment strategies.
The strengthening bilateral economic relations between Hungary and the UAE make the new regulation newsworthy for Hungarian investors also, since it enables the application of Hungarian law to the division of their assets situated in the UAE.
[1] For more on this, see: dr. Peter Kun and dr. Oliver Spiriev: Inheritance systems in the light of testamentary freedom – or, to what extent and in what matters are we free to decide under continental, Anglo-Saxon and Islamic inheritance laws? (in: International Succession Review, vol. I issue 2)
For the first time since its creation the International Association of Lawyers (UIA) is organizing its congress virtually
For the first time since its creation in 1927 the world’s oldest organization of lawyers, the International Association of Lawyers (Union International des Avocats, UIA), is organizing its congress virtually. From October 28 to October 30, the congress offers for its participants numerous professional programs and networking opportunities.
In accordance with the cooperation agreement concluded between the UIA and the Hungarian Bar Association, the congress participants are entitled to credit points in the continuous legal education program of Hungarian lawyers.
Registration (Early Bird rate before September 30): https://www.uianet.org/en/events/virtual-congress
New Zealand: Emergency order allows wills to be executed electronically
Wills in New Zealand can now be signed by audiovisual link, under the Epidemic Preparedness (Wills Act 2007 – Signing and Witnessing of Wills) Immediate Modification Order 2020. The order modifies s.11 of the Wills Act 2007, where it is impractical or impossible to comply during an epidemic, until the Epidemic Preparedness (COVID-19) Notice 2020 expires or is revoked.
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2020/0065/latest/whole.html
(Source: STEP International News Digest)
Excellent initiative for remote legal education
Here comes, like the sun:), the new program of Union Internationale des Avocats (International Association of Lawyers), the UIA Capsules, approximately one hour long webinars from great professionals on hot topics.