The notary.
In order to determine in Hungary who, according to which legal title (e.g. intestate or testate successions) and to what extent inherits the assets of the deceased, a formal legal procedure – the successions proceedings – was introduced by the legislator. The competent authority to proceed is the notary.
In Hungarian successions proceedings, the legal acts of the notary are made in the form of a decision in accordance with Article 3 (1) g). The so-called grant of probate is one example of that. However, these notarial decisions cannot be qualified as “authentic instruments” in accordance with Article 3 (1) i) of Regulation 650/2012. Therefore, the decisions taken by Hungarian notaries can have legal effects in other Member States not according to Chapter V of the Regulation, but in accordance with Chapter IV concerning the recognition of decisions.
In short: in order to attest the status of heir (or other inheritance status, e.g. the status of the legatee or the executor of wills), in Hungarian law not the legal institution of the “authentic act” according to Art. 3. (1) i), but the decision of the notary in the successions proceedings (in accordance with Article 3 (1) g) of the Regulation) is used.
