Etude comparée du legs : droit français, droit anglais, droit américain et droit yougoslave
Institution:
Paris 2Disciplines:
Directors:
Abstract EN:
A gift by will ought to be defined as a way of transmission of one's estate. Since there are two so-called "legal families", on the one hand the roman-germanic family, on the other hand the common law family, this transmission, depending basically on the idea of estate, is to be carried out differently. In the legal systems bellonging to the first family, such as french and yugoslav law, the estate of the deceased person is considered as the totality of an individual's assets and liabilities. Therefore, it can be transferred immediately eather as a universal bequest, by which the legatee will be eventually called to succeed to the whole estate, or by particular bequests, which give title only to one or more determined objects. On the other hand, in the common law legal systems, such as english and american, the idea of estate is not based on person, but on property. Assets are considered, specially the trust property, as being independent and having a particular purpose and not simply as a part of an individual's estate. They are not transferred directly to the beneficiaries, but to the deceased's personal representative, who, after the administration of the estate, distributes the assets to the beneficiaries. The testator may make gifts eather to beneficiaries or to trustees upon trust.
Abstract FR:
Le legs constitue un moyen de transmission du patrimoine a cause de mort. Il existe deux principales familles de droit, d'une part la famille romano-germanique, d'autre part la famille de la "common law". Cette transmission, qui depend essentiellement de la conception du patrimoine, ne s'y opere pas de la meme maniere. Dans les systemes appartenant a la premiere famille, comme le droit francais et le droit yougoslave, la transmission du patrimoine repose sur la personne. La succession, consideree comme une universalite de droit, composee d'un actif et d'un passif correspondant, peut etre transmise directement au legataire par legs, soit en tant qu'universalite de droit, soit par disposition a titre particulier. Le testateur peut ainsi designer le continuateur de sa personne. Dans les systemes appartenant a la seconde famille, tels le droit anglais et le droit americain, la succession repose sur les biens et non sur la personne. Les biens sont independants les uns par rapport aux autres, et par rapport a la personne. Ils sont transmis au "personal representative", qui est un administrateur de la succession, et non directement aux legataires, lesquels recoivent, apres liquidation du passif, l'actif net. Le caractere independant des biens est essentiellement assure par le trust.