Legal consequences of the maintenance provider's death arising from a lifetime maintenance agreement

The Succession Act of the Republic of Serbia regulates only certain legal consequences arising from a lifetime maintenance agreement in case the maintenance provider dies before the maintenance recipient, thus leaving numerous contentious issues unresolved. The legislator has chosen to authorize only the spouse and the descendants (eligible heirs) of the deceased maintenance provider to continue providing support if they agree to do so. In particular, the Succession Act also regulates the legal consequences of contract termination in cases where these heirs are unable or unwilling to continue providing support under the lifetime maintenance agreement. The paper critically examines the existing legal solutions on the circle of subjects (heirs) entitled to continue providing care and support and discusses the procedure by which they declare whether they are able and willing to continue the agreement. In this context, the author points out that the maintenance recipient does not have the right to declare whether he/she agrees to the continuation of the contract, which may place the recipient in a disadvantaged position. The author argues that the circle of heirs who are entitled to continue the lifetime maintenance agreement should be expanded to include all heirs who lived with the maintenance recipient and participated in their support during the provider's lifetime. The Succession Act does not envisage the recipient's right to decide whether he/she wants to be supported by the provider's heirs. In order to protect the recipient's interests, the author of this paper suggests that the recipient should be granted the right to request the termination of the maintenance agreement within a reasonable period (six months or one year) without the need to specify a particular reason. In addition, the paper highlights the legislator's failure to regulate numerous unresolved issues, presents views on the legal consequences that would arise in various real-life situations, and urges for their regulation de lege ferenda.