Legal disputes during the grieving process are never ideal. The time is bad enough without further complications and everyone deserves that period to be as least stressful as possible. That is what inheritancelaw really understands. they are based in Manchester, Birmingham, and London.

Cross Border Inheritance

Recently, lawyers have cautioned that UK people with assets and belongings in Europe could, unbeknownst to them, leave them to the mercy of the English law after new rules have emerged, and cross border inheritance has come into effect.

I can’t tell you how mad this makes me. It’s another post Brexit thing and I’m sick of it.

The whole purpose of this change is to make it easier for EU residents by giving them the choice between either choosing the law of the country of their nationality or the last place they lived to have an effect on their inheritance.

Forced Heirship

And what’s more, the UK has elected not to follow the new rules but the changes will still affect the UK citizens with, as I said, assets and belongings in Europe. The biggest uproar from this is it allows people to be exempt from the ‘forced heirship’ rules that affect a large number of countries in the EU and dictate how assets are inherited throughout a family after death. The Society of Trust and Estate, as an example of how the rule will be used in action, has said a woman in the UK that owns a house in France would have had to have left it in her will to her husband and kids. This is due to the French Forced heirship rules.

However, because of the new rules implemented, she could choose to have the UK law affect her house, allowing her to leave it to a sibling if she chooses. It offers more freedom. Unfortunately, this also means that people not born in the UK could be affected by their laws without even noticing it.

This could be incredibly problematic and, as I have said, the grief period is a stressful and awful time anyway without this piling on top.

People that don’t want the English law to have an effect on their assets will need to alter their will to make this clear and people with assets across the EU are being urged to review their plans and wills.

If someone in your family or a close friend dies and you are an heir, as a basic rule, you can settle their inheritance with:

• A person authorized to perform legal actions of any EU country
• The courts where the recently deceased lived before their death.

Heirs Choosing the Court

So if there is an issue that needs to be resolved by a court, as an heir you will normally be required to go to the courts of the country in the EU where the deceased previously lived. On the other hand, if the deceased had, in fact, chosen that law of their nationality to apply to what they’re leaving behind, and that is also the nationality of an EU country, you and other heirs can present the issue to the EU courts of that country.

If you are an heir, you also need to prove your entitlement.  Usually, this comes from a national document certifying your status. You can also ask the powers that be to grant you a European Certificate of Succession. So overall, the benefit of this is that it means its effects are identical throughout the EU regardless of where it was given and it’s recognized without any additional procedure. It can be obtained from any EU court.

Advertising law is often cited as one of the most confusing sections of the law to try interpret, this passage will attempt to break down some of the more confusing parts of these laws into simple layman terms. 

Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act

The TAC act is meant to put a leash around telemarketing companies and stop any and all deceptive practices. This act was instrumental in protecting the consumer and eliminated many shady yet common practices. 

Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act of 1992

This act requires companies to disclose possible dangers to children, and offer a transparent billing practice. This act changed telephone advertising and squeezed unsafe products out of the market. 

Fair Packaging and Labeling Act

The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act requires that all consumer commodities, apart from food and drugs, label their contents and their place of manufacturing. This does not include online services so take this example of a digital signage product from digitalframe0 this product would not require the company to list such things. 

Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986

This act was perhaps one of the biggest in American advertisement history. This completely eliminated the opportunity for cigarette companies to advertise on TV and radio. The act also forced cigarette companies to place warnings on their packets, including health warning labels.  

Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1966

Another important cigarette-based act was the Federal Cigarette and Advertising Act. This forced companies to report on the effectiveness of cigarette labelling, and also offer recommendations for new legislation. The Tobacco Education Act was actually based on the recommendations this act produced. 

CAN-SPAM Act

This act deals with companies that send unsolicited commercial emails. The act does not entirely ban the sending of such emails but restricts them to a strict set of guidelines. The act mainly deals with the banning of false information and aims to put a stop to deceptive subject lines. The act also offers a cash reward system for those who report deceptive practices, which eliminated immoral emails from the industry. 

Wool Products Labeling Act

This act aims to eliminate deceptive practices from the wool industry. Wool companies must now clearly label where the product was processed or manufactured. The wool company must clearly state if the wool was manufactured in the US or imported. 

How Different European Countries Decide on New Laws

Law is an integral part of society today and you would be amazed at how many people don’t know the decision making that goes behind the rules that govern our lives. How many times have you wondered why that law is there? Or who came up with it, and why? Thankfully, there is a lot of information on Dutch lawfirm Le Poole Bekema explaining how European countries, such as Holland, decide on the new laws. There’s a lot more to it than just picking and it often takes years to establish new laws.

Many counties in Europe are part of the EU and this has a massive effect on the laws they implement. The European Commission proposes laws that are inside the EU’s parameters. That is to say, they are laws that the EU approve of. The level of scrutiny of these laws is then much higher because they not only represent that country but the EU as a whole. This means the laws are heavily reviewed, checked by professionals, and updated when necessary, all so that they are as effective as possible. Any new European laws are proposed by the European Commission. The laws are set up and refined by them so that the interests of the union are protected and as a result, it’s citizens. The European Commission will send a legislative proposal to the European Parliament and also the Council of the European Union who then must reach an agreement on the text for it to become an actual law.

A lot of people can have their say in the law-making process, including businesses, members of the public, public authorities such as the police, and stakeholders. This concept, known as better regulation, is a huge part of the process of creating new laws. It shows the European Commission actually listens to those that the laws will directly affect and it is usually evidence-based. It allows the laws to be put in place for the people to improve the things that really need to be improved. this helps the Commission to reach its target at a low cost and with less work going into the admin side. It shows people that they are being listened to and therefore feels more inclusive.

There are many ways interested members of the public and shareholders can suggest new laws, such as impact assessments, legislative proposals, elements of evaluations and fitness checks, or previous laws and roadmaps where the Commission demonstrates new ideas for policies or reviews of existing ones.

Passing Law

Whenever a law is passed, the Council of the European union can authorize the Commission to take two types of acts that aren’t legislative to ensure laws are implemented properly or updated if required. If it wasn’t clear by now, the Commission is solely responsible for ensuring whether the EU laws are applied on time and in a suitable manner.  That is why many refer to it as the Guardian of Treaties. If an EU country does not apply the law in the intended fashion or worse, doesn’t make the proposed legislation part of the new law at all, it will take steps to correct this. These steps may include holding formal infringement hearings, against the particular country. This has been known to happen in the past.

The benefit of the Commission is used to set up new European laws is it is monitored heavily. The EU laws are regularly evaluated to see if they have had the desired effect they were set up to do. the findings of the evaluation will encourage the Commission to decide whether or not the EU actions have any need to be changed. They really listen to the public as anyone is able to give feedback and take part in evaluations and checks on the laws.

The impact the EU has had on European laws is astronomical. Since the Second World War, the EU has intended to deepen its integration in search of a peaceful future and growth in the economy. By regulating European laws, they are able to help in a big way and ensure the public and businesses really get their voices heard. The European Parliament is the only elected EU body and they are the ones tasked with proposing the laws, implementing decisions, regulating issues, and representing the EU around the world. It may not be able to propose legislation but laws cannot pass through it without their approval. Currently, the leader of the EU parliament is Italian politician, David Sassoli.

The Council of Ministers, also known as the Council of the European Union, are the ones who also need to approve of legislation before it passes. They consist of government ministers from all countries of the EU and they are all organized by their area of policy.