Bill: extension of the expiration period for appeals to legitimate rights by minors

The statute of limitations for claiming statutory portion should only begin when a child reaches the age of majority. This is the proposal of Franc Weerwind, the Minister for Legal Protection, in a letter to the House of Representatives. The proposal is part of a package of legislative amendments intended to better protect the assets of minors.

Currently, minors also have a five-year period within which the statutory portion must be claimed. A minor child is dependent on the timely intervention of their legal representative. In such cases, conflicting interests may arise between the child and the representative.

Parental fruit enjoyment
Parents who have parental authority over their child currently have the right to use their child's assets. Weerwind believes that parents should not be able to freely dispose of the proceeds of minors' assets. He therefore proposes removing parental usufruct from the law. A new provision will be introduced. This provision allows the judge to grant parents permission to use a child's assets for the child's care and upbringing and for the family's livelihood.

Estate inventory and automatic protective administration
Other proposals from the minister include expanding the ability to instruct parents to prepare an inventory of their child's assets, automatically placing a protective guardianship on the assets of minor children if the parents' assets are placed under guardianship, and allowing a lump sum payment to be made into a BEM account in the minor's name. A lump sum payment is a provision for the living expenses of a deceased child under the age of 21, which can be ordered by the court. A BEM account is an account that a parent can only access with authorization from the subdistrict court judge.