With the lifetime support contract one party (the support provider) commits to support the other party or the third party (the recipient of the support) until his death, and the other party commits to giving all of its property or a part of it – with the acquisition of the property and rights being delayed until the moment of death of the recipient.
Concluding a lifetime maintenance contract
A lifetime support contract must be drawn up in writing and certified by a judge of the competent court or confirmed (solemnized) by a notary public or drawn up in the form of a notarial act.
Support providers’ responsibilities may include, for example, the daily provision of a warm meal, the purchase of groceries, taking care of household hygiene, taking care of a person’s health, and so on. On the other hand, the recipient of the support may, in turn, specify that he or she will, for example, leave the support provider his / her real estate.
If the subject of a lifetime support contract is a real estate, the support provider is authorized to request that the contract be recorded in the land register, and if the subject of a lifetime support contract is movable property or some kind of right for which a public register is maintained, the support provider is authorized to request the entry or other appropriate registration of that contract to that public register.
Termination of a lifetime maintenance contract
A lifetime maintenance contract can be terminated in two ways:
1. by mutual agreement
2. by the court, namely:
a) if the cohabitation has become unbearable
b) due to changed circumstances
The contracting parties may terminate the lifetime support contract by mutual agreement. If, under a lifetime support contract, the parties live together and their relationship is so disrupted that the life together becomes unbearable, either party may require the court to terminate the contract, which may be requested if either party fails to fulfill its obligations. The court may convert the right of the recipient to a life annuity if it is appropriate for both parties.
Furthermore, the contract may be terminated due to changed circumstances. In accordance with the Art. 369 of the Law on obligatory Relation, if due to extraordinary circumstances arising after the conclusion of the contract, which could not have been foreseen at the time of the conclusion of the contract, the fulfillment of the obligation by one contracting party would become excessively difficult or would cause it an excessively large loss, it may require that the contract is amended or even terminated. It is important to emphasize that a party requesting an amendment or termination of a contract cannot invoke the changed circumstances that occurred after the expiry of the time limit set for fulfilling its obligation. Also, a party authorized to change the contract due to changed circumstances is obliged to inform the other party of its intention, as soon as it learns that such circumstances have occurred, and if it does not do so, it shall be liable for the damage suffered by the other party due to its failure to notify on time. In the light of the abovementioned, termination of a lifetime support contract is most often due to a disrupt of the relationship between the support recipient and the support provider.
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