Law. Human. Environment

Medico-legal and economic (financial) aspects of inheritance law

Nataliia Korobtsova, Oleg Pecheniy, Arsen Isaiev, Victor Yanyshen
Download article
Abstract

This study aimed to substantiate the theoretical and legal foundations for regulating the medico-legal and economic aspects of inheritance law in the contemporary context of the Ukrainian health care system. The research employed a comparative legal method to examine European approaches to regulating medico-legal aspects of inheritance, economic analysis to explore the financial dimensions of inheritance relations involving medical institutions, and an interdisciplinary approach to assess the legal nature of medico-legal relations. It was established that medico-legal relations in inheritance law constitute an independent category of civil law relations with a dual nature and require specific legal regulation that integrates the principles of inheritance law, medical law and bioethics. The study identified the critical impact of medical expenses on the structure of the estate, particularly in cases of oncological diseases, where the average cost of treatment reaches UAH 120,000, and organ transplantation may amount to UAH 2.6 million, creating objective preconditions for the accumulation of substantial medical debts. The analysis demonstrated the need to develop effective mechanisms for financial and economic inheritance planning through strategic medical insurance and the establishment of targeted medical funds. European approaches to regulating medico-legal aspects of inheritance were systematised, including the French concept of compensation rights for heirs, German guarantees for the protection of constitutional rights and Swiss mechanisms for limiting liability for excessive obligations. Based on these findings, a set of conceptual proposals was developed to improve Ukrainian legislation, including the creation of a special legal regime for medical obligations with a clear distinction between those compensated and not compensated by the National Health Service of Ukraine, as well as the introduction of a medical inheritance planning framework. The practical significance of the study lies in establishing a scientific foundation for modernising Ukraine’s inheritance legislation, taking into account the specific nature of medico-legal relations and developing mechanisms to protect the economic interests of heirs in the context of rising medical costs

Keywords

health care; confidential information; inheritance relations; economic (financial) interests of heirs; notarial practice; legal regulation

Suggested citation
Korobtsova, N., Pecheniy, O., Isaiev, A., & Yanyshen, V. (2025). Medico-legal and economic (financial) aspects of inheritance law. Law. Human. Environment, 16(4), 59-94. https://doi.org/10.31548/law/4.2025.59
References
  1. Abankina, A. (2025). Medical guarantee program: Rates, packages, features. Retrieved from https://medplatforma.com.ua/article/15737-programa-medichnikh-garantiy-2023-perelik-poslug-osoblivosti.
  2. Azizovich, G.A. (2024). Family-marriage and inheritance relations of the population in the Bukhara Emirate. City of the Future, 53, 964-969.
  3. Bariatti, S., Viarengo, I., & Villata, F.C. (2022). EU cross-border succession law. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
  4. Bartels, C., Jäger, S., & Obergruber, N. (2024). Long-term effects of equal sharing: Evidence from inheritance rules for land. Economic Journal, 134(664), 3137-3172. doi: 10.1093/ej/ueae040.
  5. Berezov, O., Perkumiene, D., & Legkova, L. (2022). Problems of legal regulation of inheritance relations in Lithuanian law in the context of European Union law. Humanities Studies, 89(12), 104-112. doi: 10.26661/hst-2022-12-89-12.
  6. Biliaiev, O., Isaiev, A., Korobtsova, N., Puchkovska, I., & Yanyshen, V. (2023). Contractual dynamics in Ukrainian civil law regulation. Portucalense Legal Journal, 34, 237-256. doi: 10.34625/issn.2183-2705(34)2023.ic-12.
  7. Cahn, N., Huntington, C., & Scott, E. (2023). Family law for the one-hundred-year life. Yale Law Journal, 132(6), 1600-1969.
  8. Judgement of the Ordzhonikidze District Court in Case No. 335/11320/17. (2018, May). Retrieved from https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/74323296.
  9. Changes in French inheritance law: What UK expats need to know in 2024. (2024). Retrieved from https://www.francetaxlaw.com/news/2024-changed-to-french-inheritance-law-for-expats/.
  10. Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human: Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine: Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine. (1997, April). Retrieved from https://rm.coe.int/168007cf98.
  11. Convention of Concerning the International Administration of the Estates of Deceased Persons. (1973, October). Retrieved from https://surl.li/ssofwx.
  12. Convention on the Conflicts of Laws Relating to the Form of Testamentary Dispositions. (1961, September). Retrieved from https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%20510/ volume-510-I-7413-English.pdf.
  13. Convention on the Law Applicable to Succession to the Estates of Deceased Persons. (1989, August). Retrieved from https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/full-text/?cid=62.
  14. Current threats to the EU succession regulation. (2023). Retrieved from https://www.stoneking.co.uk/literature/e-bulletins/current-threats-eu-succession-regulation.
  15. Judgment of the Cherkasy District Court of Cherkasy Region in Case No. 707/3454/23. (2023, January). Retrieved from https://opendatabot.ua/court/116177093-43188af54df0c4960a7d521d3b6c87f0.
  16. Decision of the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market No. z0697-18 “On Approval of the Procedure for Changing the Type of Collective Investment Institution”. (2018, May). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z0697-18.
  17. Efimova, A.O., Gunya, V.M., & Kosyachenko, K.E. (2022). Analysis of inheritance by civil law of Ukraine. Legal Scientific Electronic Journal, 5, 34-37. doi: 10.32782/2524-0374/2022-5/34.
  18. European Commission. (2025a). Reuse of health data. Retrieved from https://health.ec.europa.eu/ehealth-digital-health-and-care/reuse-health-data_en.
  19. European Commission. (2025b). My rights over my health data. Retrieved from https://health.ec.europa.eu/ehealth-digital-health-and-care/my-rights-over-my-health-data_en.
  20. Expatistan. (2025). The price of Short visit to private Doctor (15 minutes) in Kyiv is 677₴. Retrieved from https://www.expatistan.com/price/doctor/kyiv.
  21. Judgment of the Federal Court of Justice in Case No. IV ZR 110/21. (2022, June). Retrieved from https://juris.bundesgerichtshof.de/cgi-bin/rechtsprechung/document.py?Gericht=bgh&Art=en&Datum=Aktuell&Seite=1&nr=130671&pos=33&anz=863.
  22. Community organisation as a subject of civil relations according to Law of Ukraine and CIS countries Memoria E Ricerca, 1, 353-370. doi: 10.4478/98143.
  23. Garcia-Teruel, R.M. (2020). Legal challenges and opportunities of blockchain technology in the real estate sector. Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law, 12(2), 129-145. doi: 10.1108/JPPEL-07-2019-0039.
  24. General Civil Code for all German Hereditary Lands of the Austrian Monarchy. (1811). Retrieved from https://surl.li/uijshg.
  25. How much do medical services cost abroad: We compare, analyse, and advise. (2024). Retrieved from https://surl.li/muisxr.
  26. Inherited debts: What to do. (2025). Retrieved from https://legalaid.gov.ua/publikatsiyi/borgy-u-spadok-shho-robyty/.
  27. Jestl, S. (2021). Inheritance tax regimes: A comparison. Public Sector Economics, 45(3), 363-385. doi: 10.3326/pse.45.3.3.
  28. Ketners, K., Jargalsaikhan, Z., Miller, A., Miliienko, O., & Malkhasyan, L. (2025). Evaluation of effective anti-corruption strategies in state institutions. Ceridap, 2025(1), 93-118. doi: 10.13130/2723-9195/2025-1-48.
  29. Kirnos, D., & Loginova, M.V. (2024). Inheritance law. In Collection of scientific papers with materials of the V international scientific conference “Scientific discoveries and fundamental scientific research: World experience” (pp. 166-169). Vinnytsia: LLC “UKRLOGOS Group”.
  30. Korobtsova, N.V. (2021). The patient’s order as a separate manifestation of his will. Open MenuTheory and Practice of Jurisprudence, 2(20), 85-97. doi: 10.21564/2225-6555.2021.2.238013.
  31. Kosiachenko, K. (2022). Current issues of implementing inheritance rights. Copernicus: Political and Legal Studies, 1(3), 94-100. doi: 10.15804/CPLS.20223.11.
  32. Kozodaev, S.P., Bysaga, Y.M., Belov, D.M., & Gromovchuk, M.V. (2018). Protection of constitutional rights and human freedoms in the process of conducting biomedical research. Uzhhorod: Helvetica Publishing House.
  33. Kukharev, O.E. (2022). Relevant aspects of exercising the right to accept succession by lawful heirs in terms of the martial law. Juridical Scientific and Electronic Journal, 11, 222-225. doi: 10.32782/2524-0374/2022-11/50.
  34. Langton, J.M., Reeve, R., Srasuebkul, P., Haas, M., Viney, R., Currow, D., & Pearson, S. (2016). Health service use and costs in the last 6 months of life in elderly decedents with a history of cancer: A comprehensive analysis from a health payer perspective. British Journal of Cancer, 114, 1293- 1302. doi: 10.1038/bjc.2016.75.
  35. Law of France No. 2021-1109 “On the Strengthening Respect for the Rrinciples of the Republic”. (2021, August). Retrieved from https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/article_jo/JORFARTI000043964829.
  36. Law of Ukraine No. 2168-VIII “On State Financial Guarantees of Medical Service to the Population”. (2017, October). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/en/2168-19#Text.
  37. Law of Ukraine No. 2297-VI “On Personal Data Protection”. (2010, June). Retrieved from https:// zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/en/2297-17.
  38. Law of Ukraine No. 2801-XII “Fundamentals of the Legislation of Ukraine on Health care”. (1992, November). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/en/2801-12.
  39. Lutska, G., Karmaza, O., Koucherets, D., Makhinchuk, V., & Koroied, S. (2022). The analysis of the implementation of inheritance law in selected EU countries. Amazonia Investiga, 11(49), 149-155. doi: 10.34069/AI/2022.49.01.16.
  40. Masna, Z., Sergienko, V., Zhurakivska, O., Chelpanova, I., Haczkiewicz-Leśniak, K., Vergun, A., Dakhno, L., Adamovych, O., Rudnytska, K., Adamovych, O., Chalyi, I., & Kaminska, M. (2024). The problem of “norm” in modern medicine – trends of individual reconstruction of the human organism and new opportunities of research in the context of academic integrity. Proceedings of the Shevchenko Scientific Society. Medical Sciences, 73(1), 343-360. doi: 10.25040/ntsh2024.01.24.
  41. Michel, Y.A., Aas, E., Augestad, L.A., Burger, E., Thoresen, L., & Bjørnelv, G.M.W. (2024). Health care use and costs in the last six months of life by level of care and cause of death. BMC Health Services Research, 24, article number 688. doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-10877-5.
  42. Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. (2024). In 2023, health care expenditures amounted to 217.4 billion hryvnias. Retrieved from https://surli.cc/utkchh.
  43. Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. (2025). In 2024, health care expenditures amounted to 238.7 billion hryvnias. Retrieved from https://mof.gov.ua/uk/news/minfin_u_2024_rotsi_vidatki_na_okhoronu_zdorovia_stanovili_2387_mlrd_griven-4999.
  44. Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. (2025). Report on the work of state and private notaries, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and its territorial bodies in the field of notarial affairs for 2024. Retrieved from https://minjust.gov.ua/files/general/2025/01/31/20250131164507-56.pdf.
  45. Morelli, S., Nolan, B., Palomino, J.C., & van Kerm, P. (2021). Inheritance, gifts and the accumulation of wealth for low-income households. Journal of European Social Policy, 31(5), 533-548. doi: 10.1177/09589287211040419.
  46. National Health Service of Ukraine. (2024). The Medical Guarantee Program for 2024 comes into effect on January 1. Retrieved from https://www.kmu.gov.ua/news/z-1-sichnia-pochynaie-diiaty-prohrama-medychnykh-harantii-na-2024-rik.
  47. Niyazbekova, L., Cattolico, A., Geneva-Popova, M., Popova-Belova, S., & Jurka, R. (2025). Legal aspects of safety in medical procedures: International standards and practices. Medicine, Law and Society, 18(2), 261-288. doi: 10.18690/mls.18.2.261-288.2025.
  48. Obrizan, M. (2024). Characteristics of households with catastrophic medical expenses in Ukraine before full-scale war. Retrieved from https://voxukraine.org/harakterystyky-domogospodarstv-iz-katastrofichnymy-medychnymy-vytratamy-v-ukrayini-pered-povnomasshtabnoyu-vijnoyu.
  49. Order of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine No. z0347-20 “On Amending the Procedure for Admission to the Profession of a Private Executor”. (2020, April). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z0347-20.
  50. Order of the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction and Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine No. z0347-12 “On Amendments to the Order of the Ministry of Regional Development of Ukraine dated 07.07.2011 No. 109”. (2012, February). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z0347-12.
  51. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2023). Health at a glance 2023: OECD indicators. doi: 10.1787/7a7afb35-en.
  52. Palamar, S.B. (2022). Certain aspects of legal regulation of inheritance by will in Ukraine. In Materials of the V International Scientific and Practical Conference in Lviv Practical and Theoretical Issues of the Development of Science and Education” (pp. 105-108). Lviv: Lviv Scientific Forum.
  53. Pandiangan, L.E.A. (2020). An analysis of heritage legal law for foreign national heirs on the permanent object (property) based on civil law: An analysis of heritage legal law for foreign national heirs on the permanent object (property) based on civil law. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 7(4), 186-196. doi: 10.14738/assrj.74.8080.
  54. Patient experience with cancer care before and after the war in Ukraine – abstract. (2023). Retrieved from https://surl.li/plbrfw.
  55. Pecheniy, O.P. (2024). Implementation of some types of ensuring the fulfillment of obligations in the course of inheritance legal relations. Uzhhorod National University Herald. Series: Law, 84(1), 364-369. doi: 10.24144/2307-3322.2024.84.1.55.
  56. Puchkovska, I.Y., Pecheniy, O.P., & Isaiev, A.M. (2021). Ensuring the fulfillment of contracts in civil law. International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 9, 3040-3047. doi: 10.6000/1929-4409.2020.09.370.
  57. Ramaciotti, S. (2021). An examination of the European and constitutional requirements of the compensatory levy in draft article 913 of the French Civil Code. Critical Review of Private International Law, 2(2), 311-326.
  58. Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council No. 650/2012 “On Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions and Acceptance and Enforcement of Authentic Instruments in Matters of Succession and on the Creation of a European Certificate of Succession”. (2012, July). Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2012/650/oj/eng.
  59. Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council No. 2025/327 “On the European Health Data Space and Amending Directive 2011/24/EU and Regulation (EU) 2024/2847”. (2025, February). Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2025/327/oj.
  60. Resolution Civil Court of Cassation in Case No. 496/4851/14-ts. (2019, November). Retrieved from https://zakononline.ua/court-decisions/show/85868730.
  61. Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1394-2023-p “Some Issues of Implementing the Program of State Guarantees of Medical Care for the Population in 2024”. (2023, December). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1394-2023-%D0%BF#n41.
  62. Resolution of the CCS of the Supreme Administrative Court in Case No. 756/7001/20. (2023, May). Retrieved from https://protocol.ua/ua/postanova_ktss_vp_vid_17_05_2023_roku_u_spravi_756_7001_20_1/.
  63. Resolution of the CCS of the Supreme Administrative Court of Ukraine in Case No. 127/7945/18. (2019, September). Retrieved from https://protocol.ua/ua/postanova_ktss_vp_vid_28_09_2020_roku_u_spravi_127_7945_18.
  64. Results of the work of notaries, the Ministry of Justice and its territorial bodies in the field of notarial affairs for 2023. (2024). Retrieved from https://centraljust.gov.ua/news/direction/pidsumki-roboti-notariusiv-minyustu-ta-yogo-teritorialnih-organiv-u-sferi-notariatu-za-2023-rik.
  65. Saidakhrarovich, G.S., Ugli, A.A.A., & Ugli, E.G.B. (2022). Digitalisation in inheritance law. World Bulletin of Management and Law, 10, 18-30.
  66. Schiffer, C., et al. (2020). Structural inheritance in the North Atlantic. Earth-Science Reviews, 206, article number 102975. doi: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.102975.
  67. Segalen, M. (2021). Gender and inheritance patterns in rural Europe: Women as wives,  widows,  daughters  and  sisters.  History  and  Anthropology,  32(2),  171-187. doi: 10.1080/02757206.2021.1905239.
  68. Steering Committee for Human Rights in the Fields of Biomedicine and Health (CDBIO). Impact of AI on the Patient-Doctor Relationship: Draft Report for Consultation. (2023). Retrieved from https://rm.coe.int/steering-committee-for-human-rights-in-the-fields-of-biomedicine-and-h/1680ae87f0.
  69. Supreme Court of Ukraine. (2021). Reimbursement of legal expenses for professional legal assistance. Retrieved from https://supreme.court.gov.ua/userfiles/media/new_folder_for_ uploads/supreme/PREZ_Guleykov_13_10_2021_1.pdf.
  70. Supreme Court of Ukraine. (2024). Report on the administration of justice by the Supreme Court for 2024. Retrieved from https://court.gov.ua/storage/portal/supreme/rizne/1_Zvit_1_VS_2024.pdf.
  71. Supreme Court of Ukraine. (2025). Report on the administration of justice by the Supreme Court for the first half of 2025. Retrieved from https://court.gov.ua/storage/portal/supreme/rizne/1_Zvit_1_VS_pivr_2025_1.pdf.
  72. Thommen, M. (2022). Introduction to Swiss Law. Zurich: Sui generis.
  73. Vazov, R., Kanazireva, R., Grynko, T.V., & Krupskyi, O.P. (2024). Strategies for health care disaster management in the context of technology innovation: The case of Bulgaria. Medicni Perspektivi, 29(2), 215-228. doi: 10.26641/2307-0404.2024.2.307703.
  74. Weiss, K.M., & Müller-Zhang, M. (2024). Revision of Swiss international inheritance law. Trusts & Trustees, 30(7), 429-435. doi: 10.1093/tandt/ttae045.
  75. Why a notary when there is a court? Abuse of judges in inheritance disputes. (2025). Retrieved from https://dejure.foundation/navishho-notarius-koly-ye-sud-zlovzhyvannya-suddiv-u- spadkovyh-sporah/.
  76. Yefimenko, O.V. (2025). Oncology in Ukraine: Results of 2024. Retrieved from https://health-ua.com/onkologiya-i-gematologiya/mizdisciplinarni-problemi/79697-onkologiia-v-ukrayini-pidsumki-2024-roku.
  77. Yunina, M.P., & Buyakova, I.O. (2025). The problematic aspects of inheritance under martial law and possible ways of resolving them. Analytical and Comparative Jurisprudence, 1(3), 351-355. doi: 10.24144/2788-6018.2025.03.1.53.
  78. Swiss Civil Code. (1907, December). Retrieved from https://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classified-compilation/19070042/index.html.
  79. Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act of UK. (1975, November). Retrieved from https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/63.
  80. Civil Code of Spain. (1989, July). Retrieved from https://www.boe.es/buscar/act. php?id=BOE-A-1889-4763.
  81. Law of Ukraine No. 3425-XII “On Notary Public”. (1993, September). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/3425-12.
  82. Constitution of Ukraine. (1996, June). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/en/254%D0%BA/96-%D0%B2%D1%80.
  83. Civil Code of Ukraine. (2003, January). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/435-15.
  84. Law of France No. 2016-1321 “On the Digital Republic”. (2016. October). Retrieved from https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000033202746.
  85. Act Amending the Civil Code and Certain Other Acts. (2023, July). Retrieved from https://isap. sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20230001615.
  86. Civil Code of France. (2025, December). Retrieved from https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/texte_lc/LEGITEXT000006070721/.
  87. Resolution of the Civil Court of Cassation in Case No. 346/2744/21. (2024, April). Retrieved from https://zakononline.com.ua/court-decisions/show/118868220.