Facts
D.X. passed away on August 28, 2011 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, leaving as legal heirs his spouse E.X. and his two sons from a previous marriage, A.X. and B.X. By holographic will dated February 7, 1994, the deceased had reduced his two sons to their legal reserved portion. On November 16, 2011, A.X. and B.X. requested the notary holding the estate to order the benefit of inventory of the succession, but their request was rejected as being late.
A.X. and B.X. appealed this decision, but the Civil Appeals Court of the Cantonal Tribunal of the Canton of Neuchâtel dismissed their appeal on February 1, 2012. They then filed a civil law appeal with the Federal Tribunal.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal dismissed the appeal. It considered that, although the appellants' inheritance rights had been restricted by the testamentary provisions of the deceased, they were nevertheless the legal heirs with a reserved portion. Consequently, they were fully aware, upon their father's death, of their succession entitlement and the fact that it was protected to the extent of their hereditary reserved portion.
Therefore, the official communication of the dispositions for cause of death, which reduced them to their reserved portion, did not modify their situation with regard to the purpose of the benefit of inventory, namely to obtain a clear view of…