Legal blog

Divorce can raise significant questions not only in personal life but also regarding the future of a business. This is particularly true when one spouse owns a company or when the spouses have built a business together during their marriage. In such cases, an important question arises: if the company is registered in only one spouse’s name, can the other spouse claim a share of its value?

The answer depends on several factors, including when and how the business interest was acquired, the period during which the spouses’ marital community of property existed, and whether joint marital assets were used to finance the business.

When transferring a high-value property, the key question is not only under which legal title the property can be acquired, but also what tax or duty consequences arise from the chosen legal arrangement. This is particularly relevant where the acquirer does not fall within the scope of persons exempt from inheritance or gift duty. This raises an important question: which legal arrangement – inheritance, gift, maintenance agreement, inheritance contract or trust – may result in the lowest duty burden?

Notice: This article does not constitute legal advisory services, and does not necessarily match the interpretation of the applicable laws by the authorities. This article is for general information only.

In today’s modern legal environment, the documented and professional examination of digital evidence, as well as the protection of devices and user accounts, has become increasingly important in legal disputes and proceedings.

Our firm’s cooperating partner in this field is Biztonság Akadémia Kft.

The professional expertise of our partner is provided by Tamás Durmics, an independent IT security expert and ethical hacker with more than 25 years of experience in information technology and security. His work focuses on documented and independent examination methodologies, as well as on presenting technical findings in a clear and comprehensible manner suitable for use in legal proceedings.

One of the most common situations giving rise to the greatest number of conflicts during probate proceedings is when the deceased dies without making a testamentary disposition. In such cases, the fate of the assets and debts is determined by the statutory order of succession under the Hungarian Civil Code. Although the rules are clear, a significant proportion of clients are not aware of the more important changes introduced by the Civil Code currently in force, particularly with regard to the rights of the surviving spouse or the extent of the compulsory share.

Under the rules currently in force, the general rate of personal income tax (PIT) is 15 per cent of the tax base. In everyday language, many people lump the different concepts together and simply call every case in which no tax is deducted from their gross salary a “tax exemption.” From a legal-dogmatic perspective, however, classical tax exemption must be sharply distinguished from tax allowances. While tax-exempt revenues do not form part of the tax base in the first place, the tax system also recognises different rules that result in a reduction of the private individual’s tax: these are tax allowances reducing the consolidated tax base.

A particular characteristic of personal income tax is that these tax allowances and tax exemptions may be claimed only against income falling within the consolidated tax base and the tax thereon, and exclusively up to that amount.

Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence represents a landmark step in reconciling innovation with the protection of fundamental rights in the digital sphere. The Regulation’s primary objective is to improve the functioning of the internal market and to promote the uptake of human-centric and trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI) within the European Union. At the same time, the Regulation attaches particular importance to ensuring a high level of protection of health, safety and fundamental rights—including democracy, the rule of law and environmental protection—against the potentially harmful effects of AI systems.

When enforcing overdue monetary claims, the time and cost involved in court litigation often act as a deterrent for the claimant. However, the Hungarian legal system provides a faster alternative that dispenses with the taking of evidence, known as the order for payment procedure (FMH).

This substitute for litigation, a simplified civil non-contentious procedure, is one of the most effective legal tools for enforcing claims, provided that the obligor does not contest the debt on the merits.

The National Assembly has adopted its individual resolutions on the election of the members and officers of the investigation committees, thereby concluding the procedural process of establishing the bodies. Under the decisions, both the Investigation Committee Uncovering the Systemic Crisis of Child Protection and the Investigation Committee Uncovering Those Responsible for the Pardon Scandal have received their final personnel compositions, allowing the elected representatives to immediately begin performing their independent duties as set out in the resolutions.

In our previous article titled “Significant Changes in Consumer Protection in 2026”, we presented the significant changes that the relevant Government Decree will bring to consumer protection this year. In this article, we present in more detail what webshops and consumers can expect in relation to the “online withdrawal function” already outlined there.

In this article, we present Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10 May 2023) on strengthening the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms, as well as the expected related changes in Hungary.