The rules of investigation and settlement of funds from direct payments granted to farmers in proceedings for the division of the property
Michał Hejbudzki
Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski w OlsztynieAbstract
Funds obtained under direct payments are a permanent component of
income obtained from running a farm, and thus demands for their settlement
are commonly encountered in cases concerning the division of the property.
The study aims to establish and present the rules for their investigation and
settlement. The considerations have been divided into two main parts the
first of which concerns the issues related to the settlement of direct payments
collected by one of the spouses during the statutory joint property regime,
while the second part is devoted to the analysis of these issues in the period
between the termination of the statutory joint ownership and the division of
the property.
The conducted research shows a very clear evolution in case law relating
to the admissibility of settling funds from the so-called EU subsidies in proceedings for the division of the property. In the light of the currently dominant
standpoint under civil law, there are no axiological grounds for special treatment of income such as direct payments attributed to the common property,
even though these payments are granted under the administrative and legal
procedure.
According to the author, this position is correct. It should be emphasized,
however, that the obligation to settle direct payments when dividing the joint
property does not mean that they must be split evenly. As a rule, funds from
direct payments for the period before the termination of statutory joint property of spouses are not subject to settlement as they are treated as income from
the joint property and allocated to meet the needs of the family. Therefore, if
one of the spouses demands their settlement, in principle, they bear the burden
of proof that the funds were not allocated to the needs of the family. However,
after the termination of joint property, the spouse submitting such a request
must meet the difficult procedural requirements provided for the claimant
pursuing his claim. Only then it is possible to divide the funds obtained from
direct payments. The method based on which they will be settled depends on
the factual status of the case. The author describes the most common methods
of accounting for the so-called EU subsidies used by courts and provides the
situations that justify their application.
The conducted research shows a very clear evolution in case-law relating to the admissibility of settling funds from the so-called EU subsidies in proceedings for the division of the property. In the light of the currently dominant standpoint under civil law, there are no axiological grounds for special treatment of income such as direct payments attributed to the common property, despite the fact that these payments are granted under the administrative and legal procedure.
According to the author, this position is correct. It should be emphasized, however, that the obligation to settle direct payments when dividing the joint property does not mean that they must be split evenly. As a rule, funds from direct payments for the period before the termination of statutory joint property of spouses are not subject to settlement as they are treated as income from the joint property and allocated to meet the needs of the family. Therefore, if one of the spouses demands their settlement, in principle, they bear the burden of proof that the funds were not allocated to the needs of the family. However, after the termination of joint property, the spouse submitting such a request must meet the difficult procedural requirements provided for the claimant pursuing his claim. Only then is it possible to divide the funds obtained from direct payments. The method on the basis of which they will be settled depends on the factual status of the case. The author describes the most common methods of accounting for the so-called EU subsidies used by courts and provides the situations that justify their application.
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