Who Inherits When There Is No Will?
If someone dies without a valid will, the law decides who gets what. Does the husband or wife take everything, or share with the children? Do an unmarried partner or a step-child inherit anything? Can a parent be left out? This guide explains, country by country, who comes first, what the spouse gets with and without children, and what a will can never take away.
Part of the comparative law toolkit. Each country page links to an official source. The 27 EU countries come from the European e-Justice Portal’s national succession pages.
The spouse and the children inherit shares togetherThe spouse takes the whole or the larger partThe spouse gets use of the estate; the children get ownershipThe children inherit; the spouse relies on the marital propertyFixed shares set by religion or personal lawDiffers by state, region or provinceNot yet covered
Read this first
This guide describes the default rules, meaning what applies when there is no valid will. It gives fractions where the law fixes them and no money amounts, which change. Succession law is reformed often, and which country’s law applies to a person who lived or owned property abroad can be a hard question of its own. If an estate has a foreign element, take advice in each country involved. This is general information, not legal advice.
Every country covered
The short answer first. Open a country for the spouse, the order of relatives, unmarried partners and the protected share.
| Country | How it is shared | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Albania | Shared with children | In Albania the spouse and the children inherit together as the first class of heirs, in equal shares. |
| Algeria | Personal law | In Algeria Muslims follow fixed Islamic shares: a wife takes an eighth with children and a quarter without; a husband a quarter or a half. |
| Argentina | Shared with children | In Argentina the spouse and the children share equally; the spouse takes half with the parents. |
| Armenia | Shared with children | In Armenia the spouse, the children and the parents of the person inherit equal shares, as the first rank of heirs. |
| Australia | Varies by region | In Australia each state and territory has its own rules; the spouse usually takes the whole estate or the larger part, and the children the rest. |
| Austria | Shared with children | In Austria the spouse takes one third of the estate and the children share the other two thirds; with no children the spouse takes everything. |
| Azerbaijan | Shared with children | In Azerbaijan the spouse, the children and the parents of the person inherit equal shares, as the first rank of heirs. |
| Belarus | Shared with children | In Belarus the spouse, the children and the parents of the person inherit equal shares, as the first rank of heirs. |
| Belgium | Spouse uses, children own | In Belgium the surviving spouse gets the use (usufruct) of the whole estate when there are children, and the children get the ownership. |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Shared with children | In Bosnia and Herzegovina the spouse and the children inherit equal shares, and the spouse takes half with the parents. |
| Brazil | Shared with children | In Brazil the spouse shares with the children (at least a quarter if they are also the spouse's), and takes a third or a half with the parents. |
| Bulgaria | Shared with children | In Bulgaria the spouse and the children inherit equal shares, and the spouse takes more when there are no children. |
| Canada | Varies by region | In Canada each province and territory has its own rules; in most of them the spouse takes a first slice and shares the rest, and Quebec gives the spouse a third. |
| Chile | Shared with children | In Chile the spouse takes twice a child's share, never less than a quarter, and two thirds with the parents. |
| China | Shared with children | In China the spouse, the children and the parents are the first order of heirs and inherit in equal shares in principle. |
| Colombia | Children first | In Colombia the children inherit first; the spouse keeps half of the shared property but inherits from the estate only with the parents or siblings. |
| Croatia | Shared with children | In Croatia the spouse and the children inherit in equal parts, and a partner of three years or more is treated like a spouse. |
| Cyprus | Shared with children | In Cyprus the spouse and the children share the estate in equal parts, and the spouse takes more when there are no children. |
| Czechia | Shared with children | In Czechia the spouse and the children inherit in equal shares, and a person who lived with the deceased for a year can also inherit. |
| Denmark | Shared with children | In Denmark, with no will, the spouse takes half the estate and the children share the other half; with no children the spouse takes everything. |
| Egypt | Personal law | In Egypt Muslims follow fixed Islamic shares: a wife takes an eighth with children and a quarter without; a husband a quarter or a half. |
| Estonia | Shared with children | In Estonia the spouse inherits a share equal to a child's, never less than a quarter, and half the estate when there are no children. |
| Finland | Spouse uses, children own | In Finland the surviving spouse may keep the estate undivided, and the children inherit fully only when the spouse dies. |
| France | Shared with children | In France the spouse chooses between the use of the whole estate and a quarter in ownership when there are children. |
| Georgia | Shared with children | In Georgia the spouse, the children and the parents of the person inherit equal shares, as the first rank of heirs. |
| Germany | Shared with children | In Germany the spouse takes a quarter alongside the children, raised to a half under the default marital property regime. |
| Greece | Shared with children | In Greece the spouse takes a quarter alongside the children, and half when the other heirs are the parents or siblings. |
| Hong Kong | Shared with children | In Hong Kong the spouse takes the personal belongings, a fixed sum and half of the rest, and the children share the other half. |
| Hungary | Shared with children | In Hungary the spouse gets a lifetime right to live in the family home and a child's share; the children inherit the rest. |
| Iceland | Shared with children | In Iceland the spouse first keeps half of the joint estate, then takes a third of the other half, and the children share the rest. |
| India | Personal law | In India the rules depend on the person's religion: Hindus follow one Act, Muslims their personal law, and Christians and Parsis the Succession Act. |
| Indonesia | Personal law | In Indonesia Muslims follow fixed Islamic shares under the Compilation of Islamic Law, while others follow the Civil Code or customary law. |
| Ireland | Spouse first | In Ireland, with no will, the spouse takes two thirds of the estate and the children share one third. |
| Israel | Shared with children | In Israel the spouse takes the household belongings and half of the estate, and the children share the other half. |
| Italy | Shared with children | In Italy the spouse shares with the children: half with one child, a third with two or more. |
| Japan | Shared with children | In Japan the spouse always inherits: half with the children, two thirds with the parents, and three quarters with the siblings. |
| Jordan | Personal law | In Jordan Muslims follow fixed Islamic shares: a wife takes an eighth with children and a quarter without; a husband a quarter or a half. |
| Kazakhstan | Shared with children | In Kazakhstan the spouse, the children and the parents of the person inherit equal shares, as the first rank of heirs. |
| Kenya | Spouse uses, children own | In Kenya the surviving spouse gets the household effects and a lifetime interest in the rest, and the children inherit afterwards. |
| Kuwait | Personal law | In Kuwait Muslims follow fixed Islamic shares: a wife takes an eighth with children and a quarter without; a husband a quarter or a half. |
| Latvia | Shared with children | In Latvia the spouse takes a child's share, or a quarter if there are four or more children, and half with the parents or siblings. |
| Lebanon | Personal law | In Lebanon inheritance follows the rules of the person's religious community; for Muslims these are fixed Islamic shares. |
| Lithuania | Shared with children | In Lithuania the spouse takes a quarter alongside the children, or an equal share if there are more than three, and half with the parents. |
| Luxembourg | Spouse uses, children own | In Luxembourg the spouse chooses between living in the home for life and a share equal to the smallest child's, never less than a quarter. |
| Malaysia | Personal law | In Malaysia Muslims follow fixed Islamic shares, and non-Muslims follow the Distribution Act: the spouse takes a third and the children two thirds. |
| Malta | Shared with children | In Malta, with no will, the estate goes to the descendants, then the ascendants, then other relatives, and finally the Government. |
| Mexico | Varies by region | In Mexico each of the 32 states has its own civil code; in most the spouse inherits a share equal to a child's. |
| Moldova | Shared with children | In Moldova the spouse, the children and the parents of the person inherit equal shares, as the first rank of heirs. |
| Montenegro | Shared with children | In Montenegro the spouse and the children inherit equal shares, and the spouse takes half with the parents. |
| Morocco | Personal law | In Morocco Muslims follow fixed Islamic shares: a wife takes an eighth with children and a quarter without; a husband a quarter or a half. |
| Netherlands | Spouse first | In the Netherlands the surviving spouse inherits the whole estate, and the children get a money claim that falls due later. |
| New Zealand | Shared with children | In New Zealand the partner takes the personal belongings, a fixed legacy and a third of the rest, and the children take two thirds. |
| North Macedonia | Shared with children | In North Macedonia the spouse and the children inherit equal shares, and the spouse takes half with the parents. |
| Norway | Shared with children | In Norway the spouse takes a quarter of the estate (never less than a minimum set by law) and the children three quarters. |
| Pakistan | Personal law | In Pakistan Muslims follow fixed Islamic shares: a wife takes an eighth with children and a quarter without; a husband a quarter or a half. |
| Peru | Shared with children | In Peru the spouse inherits a share equal to each child's, and a share equal to each parent's. |
| Philippines | Shared with children | In the Philippines the spouse takes a share equal to one child's, and the children share the rest equally. |
| Poland | Shared with children | In Poland the spouse and the children inherit in equal parts, with the spouse always receiving at least a quarter. |
| Portugal | Shared with children | In Portugal the spouse and the children inherit in equal shares, with the spouse never receiving less than a quarter. |
| Qatar | Personal law | In Qatar Muslims follow fixed Islamic shares: a wife takes an eighth with children and a quarter without; a husband a quarter or a half. |
| Romania | Shared with children | In Romania the spouse takes a quarter and the children share three quarters. |
| Russia | Shared with children | In Russia the spouse, the children and the parents of the person inherit equal shares, as the first rank of heirs. |
| Saudi Arabia | Personal law | In Saudi Arabia inheritance follows fixed Islamic shares: a wife takes an eighth with children and a quarter without. |
| Serbia | Shared with children | In Serbia the spouse and the children inherit equal shares, and the spouse takes half with the parents. |
| Singapore | Shared with children | In Singapore non-Muslims follow the Intestate Succession Act: the spouse takes half and the children the other half. |
| Slovakia | Shared with children | In Slovakia the spouse and the children inherit equal shares, and the spouse always receives at least half when there are no children. |
| Slovenia | Shared with children | In Slovenia the spouse and the children inherit equal shares, and partners in a long union are treated like spouses. |
| South Africa | Shared with children | In South Africa the spouse takes the larger of a child's share and a set amount, and the children share the rest. |
| South Korea | Shared with children | In South Korea the spouse inherits one and a half times a child's share alongside the children or the parents. |
| Spain | Varies by region | In Spain the children inherit and the spouse gets the use of a third of the estate; but several regions have their own inheritance laws. |
| Sweden | Spouse first | In Sweden the surviving spouse comes first, and the children inherit from the spouse later; the spouse's own estate share is protected. |
| Switzerland | Shared with children | In Switzerland the spouse takes half and the children share the other half; with no children the spouse takes three quarters or all. |
| Taiwan | Shared with children | In Taiwan the spouse inherits an equal share with the children, and half with the parents or the siblings. |
| Thailand | Shared with children | In Thailand the spouse inherits an equal share with the children, and half with the parents or siblings. |
| Tunisia | Personal law | In Tunisia Muslims follow fixed Islamic shares: a wife takes an eighth with children and a quarter without; a husband a quarter or a half. |
| Turkey | Shared with children | In Turkey the spouse takes a quarter alongside the children, a half with the parents' line and three quarters with the grandparents' line. |
| Ukraine | Shared with children | In Ukraine the spouse, the children and the parents of the person inherit equal shares, as the first queue of heirs. |
| United Arab Emirates | Personal law | In the United Arab Emirates Muslims follow fixed Islamic shares, and non-Muslim foreigners can choose their home country's law in a will. |
| United Kingdom | Varies by region | In England and Wales the spouse takes the personal belongings, a fixed legacy and half of the rest, and the children share the other half; Scotland and Northern Ireland differ. |
| United States | Varies by region | In the United States each state has its own rules; usually the spouse takes everything or the larger part, and the children the rest. |
| Uzbekistan | Shared with children | In Uzbekistan the spouse, the children and the parents of the person inherit equal shares, as the first rank of heirs. |
| Venezuela | Shared with children | In Venezuela the spouse inherits a share equal to each child's, and half of the estate with the parents or siblings. |
Words you will meet
- Intestate succession. What happens to a person’s estate when there is no valid will: the law names the heirs and their shares.
- Forced share (reserved portion). Part of the estate that close family, usually children and sometimes the spouse or parents, can claim even if the will leaves them less. Common in civil-law countries, absent in most common-law ones.
- Usufruct. A right to use property and take its income for life, without owning it. In some countries the spouse gets the usufruct and the children the ownership.
- Order (or class, rank) of heirs. The law calls relatives in groups: usually children first, then parents and siblings, then grandparents. A nearer group generally excludes a farther one.
Living or owning property abroad?
- In most EU countries one law governs the whole estate: the law of the country where the person last habitually lived, unless they chose the law of their nationality in a will. Denmark and Ireland do not take part.
- Outside the EU, many countries apply the law of the person’s last home to moveable property, and the law of the place to land.
- A will made in the right form is the main way to set your own rules, and in many countries it can name which country’s law should apply.
- If a spouse is involved, the marital property rules are usually settled first, before the estate is divided.
Cite this page
TheLawToKnow Tools. Who Inherits When There Is No Will? https://tools.thelawtoknow.com/inheritance.
Missing a country, or spotted a mistake? Tell us.
