Who inherits without a will in Ireland?

The spouse takes the whole or the larger part

In Ireland, with no will, the spouse takes two thirds of the estate and the children share one third.

Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.

The default, not your case. This page describes what applies when there is no valid will. Succession law is reformed often, a will changes everything, and the rules for an estate with a foreign element are complex. This is general information, not legal advice.

A spouse and children survive

The spouse or civil partner takes two thirds of the estate and the children share the other third equally.

A spouse survives, but no children

If there are no children, the spouse or civil partner takes the whole estate.

No spouse: who comes next

Children share equally. With no spouse and no children, the estate goes to the parents, then to brothers and sisters and their children, then to nephews and nieces, then to other next of kin, and finally to the State.

A partner who is not married

Civil partners are treated as spouses. A cohabiting partner has no automatic right to inherit, but a qualifying cohabitant can ask the court for provision from the estate.

What a will cannot take away

A spouse or civil partner has a legal right to half the estate if there are no children and a third if there are. Children have no fixed share, but can ask the court to make proper provision for them if a parent failed in their moral duty.

If the person or the property is abroad

This EU country does not take part in the EU Succession Regulation, so its own rules decide which country's law governs an estate. An estate with a foreign element needs advice in each country involved.

What to watch for

The Succession Act 1965 sets these rules, and the official e-Justice page does not repeat them in full, so check the statute for the details.

Understand the legal system first

Ireland belongs to the Common law family. Succession law grows out of the legal tradition, so it helps to know how the system works.

Read the Ireland legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →
Who owns what in a marriage in Ireland? →

Official sources

TheLawToKnow Tools’s inheritance guide is an educational overview of general rules. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace the official source or a lawyer in the country. Report a mistake.