Who inherits without a will in Kosovo?

In the civil-code tradition the children inherit first, in equal shares, and the surviving spouse takes a share set by the law or a right to use part of the estate.

A spouse with no children usually shares the estate with the parents and the siblings, and takes the whole estate if there are none.

Children first, then the parents and the brothers and sisters, then more distant relatives, and finally the state.

A partner who is not married generally has no automatic right to inherit, though some small states recognise registered partnerships; a will is the way to provide for them.

Close relatives, usually the children and sometimes the spouse and parents, have a reserved share that a will cannot take away.

The law of the place where land lies usually governs the land, and the law of the person's last home usually governs the rest. An estate with a foreign element needs advice in the country.

• Small states often have their own rules on who may own property and on taxes on inheritance, so a foreign heir should check both.

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

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

• JuriGlobe, University of Ottawa: world legal systems
• World Bank: Women, Business and the Law (country data on inheritance rights)