Who inherits without a will in Latvia?

The spouse inherits with the first rank. The spouse takes a share equal to that of each child if fewer than four children intend to inherit, and a quarter of the estate if four or more do.

With heirs of the second or third rank (parents, siblings and further relatives) the spouse receives half of the estate. If there are no heirs of the first, second or third rank, the spouse receives the entire estate.

Heirs are ranked: first, descendants; second, parents and siblings and their descendants; third, grandparents and their descendants; after that, more remote relatives. A lower rank does not inherit if a higher-ranking heir has accepted. If nobody inherits, the property falls to the state.

The official fact sheet does not describe rights for unmarried or registered partners. Treat an unmarried partner as having no automatic right and take advice.

A will cannot take away a reserved share from close relatives, who may only claim it in money. The page does not give the size.

In this EU country the Succession Regulation applies to people who die after 16 August 2015: the whole estate is generally governed by the law of the country where the person had their habitual residence at death, unless they chose the law of their nationality in a will. A foreigner living here, or a citizen living abroad, can therefore be governed by a different law than the one described on this page.

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

• European e-Justice Portal: succession in Latvia