Who inherits without a will in Seychelles?
Seychelles has a civil code of French origin, together with common-law influences, with a part of the estate reserved for the children.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
A general outline, not a checked profile
We have not yet researched Seychelles line by line. This page describes how countries with the same legal tradition usually work, so that the map is not blank, and it can differ from the law in Seychelles. Reliable, current information is hard to find for many African countries: laws are often not published online or not translated, customary and religious rules are unwritten or differ from one community to the next, and reforms are not always reported.
Can you help? If you know the rule in Seychelles, or you work with its law, please email us what it says and where it is written. We will check it and update the page, with credit if you wish.
A spouse and children survive
Under the civil code the children inherit first, in equal shares, and the surviving spouse takes a share set by the code.
A spouse survives, but no children
A spouse with no children usually shares the estate with the parents and the siblings, and takes the whole estate if there are none.
No spouse: who comes next
Children first, then the parents and the brothers and sisters, then more distant relatives, and finally the state.
A partner who is not married
An unmarried partner generally has no automatic right to inherit; a will is the way to provide for them.
What a will cannot take away
A part of the estate is reserved for the children, so a will cannot leave them nothing.
If the person or the property is abroad
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.
Understand the legal system first
Seychelles belongs to the Mixed: civil and common law family. Succession law grows out of the legal tradition, so it helps to know how the system works.
Read the Seychelles legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →
Who owns what in a marriage in Seychelles? →
Official sources
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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.
