INHERITANCE AT LAW

Legal basis:

– Civil Code 2015. 

Inheritance at law means inheritance in accordance with the order of priority of inheritance and the conditions and procedures of inheritance provided by law.

I. Cases of inheritance at law

Inheritance at law shall apply in the following cases:

– No will;

– The will is unlawful;

– All heirs under the will died prior to or at the same time as the testator dying, or the bodies or organizations which are entitled to inherit under the will no longer exist at the time of commencement of the inheritance;

– The persons appointed as heirs under the will do not have the right to inherit or disclaimed the right to inherit.

Inheritance at law shall also apply to the following parts of an estate:

– Parts of an estate in respect of which no disposition has been made in the will;

– Parts of an estate related to an ineffective part of the will;

– Parts of an estate related to heirs under the will not having the right to inherit, having disclaimed the right to inherit, or having died prior to or at the same time as the testator dying; and parts of an estate related to bodies or organizations entitled to inherit under the will but no longer existing at the time of commencement of the inheritance.

II. Heirs at law

– The first level of heirs comprises: spouses, biological parents, adoptive parents, offspring and adopted children of the deceased;

– The second level of heirs comprises: grandparents and siblings of the deceased; and biological grandchildren of the deceased;

– The third level of heirs comprises: biological great-grandparents of the deceased, biological uncles and aunts of the deceased and biological nephews and nieces of the deceased.

III. Principles for distributing inheritance at law

– Heirs at the same level shall be entitled to equal shares of the estate.

– Heirs at a lower level shall be entitled to inherit where there are no heirs at a higher level because such heirs have died, or because they are not entitled to inherit, have been deprived of the right to inherit or have disclaimed the right to inherit.