In the absence of a will, who inherits and how much?

In the absence of a will, the following principles apply:

• If the deceased was unmarried and without children:

If there is no spouse or children, then the second order intestate successors are the parents of the deceased and their descendants (Law of Succession Act § 14). If at the time of opening of a succession both parents of the deceased are alive, they succeed to the entire estate in equal shares. If at the time of opening of a succession the father or mother of the deceased is not alive, the descendants of the deceased parent replace him/her according to the provisions concerning first order successors. If the deceased parent has no descendants, the other parent of the deceased succeeds to the entire estate. If the other parent is also deceased, his/her descendants succeed according to the provisions concerning first order successors.
If there are no second order successors, the third order intestate successors are the grandparents of the deceased and their descendants (Law of Succession Act § 15). If at the time of opening of a succession all the grandparents are alive, they succeed to the entire estate in equal shares. If at the time of opening of a succession a paternal or maternal grandparent is deceased, his/her descendants replace him/her. If he/she has no descendants, the other grandparent on the same side succeeds to his/her share. If the other grandparent is also deceased, his/her descendants succeed. If at the time of opening of a succession both paternal and maternal grandparents are deceased and they have no descendants, the grandparents on the other side or their descendants succeed. Upon replacement of parents by their descendants, the provisions concerning first order successors apply.
If there are no third order successors, the successor is the local government (Law of Succession Act § 18 (1). If there is no other successor and a succession is opened in a foreign state and Estonian law applies to the succession, the Republic of Estonia is the intestate successor (Law of Succession Act § 18 (2).

• If the deceased was unmarried and leaves children:

Descendants of a deceased (children) are first order intestate successors (Law of Succession Act § 13). If at the time of death of the deceased a descendant of the deceased is alive, the descendants of that relative who are related to the deceased through him/her shall not succeed. A descendant who dies before the deceased, is replaced by the descendants who are related to the deceased through the deceased descendant. Children of a deceased succeed in equal shares. Children replacing a deceased parent succeed in equal shares to the share of the estate to which their deceased parent would have had the right.

• If the deceased leaves a spouse:

If the deceased leaves a spouse and no children, then together with the relatives of a deceased (second order intestate successors – parents of the deceased and their descendants (Law of Succession Act § 14), the deceased’s surviving spouse succeeds in intestacy with second order successors, to one-half of the estate (Law of Succession Act § 16 (1). If there are no relatives from the first or second orders, the deceased’s spouse succeeds to the entire estate (Law of Succession Act § 16 (2).

• If the deceased leaves a spouse and children:

First order intestate successors are the descendants of a deceased (Law of Succession Act § 13). Together with the relatives of a deceased, the deceased’s surviving spouse succeeds in intestacy with first order successors, equally with the share of a child of the deceased but not to less than one-quarter of the estate (Law of Succession Act § 16 (1).

What are the rights in the succession of partners of registered or non-registered partnerships?

The partner of a registered or unregistered partnership can become heir only if a will of the deceased provides it. Estonian law does not grant the partner inheritance rights.