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

In the absence of a will, the following principles apply to various scenarios, for example:

• If the deceased was unmarried and without children: ascendants and siblings of the deceased become the heirs.
• If the deceased was unmarried and leaves children: only the children become the heirs.
• If the deceased leaves a spouse: the surviving spouse becomes the sole heir, in the absence of descendants or ascendants and siblings of the deceased and descendants of siblings.

• If the deceased leaves a spouse and children: The surviving spouse will be the co-heir together with the children. The amount of his/her share also depends on the matrimonial property regime, that is to say, the regime of property relationships between spouses. In the event where the deceased leaves a spouse with whom he/she lived under the legal regime of the communal estate comprising only the property acquired after marriage, the surviving spouse initially receives half of the jointly-held assets under the matrimonial regime. The other half of the jointly-held assets goes into the net estate. An equal share of the net estate goes to the heirs. If the deceased had more than four children, the spouse receives one fourth of the succession, the remainder is shared equally among the children.

The share of an already deceased child goes to his/her descendants per stirpes (representation).

Do partners of a registered or unregistered partnership inherit?
Latvian law does not grant automatic inheritance rights to the surviving partner of a common law partnership. He/she can become the heir only when a will provides it.
There is no different way to protect the partner.
Registered partnerships do not exist in Latvia.

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