Restrictions on the freedom to dispose of one’s succession by will (reserved portion).
Last update: 10/3/2012
If the deceased made a will and did not leave a share to the closest relatives, Latvian law guarantees the right to a reserved portion to the benefit of the deceased’s spouse, descendants (his/her children or – in the event that the children are already deceased – grandchildren) and, in the absence of descendants, to the benefit of the deceased’s parents.
There is no reserved portion for the grand-parents and the siblings of the deceased.
Beneficiaries of the reserved portion can waive the reserve, before the succession is opened, with a contract concluded between the future deceased and the future reserved heir. This contract must be in written form.
Detailed information
Is there a reserved portion set aside for heirs? What percentage of the estate does this reserved portion represent? What is its legal nature?
A testator may freely determine the disposition of his/her whole estate in case of his/her death, with the restriction that his/her forced heirs shall be bequeathed their preferential shares. (Civil law, Art. 422).
Forced heirs are the spouse and descendants, but if there are no descendants, then ascendants of the nearest degree of kinship. (Civil law, Art. 423).
The preferential share of an estate shall be one half of the value of that share of the estate which an heir would inherit pursuant to law. This share shall be determined on the basis of the contents and value of the estate on the day of the testator’s death. (Civil law, Art. 425).
The preferential share of an estate is an economic value.
What is the procedure to be followed to assert a right to the reserved portion? What are the time limits?
Forced heirs shall submit a written pretension to a civil law notary. (Regulations regarding the maintenance of an inheritance register and conducting of inheritance matters, Art. 79)
Is it possible to renounce the reserved portion?
Any forced heir can renounce in this regard, by way implicitly. No one is compelled to accept an inheritance that has devolved to them, but rather each heir may accept or renounce it according to their preference. (Civil law, Art. 689).
