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

Where there is no will, the following principles apply to the various scenarios, such as:

• If the deceased was unmarried and without children: the deceased’s father and mother inherit.
• If the deceased was unmarried and leaves children: the children inherit equal portions.
• If the deceased leaves a spouse: the surviving spouse becomes the sole heir, if there are no descendants or ascendants.

• If the deceased leaves a spouse and children: the surviving spouse will only be the joint heir together with the children. Where the deceased leaves a spouse and one child, the surviving spouse receives half of the estate and the child receives the other half. If there are several children, the estate must be divided equally between the spouse and the children, but the spouse must receive at least 25% of the estate possessions. The spouse may not receive any less. The rest is shared equally between the children.

The portion of a child already deceased reverts to that child’s descendants per stirpes (representation).

Do partners of a registered or unregistered partnership inherit?

Portuguese law recognises only the partner of a non-marital union, that is to say a non-registered de facto union. Portuguese law does not confer any automatic inheritance rights on the surviving partner. The latter can only become an heir if this is stipulated in a will. However, if necessary, the surviving partner can also claim a “direito de alimentos” (art. 2020º of the Civil Code).

Finally, the surviving partner has the right to the lease of the property during use as the joint home. If one of the partners owns said real estate, and if they had lived together for at least two years, the other partner has a right of residence for a period of 5 years.

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