Any natural person may be inherited and any person is capable of inheritance unless determined by law otherwise. The inheritance right is aquired at the time of the decedent's death, by law or by will. That right can also be relinquished.
Law-based inheritance
If the decedent has not left a will, he is legally inherited by his heirs in succession, whereby heirs of a closer succession exclude from the inheritance persons of further succession.
If the decedent has no heirs, the inheritance proceeds to the municipality or city, which thus receives the same status as if they were the decedent's heirs ( which is a right they cannot relinquish).
The legal heirs of the decedent are:
- his descendants, adoptees, and their descendants, children over whom the decedent has partnership care and their descendants
- spouse
- extramarital partner
- life partner
- informal life partner
- his parents, adoptive parents
- his siblings and their descendants
- his grandparents and their descendants
- other ancestors.
The legal heir to the decedent is also his extramarital partner who, in the right of inheritance, is equated with the spouse. Children born out of wedlock have the same inheritance rights as children from a spouse and their offspring.
In the right of inheritance, the decedent's life partner is equated with the spouse, and the children over whom the decedent has partnership care are equated with his children.A life partnership is a form of family life, of two persons of the same sex, entered into before a competent body in accordance with the provisions of a special law (Act on Life Partnership of Persons of the same sex).
In the right of inheritance, the informal life partner is equated with the extramarital partner. Informal life partnership is a form of family life of two persons of the same sex, who have not entered into a life partnership before the competent body, if the community lasts for at least three years and from the beginning fulfilled the requirements prescribed for the validity of the life partnership.
Inheritance order
The first inheritance order are decedent's descendants, his spouse (the decedent's extramarital partner, life partner or informal life partner) who inherit equal parts.
In the second inheritance order, the decedent who had no offspring is inherited by his parents and spouse (ie, the decedent's spouse, the decedent's life partner, or the decedent's informal life partner). In this case, the decedent's parents inherit one half of the decedent's estate divided into equal parts, and the other half is inherited by the decedent's spouse (ie, the decedent's spouse, the decedent's life partner or the decedent's informal life partner).
The third line of inheritance is the decedent's grandparents and their descendants, and the fourth his great-grandparents. The great-grandparents of the decedent are inherited by their ancestors.
Inheritance by will
Anyone capable of reasoning, who has reached the age of 16, can make a will. With the will the person disposes of his/her property in case of death, but even then there are certain legal restrictions. Namely, a legally determined circle of persons is entitled to the necessary part regardless of the will written by the decedent.
The necessary heirs are the decedent's descendants, his adoptive parents and their descendants, the children over whom the decedent has partner care and their descendants, and his spouse or extramarital partner, the decedent's life partner or the decedent's informal life partner. Necessary heirs are the decedent's parents, adoptive parents and other ancestors (grandparents ...) if they are permanently incapable of work and lack the necessary means of subsistence.
The decedent's descendants, adoptees and their descendants, and his spouse or extramarital partner, the decedent's life partner, or the decedent's informal life partner are entitled to the necessary portion that is half of the portion that would each be due in law by inheritance. The necessary part of other necessary heirs is one third of their legal share.