Inheritance and probate in Portugal: what happens to a foreign owner's home.

Which country's law decides who inherits property in Portugal?

The EU Succession Regulation applies to deaths from 17 August 2015. By default the whole estate follows the law of the country where the person lived (was habitually resident) at death. A will can instead choose the law of a country whose nationality the person holds (Article 22), which lets a British or American owner pick British or US law.

The Regulation applies whatever law it points to, EU or not (Article 20). One trap for owners who live outside the EU: that country's own rules can refer the question back to the law of an EU state (Article 34, renvoi). That does not happen when the will makes the Article 22 choice, which is why a choice of law in the will matters for property in Portugal.

Is my UK or US will valid in Portugal?

Portugal signed but never ratified the 1961 Hague Convention, so the EU Succession Regulation (Article 27) decides the form: a written will is valid if it meets the law of the place where it was made, or of the testator's nationality, domicile or habitual residence.

Valid in form is not the same as fast: the heirs still need certified, translated copies, and a European Certificate of Succession can be used to prove their status across the EU. None of the official sources we read requires a separate Portugal will; whether one suits your estate is a question for your lawyer.

Who are the forced heirs in Portugal?

When Portuguese law applies, the spouse, descendants and ascendants are forced heirs. A spouse and children together are reserved two-thirds; children alone, half for one child or two-thirds for two or more; a spouse alone, half.

With ascendants: a spouse and parents together are reserved two-thirds; parents alone, half, and more distant ascendants a third. The right to accept an inheritance lapses ten years after the heir learns of it.

Is there inheritance tax in Portugal?

No separate inheritance tax. Free transfers of property, inheritance included, pay stamp duty (Imposto do Selo) at 10% on the property's tax value (VPT). The spouse or de facto partner, descendants and ascendants are exempt.

The duty is due whenever the property is in Portugal, wherever the deceased and the heirs live. So a brother, a niece or a friend who inherits pays 10%; a child does not. The yearly taxes on the property itself: Portugal property tax for foreigners.

How does the Portuguese inheritance process work?

The death is reported to the tax office by the end of the third month after the month of death (extendable by up to 60 days for a justified reason). The declaration of heirs, the division and the property registration can all be done in one place, a Balcão das Heranças, for a base fee of EUR 425 plus registration fees.

One trap at the division: if one heir takes property worth more than their share, for example by buying out the others, IMT transfer tax is due on the excess. No official source gives a typical total length. Foreigners have the same civil rights as Portuguese nationals (Civil Code article 14), subject to a reciprocity exception, so there is no general restriction on a foreign heir.

Header photo: Michael Gaylard, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. All credits: image credits.