Portuguese inheritance law does not work the way most expats expect. If you own property or hold assets in Portugal and you have not made a will that accounts for Portuguese rules, your estate may not go where you intend. The reason is forced heirship: a system that reserves a fixed share of your estate for your spouse and children, regardless of what your will says. Understanding how this works, and what your options are, matters the moment you buy property in the Algarve.
What is forced heirship in Portugal?
Under Portuguese civil law, certain family members are classified as "legitimate heirs" (herdeiros legitimarios). These include your spouse, your children, and in some cases your parents. The law reserves a portion of your estate for them. This reserved portion is called the legitima.
The size of the legitima depends on your family situation. If you have a spouse and children, two thirds of your estate is reserved for them. If you have only a spouse or only children, the reserved share is one half. The remaining portion, the quota disponivel (disposable share), is the only part you can freely leave to whoever you choose.
This means that even if your will leaves everything to one child, or to a partner who is not your legal spouse, or to a friend, Portuguese law may override that instruction. The legitimate heirs can challenge the will and claim their reserved share. This is not a theoretical risk. It happens regularly in the Algarve, particularly in cases where expats assumed their home country's rules applied.
Does Portuguese forced heirship apply to foreign nationals?
This is where it gets complicated. Under EU Regulation 650/2012, commonly known as Brussels IV, the default rule is that the inheritance law of the country where you were habitually resident at the time of death applies to your entire estate. If you live in Portugal, Portuguese forced heirship rules apply to everything you own, including assets in other countries.
However, Brussels IV gives you one important option. You can elect, in your will, for the inheritance law of your nationality to apply instead. A British national living in Lagos can choose English law, which has no forced heirship. A Dutch national in Albufeira can elect Dutch law. A German national in Faro can choose German law, though German law has its own forced heirship provisions (Pflichtteil), so the benefit depends on which system suits your situation better.
The election must be explicit. It must be stated clearly in your will. If you do not make a choice, Portuguese law applies by default. Many expats in the Algarve do not realise this until after they have been resident for several years, by which point their estate may already be subject to rules they never intended.
Do I need a Portuguese will if I already have one at home?
Having a will in your home country does not automatically cover your Portuguese assets. Portuguese banks, land registries, and notaries follow Portuguese procedures. When someone dies, the process of establishing who inherits (habilitacao de herdeiros) goes through Portuguese channels. If your only will is a document drafted in English, held by a solicitor in London or Dublin, the process of applying it to Portuguese property becomes significantly slower, more expensive, and less predictable.
A Portuguese will deals specifically with your Portuguese assets. It does not replace your will at home. The two documents work in parallel: your Portuguese will covers property, bank accounts, and other assets in Portugal, while your home will covers everything else. Your lawyer ensures the two do not contradict each other.
Drafting a Portuguese will is straightforward. It can be done at a notary's office in Portimao, Tavira, Faro, or any other town in the Algarve. If you include a Brussels IV election in the Portuguese will, you also protect your wider estate from the default application of forced heirship.
What happens if you own property in Portugal and die without a will?
If you die without a valid will (intestate), Portuguese succession rules determine who inherits your Portuguese assets. The estate passes to your legitimate heirs in a fixed order: spouse and children first, then parents, then siblings. If you are unmarried but have a long-term partner, that partner has no automatic inheritance rights under Portuguese law, even if you have lived together for decades.
The practical consequences go beyond who gets what. Without a will, the habilitacao de herdeiros process must identify all legal heirs. If your children are from different relationships, if family members live in different countries, or if there are disputes, this process can take months or years. Property is frozen during this time. Bank accounts are blocked. Nobody can sell, rent, or manage the assets until the succession is resolved.
In the Algarve, where many property owners split their time between countries, intestacy creates an additional layer of complexity. Cross-border coordination between legal systems, different documentary requirements, and language barriers turn what should be a simple transfer into a prolonged administrative exercise.
When should you deal with succession planning?
The short answer: before you need to. The ideal time to make a Portuguese will is shortly after you buy property or establish tax residency. At that point, the documents are fresh, the legal context is clear, and your lawyer can draft something that reflects your current situation.
Life changes require updates. A divorce, a new marriage, the birth of a child, or the sale of a property in another country can all affect how your estate should be structured. Reviewing your Portuguese will every few years, or after any major life event, keeps it current.
The cost of making a Portuguese will is modest compared to the cost of sorting out an estate that was not properly planned. Lawyers in Faro, Lagos, Albufeira, and across the Algarve who specialise in wills and cross-border succession handle this regularly for expat clients who speak English, French, German, and Dutch.