Can You Leave Everything to Your Spouse in Portugal?

Sometimes, but not automatically.

If Portuguese succession law governs the estate, a spouse can be a compulsory heir, but children and, in some cases, ascendants can also have protected rights.

That means a will may not be free to give 100% of the estate to the surviving spouse.

First ask which succession law applies

Do not start with Portuguese forced-heirship percentages until you know Portuguese succession law governs.

For an international estate, the EU Succession Regulation can point to the law of the deceased's habitual residence at death.

A person can also choose the law of a State of their nationality to govern the succession as a whole.

If Portuguese succession law applies, the compulsory-heir rules below become central.

What is forced heirship?

Portuguese law protects a part of the estate called the `legítima`.

This is the portion the testator cannot freely dispose of because the law reserves it to compulsory heirs.

The compulsory heirs are:

• spouse
• descendants
• ascendants

according to the statutory order.

The part outside the protected reserve is the freely disposable portion.

Spouse with no children or parents

If the spouse is the only compulsory heir because there are no descendants or ascendants, the spouse's reserved share is one half of the estate.

That leaves one half as the disposable portion.

A will can therefore favour the spouse with the disposable portion as well, potentially producing a 100% result where no other protected heir exists.

But you still need to check whether any other succession issue changes the estate.

Spouse and children

If a spouse and children survive, their collective reserved share is two thirds of the estate.

Only one third is freely disposable.

A will can use that one third to favour the spouse, but it cannot simply eliminate the children's protected position if Portuguese forced-heirship law applies.

Spouse and ascendants

Where the spouse inherits together with ascendants and there are no descendants, the spouse and ascendants collectively have a reserved share of two thirds.

Again, only the disposable portion is freely available.

Why "leave everything to my spouse" can mean different things

A client can mean several different objectives:

• spouse should receive all assets immediately
• spouse should keep the family home
• spouse should control the estate
• children should inherit only after the spouse dies
• spouse should receive more than the intestate share
• spouse should receive company shares
• spouse should receive Portuguese property while children receive assets elsewhere

Those are not the same legal plan.

A will should be designed around the actual objective.

Matrimonial property comes before inheritance

The spouse may already own part of the family assets before inheritance is calculated.

If an apartment is common matrimonial property, the surviving spouse's matrimonial share is separated before the deceased's estate is divided.

Do not use a will percentage on the couple's gross assets without first identifying what belongs to the deceased.

Can I use the disposable portion to favour my spouse?

Yes, where Portuguese succession law applies, the freely disposable portion can generally be used by will to favour the spouse.

The protected shares of compulsory heirs still need to be respected.

The practical calculation therefore becomes:

• 1. identify the estate
• 2. calculate the compulsory reserve
• 3. identify the disposable portion
• 4. decide how to allocate the disposable portion

What about the family home?

The spouse's family-home protection is a separate issue from the size of the inheritance share.

Portuguese law gives the surviving spouse specific rights connected with the family home at partition.

Can a foreign-nationality choice change the result?

Potentially.

If the person has a nationality whose succession law permits greater testamentary freedom, Regulation 650/2012 may allow a valid choice of that nationality law to govern the succession as a whole.

That is not a shortcut to draft casually.

The choice needs to be legally valid, coordinated with the will and reviewed against the actual family and asset structure.

International couples should coordinate two legal layers

A married international client may need to coordinate:

• matrimonial property law
• succession law
• will
• family-home planning
• company ownership
• property ownership
• children from different relationships

A good succession plan should not contradict the matrimonial-property regime.

When legal review makes sense

Review the plan if:

• you want the spouse to receive more than the default share
• there are children
• children are from different relationships
• parents may inherit
• the family home is the main asset
• company shares are involved
• assets are in several countries
• you have more than one nationality
• you already signed a will abroad

Need us to test whether your intended will actually works?

We can map the applicable succession law, compulsory heirs, matrimonial property and disposable portion before the will is finalised.