Does the EU force me to leave a share to my children (forced heirship)?

What the Law Says

The EU does not harmonise forced heirship rules. Instead, Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 on international succession establishes jurisdiction and applicable law — but explicitly leaves substantive rules like forced heirship to national law.

Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 applies to the succession of persons who die on or after 17 August 2015. It determines which country’s courts have jurisdiction and which country’s law applies to the entire estate.

Crucially, the Regulation does not create EU-wide forced heirship rights. Article 23 states: 'The law applicable to the succession shall govern the entire succession.' However, it adds: 'This includes the determination of heirs, their rights and obligations, and any reserved portions or forced shares.' That means if the chosen or default national law provides for forced shares (e.g., in France, Germany or Spain), those rules apply — but only because that national law says so, not because of EU law.

Under Article 22, you may choose the law of your nationality to govern your whole estate — even if you live in another EU country. But this choice does not override mandatory rules (like forced heirship) under that national law; it simply selects which national system applies.

Statutory Text

The law applicable to the succession shall govern the entire succession.

— Regulation (EU) No 650/2012, Art. 23 — Scope of the applicable law

Statutory Text

A person may choose as the law to govern his succession as a whole the law of the State whose nationality he possesses at the time of making the choice or at the time of death.

— Regulation (EU) No 650/2012, Art. 22 — Choice of law

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