If I die without a will while living in another EU country, which law decides who inherits?

What the Law Says

The EU Succession Regulation (No 650/2012) harmonises cross-border inheritance rules for people dying on or after 17 August 2015 in participating EU Member States (all except Denmark and Ireland). It determines which national law applies and which courts have jurisdiction.

The Regulation applies automatically unless you make a formal choice of law. Its core principle is that the law of the country where you were habitually resident at the time of death governs your entire estate — both movable and immovable property — regardless of where assets are located.

You may instead choose the law of your nationality to apply to your whole estate, provided the choice is made expressly and in writing (e.g., in a will or declaration). This choice must be clear, unambiguous, and comply with formal requirements under the chosen law.

The Regulation also introduces the European Certificate of Succession, a standard document recognised across participating EU countries to prove status and rights of heirs, executors, or administrators.

Statutory Text

The law applicable to the succession as a whole shall be the law of the State in which the deceased had his habitual residence at the time of death.

— Regulation (EU) No 650/2012, Art. 21 — General rule

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

Sources