Heirs' Shares in Inheritance

What share do the blood relatives who are heirs get in the estate?

What is left after the spouse's share in the estate has been deducted, if there is a surviving spouse.

What size of the estate does the surviving spouse get?

 

Apart from the surviving spouse's special rights to the car and house contents, his/her share of the estate depends on what blood relatives are left, and who they are. The spouse could get all of the estate, two thirds or half, depending on the circumstances.

Can the surviving spouse ever inherit the whole of the deceased's estate according to law?

 

Yes! If the deceased did not leave any blood relatives on any of the three levels , according to law, then the surviving spouse will inherit the whole estate.

Once the spouse's share according to law is deducted, how is the rest of the estate divided amongst the heirs if the deceased left children?

 

Fifty:fifty – the children get half of the residual estate between them, and the spouse gets the other half.

If the deceased did not leave a spouse when he died, what share of the estate will the children get?

 

The whole estate, shared equally between them.

Are the deceased's children from different marriages regarded equally, according to law?

 

Yes, all children that the deceased had, from previous marriages or outside marriage, have equal inheritance rights under law, and his/her "children's" share will be shared equally between the children so that each gets an equal share.

What happens if the deceased never had children, but left a spouse and brothers and sisters?

 

After deducting the spouse's share, the surviving spouse will get two thirds of the residual state and the brothers and sisters will share the remaining third between them.

When will parents of the deceased inherit?

 

Where for example, the deceased had no spouse or children e.g. was a single or divorced adult without children , in which case the parents will inherit everything, or where the deceased left a spouse and parents, the estate will be shared equally between them, the spouse getting 50% and each parent 25%.

 

In what circumstances could grandparents inherit?

 

Where, for example, the deceased left just a spouse and grandparents. The spouse will get two thirds of the estate, and the grandparents, or their issue, one third. Alternatively, if the only surviving relatives amongst all the levels of relatives were the grandparents, they would inherit everything.

What happens when the deceased has no children and no spouse and his parents and grandparents are dead ,too?

 

In other words if the deceased parents' issue i.e. the deceased's brothers or sisters are still alive, they will get equal shares. If they are not, but had children i.e. nephews or nieces of the deceased, they will take the place of any heir who has passed away.