Everything About Inheritance

What the bereaved can expect?

Moments when someone close to us passes away can be very difficult. In addition to arranging a funeral, there is often a lot of other administrative work to be done. In addition to registering and processing pensions, processing a death certificate or requesting funeral benefits, you also need to deal with inheritance proceedings. In this text, we would like to provide you with at least the basic information you need to know to settle an inheritance.

What is the inheritance procedure and how is it conducted?

The inheritance procedure is a kind of civil law process in which decisions are made about the legal successors (or heirs) of a deceased person (the so-called testator), i.e. about the transfer of the rights and obligations of the deceased to their heirs. Inheritance proceedings are regulated by the Act on Special Judicial Proceedings, specifically the provisions of Sections 98 to 288a.

The inheritance proceedings take place at a notary, who is appointed by the court to conduct the entire process. It is the notary who will discuss the matter throughout, who will guide you through the proceedings, and who has the obligation to inform you of your rights in a timely manner.

The duration of the inheritance proceedings also varies depending on the availability and condition of the necessary materials and documents (for example, a will), or the availability and willingness to cooperate of individual heirs and witnesses. There is also the option to refuse the inheritance odmítnout dědictví or appeal against the decision, so the final length of the inheritance proceedings is very individual.

What is included in the inheritance?

The inheritance most often consists of chattel (objects) or real estates (houses, apartments, land), but it can also include, for example, property copyrights. However, in the inheritance proceedings, everything that the deceased owned must be resolved, both exclusively (if he was the sole owner) and partiall (if he was one of many owners).

An example of a partial co-ownership is the joint property of spouses. In such cases, all property belonging to the joint property of spouses must first be settled between the spouses, with the part belonging to the deceased subsequently divided among the heirs as part of the inheritance proceedings.

What are the reasons for inheritance?

There are three reasons for inheritance that will affect how the inheritance proceedings will be conducted:

1. Inheritance contract

An inheritance contract is the strongest legal title to inheritance, meaning that it takes precedence and the inheritance is governed primarily by its terms, provided that it meets all legal requirements. An inheritance contract can only decide on ¾ of the estate.

1. Testament

A testament is a revocable expression of will by which the deceased unilaterally decide on their property. The heirs are then determined again according to how they are listed in the testament, provided that the testament meets all legal requirements.

1. Legal succession

If there is no inheritance contract or testament for the estate or they are not valid, the inheritance procedure is conducted according to the statutory succession, which means that the inheritance is divided between the first to sixth inheritance classes according to family relationships. This form of inheritance is governed by the shares determined by law, which are based on family relationships.

These inheritance titles can also operate alongside each other, i.e. if the testator, for example, writes a will for only part of the property, the rest of the estate will be divided according to the law.

Testament or the last will

As we mentioned above, the will of the deceased, in which they appointed one or more persons as their heirs, may impact the inheritance proceedings. There are different ways in which the last will can be written in order to be acknowledged.

a) Last will as a private deed

This will may have two forms. The first one is a holographic will (a will written in the testator’s own hand with his own signature) and the second is an allographic will (a will that is not written by the testator’s own hand, but signed by the testator in the presence of two witnesses, before whom the testator proclaims that the document contains his last will and who also sign the document containing the will). An allographic testament is written, for example, on a computer or typewriter.

Witnesses cannot be persons with disabilities or who do not know the language, nor can they be heirs mentioned in the will, their relatives, or their employees.

There is no set form for a will, but it is important that all persons and objects mentioned in the will are accurately described (for persons, it is ideal to provide the most information possible, including date of birth and contact information). The will must be signed below all of the text and must include date.

b) Last will as a public document (notarial deed)

A will can be drawn up by a notary, who will then archive it in the collection of notarial records, namely in the non-public Central Register of Testaments maintained by the Notary Chamber of the Czech Republic.

c) Privileged last will (will made with concessions)

Exceptions from normal conditions for will conclusion are apllied if one of the conditions cannot be fulfilled at a given time. This applies primarily to moments of imminent danger to life or in a place where a normal social contact is paralyzed because of an emergency. These wills also have their own rules regarding the number of witnesses and the subsequent processing of the will.

What must a will contain?

Every person mentioned in the will must be precisely identifiable, the will must contain a date and a signature placed at the very end of the document.

If it is not clear which day, month, and year the will was made and if the testator made multiple conflicting wills, the will is invalid.

Testament vs. heirs

The last will has a priority over the inheritance law, defining the inheritance groups, as described below. However, if the whole inheritance is not divided by the will, then the will is applied to the described part and the rest is governed by the inheritance law.

The law defines the following groups determining the sequence of inheritance:

1. Children, spouse: These persons inherit in equal shares, if one of the children cannot inherit, the inheritance goes to their offspring. However, it is good to remember that a spouse cannot inherit everything, which means that the above-mentioned rule only applies if the deceased had children. If the marriage was childless, the division according to point 2 is applied.
2. Spouse, parents and people living with the deceased in common household at least one year before death, who looked after the common household or were financially dependent on the deceased. Similar to the first point, it is good to know that people sharing the household with the deceased cannot inherit everything. If there is no other heir, the rules of the third group apply.
3. Siblings in equal shares and persons living with the deceased in the same household for at least one year before death, who took care of the common household or were financially dependent on the testator for maintenance. If one of the siblings is no longer alive, his children (but not his grandchildren) may inherit.
4. Grandparents of the testator
5. Grandparents of parents of testator, whereby the testator’s paternal grandparents receive half of the inheritance and the testator’s maternal grandparents receive the other half. Both pairs of grandparents share equally the half that falls to them.
6. Grandchildren of the testator’s siblings (great-nephews and great-nieces) and children of grandparents (aunts and uncles)

If none of the above inherits the assets, then the inheritance goes to the state.

However, it is good to know that there are also so-called protected heirs who are entitled to a legal share of inheritance even if they are not, for example, mentioned in the will. These are the children of the deceased or their descendants. A protected heir is entitled to three quarters of a legal share of inheritance if he is a minor, otherwise to one quarter of his legal share of inheritance.

The removal of a protected heir from the inheritance process is only possible through disinheritance, which has its own legal rules. The testator writes a so-called declaration of disinheritance, and the same rules apply to its writing as to the writing of a will. However, unlike a will, a declaration of disinheritance must also contain the reasons that led to the disinheritance, namely at least one of the reasons from the list below:

1) the potential heir did not provide the testator with the necessary assistance in an emergency,

2) does not show the genuine interest in the testator that he should have shown,

3) was convicted of a crime committed under circumstances indicating his depraved nature,

4) leads a permanently disorderly life.

If the disinherited persons do not agree with the reasons, they may file a lawsuit and challenge these reasons in court proceedings.

There are also cases where one of the heirs may be designated as a so-called incompetent heir. This happens, for example, if an intentional criminal act has occurred between the deceased (or his or her ancestor, descendant, spouse, etc.) and the potential heir, if parental responsibility was deprived due to abuse of this responsibility or due to serious neglect of exercising the parental responsibility through one’s own fault.

In conclusion

This text describes the conditions regarding inheritance according to the Civil Code in 2025. We always recommend to consult information with a notary whether there have been any changes in the inheritance procedure, or what its exact conditions are. If you have any questions, you can also contact our funeral service staff, who will advise you on how to proceed in certain situations.