Who inherits without a will in Brazil?
In Brazil the spouse shares with the children (at least a quarter if they are also the spouse's), and takes a third or a half with the parents.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
A spouse and children survive
The spouse inherits with the children, taking a share equal to each child's, but not less than a quarter if all the children are also the spouse's. In some marital property regimes the spouse does not inherit alongside the children.
A spouse survives, but no children
With the parents or higher ancestors the spouse takes a third if both survive and a half if only one survives or they are more remote. With none, the spouse takes everything.
No spouse: who comes next
Descendants first; then the ascendants; then the siblings; then relatives up to the fourth degree. If none, the estate goes to the municipality or the Federal District.
A partner who is not married
A stable union (união estável) is treated like marriage for inheritance purposes, since a ruling of the Supreme Court in 2017.
What a will cannot take away
Half of the estate is reserved for the necessary heirs (the descendants, the ascendants and the spouse). The person can freely leave only the other half.
If the person or the property is abroad
Brazil applies the law of the person's last domicile.
Understand the legal system first
Brazil belongs to the Civil law family. Succession law grows out of the legal tradition, so it helps to know how the system works.
Read the Brazil legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →
Who owns what in a marriage in Brazil? →
Official sources
Take it further
The family and property rules of a European country in one PDF, with questions for a local lawyer.
A complete, editable will in Word and PDF.
Keep property out of probate, with clear fill-in fields.
How trusts work and why courts enforce them.
A short PDF reference book with self-check questions.
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TheLawToKnow Tools’s inheritance guide is an educational overview of general rules. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace the official source or a lawyer in the country. Report a mistake.
