Who inherits without a will in Iceland?
In Iceland the spouse first keeps half of the joint estate, then takes a third of the other half, and the children share the rest.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
A spouse and children survive
The spouse first owns half of the joint marital estate. Of the other half, which belonged to the deceased, the spouse takes one third and the children take two thirds, shared equally.
A spouse survives, but no children
With no children, the spouse takes the whole estate.
No spouse: who comes next
Children first; then the parents and their descendants (the siblings); then the grandparents and their descendants. If there is no heir, the estate goes to the Treasury.
A partner who is not married
A cohabiting partner has no right to inherit by law and inherits only if there is a will.
What a will cannot take away
Children have a forced share that a will cannot take away. The details are in the Inheritance Act.
If the person or the property is abroad
Iceland is not in the EU and does not take part in the EU Succession Regulation.
Understand the legal system first
Iceland 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 Iceland legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →
Who owns what in a marriage in Iceland? →
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.
