A right to inheritance that always applies
A child is always entitled to an inheritance from their parents. Children are always entitled to half of a parent’s estate and the parent cannot bequeath this part elsewhere. This part of the inheritance is called the statutory portion. If the deceased has several children, they share the statutory portion equally. If the child has died before the parent, the grandchildren are entitled to the statutory portion.
If the deceased was married and did not have children with anyone other than the surviving spouse, the children must wait until both parents have died before they inherit.
If the deceased had children with someone other than the surviving spouse, those children have the right to receive their inheritance immediately.
A parent can draw up a will and stipulate that the inheritance should pass to someone other than their children from a previous relationship. These children are nevertheless always entitled to their statutory portion; in other words half of what they would have received if there were no will.
If a parent bequeaths the statutory portion to someone else, the child must request their statutory portion at the estate inventory meeting or turn to the district court in order to obtain their share. If, shortly before their death, a parent gives away so much of their assets that the children do not receive their statutory portion, the children can demand the return of the gift to the estate.
A child who receives their statutory portion is entitled to secondary inheritance when the surviving spouse dies. This means that the child receives the remaining share of the inheritance from the parent who died first once both spouses are deceased.
