Successional Rights of the surviving spouse
The law of 3 December 2001, applicable since August 1, 2002, particularly
improved the successional rights of the surviving spouse. From now on, it
can collect in the succession of late joint sound of the rights in freehold,
and more only one quarter of the goods in usufruct like before.
From now on, the rights of the surviving spouse are as follows :
If the heirs are ......................................
the surviving spouse rights are :
Child resulting from the two husbands.........
1/4 in property or usufruct of the
existing goods
Child resulting from another union.............. 1/4 in property
Father and mother.................................. 1/2 in property
Father or mother.................................... 3/4 in property
Brother and/or sister, or their descendants.. 1/2 in property of the received
goods on a purely free basis of the father and/or mother, the whole of the
other goods in ordinary property
Ascending............................................. All succession
Collateral ordinary................................... All succession
In more of these rights, it can profit during one year from the free pleasure from occupied housing, at the day of the death, by way of main home, and also, of a right for life to housing, rights whose spouse can be deprived by the late one only by one authentic will.
The spouse surviving becomes even an "reservation heir" if the late one leaves neither descendants, nor ascending : in this particular case, a quarter of the succession is reserved to the surviving spouse.
You will soon find in the heading "the files of your notary" a more detailed file on these new rights.
