If there is no order of succession under an agreement as to succession or a will, the estate is devolved, in full or in part, according to the legal order of succession.
The Civil Code regulates the order of succession in six succession classes, two of which cover a deceased person’s cohabitants.
The heirs in the first succession class are the deceased’s children and spouse or registered partner. If a child does not inherit, their share in succession passes to their children.
The second succession class stipulates that if the deceased’s relatives in the descending order (children, grandchildren, etc.) do not inherit the estate, the heirs are the spouse or registered partner, the deceased’s parents, and those who cohabited with the deceased for at least 1 year before the death and who, for that reason, took care of a shared household or were dependent on the deceased. In the second succession class, the deceased’s cohabitants stand to inherit together with at least one of the other heirs. If none of those other heirs inherits the state, the deceased’s cohabitants in the second class cannot then inherit the estate themselves, and the order of succession proceeds to the third succession class.
If neither the spouse or registered partner nor any of the parents of the deceased inherit the estate, the heirs in the third succession class are the deceased’s siblings and those who cohabited with the deceased for at least 1 year before the death and who, for that reason, took care of a shared household or were dependent on the deceased. If a sibling of the deceased does not inherit, their share in succession passes to their children. If neither the deceased’s siblings nor their children inherit, the deceased’s cohabitants may be the sole heirs. In the absence of any such heirs, under the rules of the legal order of succession the fourth, fifth and then, if appropriate, sixth succession class applies.