Do children have a right to the inheritance from their parent’s new marriage?

"Family By Law" is a Caiado Guerreiro feature, developed by partner Stéfanie Luz, team leader of the Family and Succession Department, where doubts and questions about this area of law are clarified.
Articles 31/03/2025

Do children have a right to the inheritance from their parent’s new marriage?

Children are legal heirs of their respective parent but not of their stepparent unless expressly designated as beneficiaries in a will. Therefore, in the absence of a will granting them inheritance rights, children do not have a legal claim to the estate of a stepparent.

However, if the deceased spouse owned assets jointly with the parent, those assets will be subject to partition. The portion belonging to the deceased may become part of their estate and be distributed among the surviving spouse and the legal heirs of the parent.

The content of this information does not constitute any specific legal advice; the latter can only be given when faced with a specific case. Please contact us for any further clarification or information deemed necessary in what concerns the application of the law.

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Practice Areas

  • Family and Inheritance

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