Portugal · Costs · Information, not legal advice — as at 23 August 2026
What it really costs to settle an estate in Portugal
There are three separate things to pay, and it helps to see them apart: (1) our fixed fee for the legal work (€4,000 for a property transfer; €4,500 for a resident estate; €6,500–€8,500 cross-border); (2) tax — usually nil for close family in Portugal; and (3) third-party disbursements — official charges to the notary, registry and translators, modest for a straightforward estate. We never fold these together.
1. Our fee (fixed, agreed before we start)
- Transfer a property in Portugal after a death (the person lived abroad) — €4,000 + VAT
- Settle a Portuguese estate (the person lived in Portugal) — €4,500 + VAT
- Cross-border estate administration (two legal systems) — €6,500 → €8,500 + VAT
- Complex estates (trusts, multiple properties, a business, minor heirs) — from €15,000 + VAT
No hourly billing, no meter, no surprise final bill.
2. Tax
In Portugal there’s no classic inheritance tax — only stamp duty (Imposto do Selo), and spouses, partners in a recognised de facto union (união de facto), children, grandchildren, parents and grandparents are exempt. So for most families the Portuguese tax is nil (a small 0.8% charge applies to lifetime gifts of real estate, not to inheritances). If another country is involved — typically the UK — its own tax may still apply: the Portuguese return is ours, the home-country tax is not, and we say early where an adviser at home is needed.
3. Third-party disbursements (never part of our fee)
Official costs paid to other people, not to us — modest for a straightforward estate, and indicative only until the official fee tables are confirmed for your file: the declaration of heirs (€150–€425 at the registry, or about €600 by notary deed), the Land Registry (per property), a NIF for each heir, and apostille/legalisation of the home grant and documents. In Portugal we certify translations ourselves, so there’s no separate translator’s bill. Where assets sit in your home country, your home solicitor’s own fees are also separate.
How and when you pay
We agree the fixed fee in writing first. To open the matter we ask for the first part of the fee — invoiced and receipted immediately — then further instalments at the milestones, so there’s never a single large bill. The official costs are never part of our fee and are never held by us: we prepare each payment for you and you pay it directly; small administrative items we pay ourselves and re-charge at cost on your next invoice. Why we never hold your money →