Cross-border succession law · Portugal
Someone you love has died,with property in Portugal.We handle everything.
English & Irish solicitor · for inheritance in Portugal
Losing someone is hard enough without a foreign legal system and in another language. We take care of the whole Portuguese side for you — remotely, under a power of attorney, so you never need to travel — for a fixed fee agreed before we start. Every matter is signed off personally by Colin Carroll, a lawyer of 20 years’ standing.
A Portuguese estate on your desk? Keep your client — send us the Portuguese leg.
For solicitors & professional advisers
Where are you right now?
Two clear paths — choose the one that fits:
🕊 Someone has died.
We handle the whole Portuguese side: who inherits, estate administration, releasing the accounts, registering the property in the heirs’ names — and selling it later if you wish.
After a death →
🌱 No one has died — yet.
Planning ahead. Protect your family before anything happens: who would inherit today, a Portuguese will, what your marriage means for inheritance, and whether your UK trust still works in Europe.
Planning ahead →
1888
a family of lawyers — almost 140 years
4
countries in southern Europe
20+
years as a solicitor
6
working languages
There’s no “probate” in Portugal — so how does it work?
Portugal has no probate in the English sense. Instead an estate passes through a sequence of administrative and notarial steps — proving the heirs (habilitação de herdeiros), declaring the estate for stamp duty (Imposto do Selo), and transferring the assets into the heirs’ names. We do all of it for you.
After a death
What we can help with
Every fee is fixed and agreed in writing before work begins, plus third-party costs shown up front. (+ VAT.)
Settling the whole estate
Transfer a Portuguese property after a death
when the person who died lived abroad
€4,000
See the full service
Or just one part on its own
Who inherits? — Inheritance Entitlement opinion
a standalone written legal opinion
€750
See the full service
Releasing a Portuguese bank account
where there is no property
€1,500 + VAT (one account)
See the full service
Registering inherited property into the heirs’ names
a standalone title registration
€1,200 + VAT
See the full service
Selling an inherited property
fixed-fee conveyancing, by the value of the property
from €2,650
See the full service
Also: Wills & planning ahead, and certificates of foreign law (for the notary here, or for an England & Wales grant) — for solicitors and advisers.
For lawyers & professional advisers
A foreign estate on your desk? Keep the client — instruct the foreign leg.
Our job here is simple: to help you help your client. Solicitor in Leeds, attorney in Boston, Rechtsanwalt in Munich, notary in Rotterdam — whoever your client trusts at home, you remain lead on the estate; we handle the Portuguese leg and report to you at every step. And two assurances worth stating plainly: we do no domestic work in your country at all — there is nothing on your side of the border for us to compete for, and your client comes back to you; and foreign law handled in-house is a quiet risk on your own indemnity record — referred to us, it is insured specialist work on ours, in every one of the four countries. Everything a referring professional needs is written down — starting with a walkthrough written for exactly the file in front of you.
The English solicitor’s guide to the Portuguese estate
Why there is no resealing, the route that runs instead, the deadlines that bite, and what to send on day one. Written for English solicitors — and used just as well by any lawyer with a client who owns property here.
Certificates of foreign law
Signed, notary-ready proof of the foreign law your file needs — produced in-house, in the right language.
Refer or instruct us
How the hand-off works, what it costs your client, and what you receive back — in two minutes.
A common situation — and why it really matters
Geoffrey and Susan, both British, retired to the Algarve in 2019. They married in England, and each has two adult children from an earlier marriage — four children across two families. They own a villa worth €450,000 in their joint names.
What most people assume — their English wills control what happens to the villa.
What the law may actually say — under the EU Succession Regulation (Brussels IV), if Geoffrey dies while living in Portugal without a choice-of-law clause in his will, Portuguese succession law may govern his estate — not English law. Portuguese law protects a fixed share of what Geoffrey leaves for his closest family — and here that means Geoffrey’s own two children, not Susan’s. They become legally entitled to part of his estate, including a share of the family home, regardless of what his English will says — so Susan could find she is not free to sell or remortgage it without them, at the worst possible moment.
What could have been done differently — a single clause electing English law under Brussels IV would have restored his freedom to leave it as he wished, subject only to the family claims English law still allows, and Susan would have inherited exactly as the English will intended.
Read more: Which country’s law decides who inherits? · Forced heirship across Portugal, Spain, Italy & France.
Try it yourself
Who would inherit? A quick estimate
One thing first: these rules apply in full when the person made their home in Portugal — unless their will chose the law of a country whose nationality they held. If they lived in another EU country — Germany or Belgium, say — that country’s own rules apply instead, not these.
Lived in England or Ireland, with a home in Portugal? Then find the will and look for one clause: a line saying which country’s law should apply — usually “the law of England and Wales”. If that clause is there and chooses the law of a country they were a citizen of, that law decides who inherits — under English law, for example, there are no fixed shares, though some family claims remain. We check the clause and confirm what it achieves. If the clause isn’t there, or there is no will at all, the Portuguese property usually falls under these rules after all — and who inherits may not be who the family thinks. Answering that one question is exactly what we do: a clear written answer from a lawyer — who inherits, and why — for a fixed fee.
Now choose the country and the family situation, and see how the reserved share works — the rule that surprised Geoffrey and Susan above. Two minutes, and you don’t need to give us any details.
If there is no will
If there is no will, your husband or wife and the children share the whole estate equally — 1/3 each.
What the law protects against a will or gifts
Two-thirds of the estate is the legítima — the part the law protects for close family, here the husband or wife and the children together. A will or lifetime gifts can freely pass only the remaining third.
Not included in this estimate
- Married under a shared-property regime (comunhão)? The couple's shared property is split first: half belongs to the husband or wife already (the meação). Only the deceased's half, plus his or her own property, is shared out as above.
- A husband or wife who was divorced or legally separated by a court is not an heir.
- A partner who was not married to the deceased (união de facto) is not an heir under these rules — the partner has other, narrower rights.
- A husband or wife may also have the right to stay in the family home — not shown here.
- Lifetime gifts count against shares (colação · colación · rapport · collazione).
- A child who died before the parent is replaced by his or her own children — not shown.
- Debts, tax and the value of each asset are not assessed.
- Which country's law governs at all is not assessed — see below.
This estimate is for the textbook family only: a husband or wife still married to the deceased, the children all living, no will, no lifetime gifts, and one country's law governing the estate. If anything else is true — a will, gifts, a child who died first, a divorce or separation, a partner, a second family, property in another country — the answer is our written opinion, on your family's real facts.
For your family's actual facts, a lawyer's signed written opinion — fixed fee, confirmed in writing before you commit.
Which country's law applies? These rules govern when the person lived in that country — unless their will chose the law of a country whose nationality they held, which the EU Succession Regulation allows. A British citizen choosing English law, for example, is then free of these fixed shares, though English law has its own family claims, and France can still let children take back their protected share from French property in some cases. Whether a clause works for your family is part of our written opinion.
Broad national default rules, for orientation only — and true only for the textbook family. In real life, few estates are: gifts made during a lifetime count against shares (colação · colación · rapport · collazione), the marriage property regime decides what is even in the estate before anyone inherits, the family home carries special rights for the widowed spouse, regional regimes (notably in Spain) rewrite the fractions, and foreign wills, usufructs and earlier deaths bend every number above. And “spouse” here means a married spouse: an unmarried or de facto partner — união de facto, PACS or concubinage, pareja de hecho, convivente di fatto — generally takes no automatic share, with narrow national and regional exceptions. That is why the answer that matters is a lawyer’s written one, on your family’s actual facts. This is general information, not legal advice on your situation. Read the full guide or tell us what’s happened.
Try it yourself
What tax would be due? A quick estimate
The second question every family asks. Your relationship to the person who died, roughly what you expect to receive — and what the local rules do with it. Two minutes, no details needed.
€0 — fully exempt.
- Spouses, unmarried partners who lived with the deceased for more than two years, children, grandchildren and parents pay no Portuguese inheritance tax (stamp duty) on what they inherit.
A declaration to the tax office is still required, even at €0 — by the end of the third month after the month of death. If the family divides unequally and one heir pays the others for a property (tornas), property transfer tax and 0.8% stamp duty are due on that payment.
And in practice: when we administer an estate, this tax is not your problem to work out — we compute it, prepare the return and file it on time, as part of the work.
The local rules, for orientation only — reliefs, prior gifts, property registration charges and your home-country tax (UK inheritance tax, Irish CAT) all change the picture. General information, not tax advice on your situation. Read the full guide or tell us what’s happened.
Which story is yours?
A whole estate
John lived in Manchester and left an English will. In Portugal he owned an apartment in the Algarve and one bank account, and his two children agree on everything. We handled the Portugal side, working alongside his solicitor at home.
Brian made Portugal his home: a house in Cascais, one account here and one in the UK, and two children. Two legal systems, joined up cleanly.
Diane also made her life here, and left a portfolio, a pension and a life policy, with three children. Everything Brian’s family needed — with the cross-border tax coordinated too.
Or just one part
Margaret’s mother rented her home, so all she left in Portugal was one frozen bank account. There was no need for a full estate service — we proved the heirs, filed the tax, and the bank released the money.
David’s father died years ago, but the flat in the Algarve was never transferred into the children’s names. Now they want to sell — so we moved the title across.
Helen and her brother inherited a house in Cascais, already in their names, and both live in the UK. We took the sale all the way from the offer to completion.
▶ See the full Portugal pricing — what’s included, what’s not, and the third-party costs · Not sure which is yours?
What will it cost to settle an estate?
Our cost estimator is for settling an estate — tell us a little about it (the property, the accounts) and it shows a fixed-fee range straight away, before you give us any details about yourself. No login, no obligation.
The other services are each a simple fixed price: bank & asset release €1,500 + VAT for one account, title registration €1,200 + VAT, and selling an inherited property from €2,650.
While you grieve, we carry the process
What we take off your shoulders
An estate abroad arrives as a pile of burdens in someone else’s language. These are the four we lift first — from the first call onwards.
- The language
- Every notary meeting, registry filing and bank letter happens in Portuguese, Spanish, Italian or French. You get all of it in plain English — and never sit through a phone call you can’t follow.
- The paperwork
- Death certificates, apostilles, sworn translations, tax forms — we tell you exactly what is needed, prepare what we can ourselves, and chase the rest.
- The deadlines
- Some clocks start running at the death itself — tax filings first among them. We diary every deadline from day one, so nothing is missed and no penalty ever surprises you.
- The travel and the chasing
- One notary appointment near your home — everything else happens here, under your power of attorney: the notary, the registry, the tax office, the banks and your solicitor at home, one lawyer and his standing local team keeping all of it moving. Nobody boards a plane.
How it works — from wherever you are
01
Tell us what’s happened
Our short online form — no obligation, nothing to pay to find out where you stand.
02
A fixed quote, in writing
The full price and what it includes, before you decide anything.
03
We handle everything remotely
Under a power of attorney, in plain English — you never need to travel.
04
The estate reaches you directly
Property registered, accounts released bank-to-heir. Your money never sits with us.
How you pay
We agree your fixed fee in writing before any work begins. To open your matter we ask for the first part of our fee — invoiced and receipted immediately — then further instalments at the milestones, so there’s never a single large bill. Third-party costs (the notary, the registry, taxes) are never part of our fee and are never held by us: we prepare each payment for you and you pay it directly. We never hold client or estate money. Once your fixed fee is quoted in writing, the price does not change unless the facts of the estate turn out to be different — and if they do, we tell you and agree a revised scope before any further work.
▶ How you pay, and who pays the lawyer — the full picture · Why we never hold your money
Since 1888
Four generations, one profession
1888
Anthony Carroll
Colin’s great-grandfather — admitted to the Roll of Solicitors, 18 December 1888.
1923
Edmund Carroll
Colin’s grandfather — admitted to the Roll of Solicitors, 29 November 1923.
1964
Brian Carroll
Colin’s father — admitted to the Roll of Solicitors, 25 November 1964.
2007
Colin Carroll
The fourth generation — admitted to the Roll of Solicitors, 6 February 2007; today the lawyer for four countries.
One family, one profession, father to son — confirmed by the Law Society of Ireland.
Who prepares your work
In Portugal, much of what passes for “inheritance help” is sometimes done by people who are not lawyers at all — agents and intermediaries who are not regulated or insured. We are the regulated, insured lawyer — which, for an estate that matters to your family, is the difference that matters.
Your matter is handled and signed off personally by Colin Carroll — a dual-qualified solicitor, admitted in both England and Ireland, who has lived and worked on the European continent for twenty-five years. Today he is the registered, insured lawyer with the Ordem dos Advogados (the Portuguese Bar) and the bars of Spain, Italy and France, under EU Directive 98/5/EC, with professional-indemnity insurance in each country of practice. He works in English and speaks fluent Portuguese, French, Spanish and German. He is the fourth generation of his family to practise law, as the timeline above records.
Common questions
Is there probate in Portugal?
No — Portugal has no probate in the English sense and no executor in the English sense. A Portuguese estate passes to the heirs through administrative and notarial steps: proving the heirs (the habilitação de herdeiros), declaring the estate for stamp duty (Imposto do Selo), and transferring each asset into the heirs' names. We handle all of it for you, remotely under a power of attorney.
Who inherits under Portuguese law?
Portugal has forced heirship: a reserved share (the legítima) is protected for close family. It depends on who survives: half of the estate for one child alone, or for a husband or wife alone; two-thirds for a husband or wife with children, for two or more children, or for a husband or wife with parents. If you are a foreign national you can usually elect the law of your nationality, such as English law, by a clause in your will under the EU Succession Regulation (Brussels IV).
Do I have to travel to Portugal to deal with the estate?
No. We act for you under a power of attorney and handle the whole Portuguese side remotely, in plain English.
What does it cost?
A fixed fee agreed in writing before we start: €4,000 + VAT to transfer a Portuguese property after a death, €4,500 + VAT to settle a Portuguese estate, and €6,500–€8,500 + VAT for a cross-border estate. Standalone services are fixed too — title registration €1,200 + VAT, releasing a bank account €1,500 + VAT for one account (€1,000 + VAT per account for two or more), and selling an inherited property from €2,650.
Is there inheritance tax in Portugal?
For close family, almost never. Portugal abolished classic inheritance tax in 2004; what remains is stamp duty (Imposto do Selo) at 10%, but spouses, children, grandchildren and parents are exempt. The declaration must still be filed. We compute, prepare and file the succession tax return as part of the work; tax back home is not ours, and we say early where an adviser at home is needed. The tax itself is never part of our fee.