Portugal · Inheritance · Fixed-fee law firm
Administering an estate in Portugal
Losing someone is hard enough without a foreign legal system to navigate. We take care of the Portuguese side for you, in plain English, for a clear fixed fee agreed before we start.
Colin comes from a family of lawyers going back to 1888, and today we are a law firm dedicated to cross-border inheritance. We act for international and expatriate families — people who have built their lives across borders and now face a death that touches Portugal, Spain, Italy or France. We work in English and several other European languages, wherever you are. Your matter is handled and signed off personally by Colin Carroll — a dual-qualified solicitor, admitted in both Ireland and England, 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.
You don’t have to become an expert in Portuguese law overnight — that’s our job. We carry the process, and keep you informed at every step.
Portugal does not have “probate” in the English sense. Instead, a Portuguese estate passes through a sequence of administrative and notarial steps — proving the heirs, declaring the estate for stamp duty, and transferring the assets. We handle all of it for you, remotely if you prefer, under a power of attorney, so you do not need to travel. Do I need probate in Portugal?
Where there is more than one heir, each person who inherits takes part — usually by granting a power of attorney so no one needs to travel. A Portuguese estate can only be completed once everyone’s paperwork is back, so it moves at the pace of the last heir to return theirs. We keep everyone moving gently, and let you know if anything is holding things up.
Not sure which one is yours? Which service do I need? All fees are fixed and agreed in writing before work begins, plus third-party costs shown up front (+ VAT).
The four services, at a glance
Transfer a property after a death
they lived abroad — we handle the Portuguese leg
€4,000 + VAT
See the full service
Cross-border administration
assets in two countries — the heart of what we do
€6,500–€8,500 + VAT
See the full service
Complex estates
trusts, businesses, several properties — bespoke
from €15,000 + VAT
See the full service
Every fee is fixed and agreed in writing before work begins; third-party costs are always shown separately. 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.
Transfer a Portuguese property after a death when they lived abroad
€4,000 + VATFor families where the person who died lived in their home country abroad and owned one property in Portugal (perhaps with one Portuguese bank account). Your home-country lawyer deals with the estate at home; we handle only the Portuguese leg and keep them updated.
John lived in Manchester and left a valid English will; his solicitor at home is handling the English estate. In Portugal he owned one Algarve apartment — still carrying a small mortgage — and one bank account, leaving two children who agree on everything. We handle the Portuguese leg alongside John’s solicitor: their grant runs the English estate (in Portugal it counts only as supporting evidence — there is no resealing); we prepare our Certificate of English Law in Portuguese, run the habilitação and the stamp-duty return, claim the mortgage’s life cover so the loan is cleared and the charge lifted from the title, register the apartment to the children, and re-register his car. John also asked us to release his one Portuguese bank account alongside — a €400 add-on.
What our fee includes:
- Confirming, under EU Regulation 650/2012 (“Brussels IV”), which country’s law governs the property.
- Preparing and signing, in Portuguese, our Certificate of English Law for the notary (drafted in-house).
- Portuguese tax numbers (NIF) for the heirs, and acting for you under a power of attorney.
- The habilitação de herdeiros — the notarial deed establishing the heirs.
- The Imposto do Selo (stamp duty) declaration to the tax authority.
- Registering the property into the heirs’ names at the Land Registry (Conservatória).
- Re-registering one vehicle to the heir, if there is a car.
- Certified Portuguese translations of the grant, will and death certificate (no separate translator’s bill).
Timescale: typically 3 to 6 months for the Portuguese leg once we have the home-country grant and full documents.
Add-ons (each at a fixed price agreed in advance): releasing a Portuguese bank account alongside €400 per account; discharging a mortgage €350; first vehicle included, €150 per additional vehicle; each additional property €1,000; four heirs included, then €300 per additional heir; selling the property afterwards (fixed-fee conveyancing, priced separately by value from €2,650, with a lower fee for families we’ve already acted for).
Our fee assumes the person lived in their home country (not Portugal); a valid will or agreed intestacy; one property; heirs in agreement; no trust, dispute, or foreign assets beyond the Portuguese leg. As a routine part of getting it right, we confirm which country’s law applies — for someone who lived in the UK that is almost always their own home law, exactly as you’d expect. If anything turns out differently, we’ll tell you and agree any extra fee before doing the work.
Working with a solicitor or lawyer at home? They are welcome to bring us in to handle the Portuguese side — see our For advisers page.
Settle a Portuguese estate when they lived in Portugal
€4,500 + VATFor families where the person who died lived in Portugal, with one home and one Portuguese bank account, direct heirs in agreement, and no assets outside Portugal.
Margaret had lived in Portugal for twenty years and made a Portuguese will. She left her home in Tavira and one local account to her two children, with nothing outside Portugal. We administer the whole Portuguese estate for them — the habilitação, the partilha, the stamp-duty return, registering the home and releasing the account.
What our fee includes: everything needed to settle the whole Portuguese estate — confirming entitlement under the will or the Portuguese rules of succession; the habilitação de herdeiros; the partilha (division among the heirs); the Imposto do Selo declaration; registering the property; releasing the bank account; re-registering one vehicle if there is a car; and accounting to the heirs.
Timescale: on average 6 to 9 months.
Add-ons (each at a fixed price agreed in advance): each additional bank account €400 (one account is included); four heirs included, then €300 per additional heir; discharging a mortgage €350; one vehicle included, €150 each further; each additional property €1,000.
Our fee assumes a valid will or agreed intestacy; one property; one account; direct heirs in agreement; no foreign assets, trust or dispute; a solvent estate. If that changes, we’ll give you a revised scope, timetable and fee before continuing.
Cross-border estate administration the heart of what we do
€6,500 → €8,500 + VATFor estates that span two legal systems — typically someone who lived in Portugal but kept assets in their home country, or who owned Portuguese assets alongside assets abroad. This is the specialist work we are built for. €6,500 for a clean two-system estate; €8,500 where the estate is multi-asset (for example a portfolio, a pension, a life policy, or three or more accounts).
Brian had made Portugal his home and left an English will, a house in Cascais, one Portuguese account and one UK account, and two children — two clean legal systems, for €6,500.
Diane, also resident here, left an English will electing English law, her Cascais home, two Portuguese accounts, a UK account, a UK investment portfolio, a UK pension (SIPP) and a life policy, and three children — everything Brian’s estate needed, plus the pension notification, the life-policy claim, the portfolio and deeper tax coordination across both countries, for €8,500.
What our fee includes: the entire Portuguese side, start to finish — proving who inherits, the habilitação de herdeiros, the stamp-duty (Imposto do Selo) declaration, registering the property in the heirs’ names and releasing the Portuguese account (the same work, in full, as Settle a Portuguese estate above) — plus the cross-border layer: the Brussels IV / renvoi / forced-heirship analysis across both systems; coordination with your home-country lawyer and institutions; the SIPP/pension notification and any life-policy claim; and tax coordination across both countries.
Heirs: we obtain Portuguese tax numbers (NIF) for the heirs wherever in the world they live — four heirs are included, then €300 per additional heir, with no limit on the number we can act for.
Timescale: typically 9 to 15 months, depending on the foreign institutions and any property sale.
Our fee assumes the heirs are in agreement; no trust; no dispute; and the asset mix matches the tier quoted. The legal work in the other country — including any home-country grant of probate and the administration of the assets there — is carried out by a lawyer qualified in that country — for example an English solicitor or a German lawyer — which we coordinate with but do not undertake ourselves; their fees are separate. Trusts, contested estates, businesses or multiple properties move the matter to Complex (below).
Working with a solicitor or lawyer at home? They are welcome to bring us in to handle the Portuguese side — see our For advisers page.
Complex estates bespoke
from €15,000 + VATFor estates involving a trust, multiple properties or countries, a business or farm, an insolvent estate, or a minor or incapacitated heir (where we obtain the protective authorisation Portuguese law requires — a non-contentious step).
Robert died resident in Portugal, leaving a Lisbon apartment and an Algarve villa (one mortgaged), a UK family trust holding investments, and a small lettings business — with three children, one still a minor. We lead the whole non-contentious succession: the trust and structure analysis, the protective authorisation for the minor heir, both properties and the mortgage, the business, and tax coordination across both countries.
What our fee includes: because every complex estate is different, the exact scope is set out in your written quote — but it typically covers leading the whole non-contentious succession across both countries: the trust or structure analysis; any protective authorisation the court requires for a child or vulnerable heir; every property and any mortgage; a business or farm; the tax coordination across both countries; and Portuguese tax numbers (NIF) for the heirs wherever they live.
We are a non-contentious firm: where there is an actual dispute between heirs that needs to be litigated, we’ll introduce you to a trusted specialist litigator — and continue to handle the non-contentious administration alongside.
Our price: bespoke, from €15,000 + VAT, agreed in advance — by reference to the work involved and the value and complexity of the estate. Complex estates commonly take 18 months or more.
As with our cross-border work, the legal work in any other country — including a home-country grant and the administration of the assets there — is carried out by a lawyer qualified in that country (an English solicitor, a German or other home-country lawyer), which we coordinate with but do not undertake ourselves; their fees are separate.
Working with a solicitor or lawyer at home? They are welcome to bring us in to handle the Portuguese side — see our For advisers page.
Only a Portuguese bank account to deal with, and no property? You may not need a full estate service — our Bank & Asset Release service handles the account on its own. Tell us what’s happened and we’ll point you the right way.
Third-party costs (disbursements) — never included in our fee
These are official costs payable to third parties, not to us. We keep them separate and transparent. (Portugal shown; Spain, Italy and France have their own equivalents.)
| Disbursement | What it is | Indicative cost |
|---|---|---|
| Habilitação de herdeiros | The notarial/registry act establishing the heirs | €150–€425 (registry) or ~€600 (notary deed) |
| Imposto do Selo (stamp duty) | Spouse, children, grandchildren, parents and grandparents, and an unmarried partner of more than two years, are exempt — but the declaration must still be filed; other heirs pay 10% | 0% direct heirs; 10% otherwise |
| Land Registry (Conservatória) | Registering the property into the heirs' names | ~€125–€300 per property |
| Will-search certificate | Confirming whether a Portuguese will exists | ~€25 |
| NIF (Portuguese tax number) | Required for each heir | ~€7 each |
| Apostille / legalisation | Of the home-country grant, will and death certificate — you arrange this yourself at home (for example the UK FCDO); we don't get involved in it | ~£30 per document |
| Sworn translation (ES/IT/FR only) | Where a state-appointed sworn translator is required (in Portugal we certify translations ourselves) | quoted in advance |
Two things are never part of our fee, listed separately so there are no surprises: (1) the third-party costs above; and (2) where there are assets in your home country, your home-country lawyer’s own fees.
Certificates of foreign law
Because Colin Carroll is both the regulated local lawyer and an English-qualified solicitor, we can produce, in-house, the cross-border law certificates these matters need — in the right language, ready to file. Where a certificate is needed for a succession we’re already handling, it’s included in our fee; the prices below are for a certificate on its own.
- Certificate of English Law for the local notary — explaining your home-country will so the local authority can transfer the assets. €1,200 (standard) / €2,200 (complex), + VAT.
- Certificate / opinion of Portuguese (or ES/IT/FR) law for the England & Wales Probate Registry — for UK solicitors and executors. From €1,200 + VAT.
Advisers: full detail on our For advisers page.
Our promise on fees (the no-surprises clause)
Our fees are based on a standard matter with no unforeseen complications. In the unlikely event something arises that would increase the fee, we will explain it to you in full — the issue, the extra work, and the additional fee — and agree it with you before doing the work. You will always have a written quote before you instruct us.
How you pay
We agree your fixed fee in writing before any work begins — and we keep things clear and predictable on both sides.
- To open your matter, we ask for the first part of our fixed fee — invoiced and receipted immediately.
- As the work reaches its milestones — the declaration of heirs, then registration of the assets — further instalments fall due, so only a small final amount remains at the end. There’s never a single large bill.
- Third-party costs are never part of our fee and are never held by us. For each one — notary, registry, taxes, translations — we prepare the payment for you: who, how much, and the exact reference; you pay it directly and we confirm and file the proof. Small administrative items we simply pay ourselves and re-charge at cost on your next invoice. We never hold client or estate money. Why we never hold your money →
Unlike in the UK, where one executor administers the whole estate, here each heir inherits directly and we act for you personally — so, as is standard in Portugal, Spain, Italy and France, we ask for a payment on account and settle the fee in stages as the work is done. Why a foreign estate is paid for differently — who pays, and why →
Common questions
Is there probate in Portugal?
No — Portugal has no probate in the English sense and no executor. The estate passes through notarial and registry steps: proving the heirs (the habilitação de herdeiros), declaring it for stamp duty (Imposto do Selo), and registering the assets into the heirs' names. We handle all of it, remotely under a power of attorney.
What does it cost to administer an estate in Portugal?
A fixed fee agreed in writing before we start: €4,000 to transfer a Portuguese property when the person lived abroad, €4,500 to settle the estate of someone who lived in Portugal, €6,500–€8,500 for a cross-border estate, and from €15,000 for complex estates. Third-party costs are shown separately.
Do I have to travel to Portugal?
No. We act for you under a power of attorney and handle everything remotely, in plain English.
Is there inheritance tax in Portugal?
For close family, almost never — spouses, children, grandchildren, parents and an unmarried partner of more than two years are exempt from the stamp duty that replaced inheritance tax, though 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.