Brief overview of the Norwegian inheritance law
- Who inherits if there is no written will?
- How much of the estate may be disposed of by will?
- Inheritance taxes
- How can NorJus help?
1 Who inherits if there is no written will?
A Spouse
If the deceased was married, the deceased’s share (usually half) of the community property and any separate property of the deceased will constitute the inheritance to be distributed.
If the deceased had children, grandchildren or great grandchildren, the spouse will receive 25 % of the estate, but not less than four times “Grunnbeløpet”, the official Norwegian Base Amount. (There is a bit more on minimum inheritance in section 2.)
If the closest relatives of the deceased were parents, siblings or their descendants, the spouse will inherit 50 % of the estate, but not less than six times “Grunnbeløpet”, the official Norwegian Base Amount.
Otherwise, the spouse will inherit everything.
Most often, the spouse will retain an undivided life estate in marital property, which will normally not be distributed until the surviving spouse dies. This also means that the surviving spouse does not inherit from the deceased spouse. If the deceased had any children from another relationship, such children may elect not to allow the surviving spouse to retain that portion of the deceased’s estate they are to inherit. Such children may, thus, claim their share of the inheritance to be paid from the estate.
B Children
If the deceased had children, they will usually inherit everything the deceased leaves behind, after the spouse of the deceased, if any, has received his or her distribution.
C Grandchildren, great grandchildren
will inherit, if the children of the deceased are dead or renounce their inheritance. Such grandchildren or great grandchildren will receive that portion of the estate that their parents would have received.
D The mother, father, siblings or their descendants
If the deceased was married and childless, they shall inherit the remainder of the deceased’s estate, after the spouse of the deceased has received his or her distribution — usually, half of the deceased’s share of the community property and half of any separate property of the deceased. If the deceased was unmarried and childless, they inherit everything. If the deceased has a child, grandchild or great grandchild, the mother, father, sibling or the descendant of such will inherit nothing.
E Grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins
inherit only if the deceased was unmarried, childless and had no other close relatives of the type mentioned above. In that case, each set of grandparents or line of grandparents will receive half of the inheritance.
F Volunteering for children and young people, governed by the state
If the deceased had no heirs as provided above and no a written will, the State will take responsibility for the deceased’s estate and make the assets available to organizations volunteering for children and young people.
2 How much of the estate may one dispose of in a will?
As a starting point, a testator may dispose of everything he or she wants by will — with the important exception that the testator may not disinherit his or her spouse or children.
Children may claim a minimum inheritance of 2/3 of what the parents leave behind but not more than a maximum of 15 times “Grunnbeløpet”, the official Norwegian Base Amount, the for each child of each parent.
The widow/widower may claim a minimum inheritance in an amount corresponding to four times “Grunnbeløpet”, the official Norwegian Base Amount if the spouse has offspring. If the spouse has no offspring, the minimum inheritance is six times “Grunnbeløpet”, the official Norwegian Base Amount. If the deceased spouse leaves behind less than the minimum inheritance, the widow/widower will inherit everything.
If the spouses had community property, the widow/widower will normally be entitled to retain an undivided life estate in such property. Such right is limited if the testator had children from another relationship.
3 Inheritance tax
Since 2014 there has been no inheritance tax in Norway.
If the deceased leaves behind a business that operates outside of Norway or real property outside of Norway, inheritance tax is to be paid in the country in which the business or property is located.
Norway has entered into agreements with Switzerland and the United States in order to avoid double taxation of inheritance.
Norway has not entered into agreements with other countries.
4 How can NorJus help?
- With parts of the administration of the decedent’s estate – for example, we can assist with the accounting of the decedent’s estate, the interpretation of the will, the distribution of the inheritance, the notification to the tax authorities, the preparation of advance tax returns, the calculation of optimal taxes, etc.
- Complete administration of the decedent’s estate. NorJus can take of everything. You do not have to worry about a thing.
- Represent you as an heir during probate in Norway.
- Contact Norwegian authorities in connection with inheritance and the administration of the decedent’s estate in Norway.
- Other questions with respect to inheritance law