Inheritance
Inheritance proceedings are conducted by a notary acting as a court commissioner appointed by the court. Inheritance may take place by law or under a will, or by both methods simultaneously if the will does not cover the deceased’s entire estate. If the deceased left a will, the heirs designated in it take precedence over statutory heirs.
Statutory inheritance
Statutory heirs are relatives of the deceased. The law places them in four groups that inherit in succession. If no one in an earlier group inherits, the next group applies.
In the first group, the deceased’s children and spouse inherit in equal shares. If a child does not inherit, for example because the child died before the deceased, that child’s children — the deceased’s grandchildren — receive the child’s share. The spouse cannot, however, inherit alone in the first group; in that situation, inheritance is governed by the second group.
In the second group, the heirs are the spouse, the deceased’s parents, and persons who lived with the deceased in a common household for at least one year before the death and, for that reason, cared for the common household or depended on the deceased for support. The spouse always receives at least half the estate in this group. If no one in the second group inherits, the third group applies: the deceased’s siblings and the persons living with the deceased as described above inherit; if a sibling does not inherit, that sibling’s children receive the sibling’s share.
The fourth group needs to be defined more precisely than it sometimes is. Under Section 475a of the Civil Code, the deceased’s grandparents inherit in equal shares; if none inherits, their children — the deceased’s uncles and aunts — inherit in equal shares. The two levels do not inherit simultaneously: they follow a sequence.
If no heir acquires the estate, it passes to the state under Section 462 of the Civil Code as an unclaimed estate.
Effect of spouses’ joint ownership without defined shares
If the deceased was married at the time of death, the entire joint property does not form part of the estate; only the deceased’s share determined upon settlement of the spouses’ joint ownership without defined shares does. Thus, if the deceased owned a family home together with his wife, his share in that home, usually half, forms part of the estate. Settlement of the spouses’ joint ownership is therefore a separate step preceding distribution of the estate; an agreement between the spouses extending or restricting that joint ownership may provide otherwise.
Forms of wills
The law recognizes three forms of will. They must be carefully distinguished, because applying the requirements of one form to another renders a will invalid.
A holographic will under Section 476a must be written and signed in the testator’s own hand. The entire text must be handwritten by the testator — not typed on a typewriter or computer, or written by someone else. Witnesses are not required for this form.
An allographic will under Section 476b is a will that the testator did not write by hand. The testator must sign it by hand and expressly declare, before two witnesses present at the same time, that the document contains the testator’s last wishes; the witnesses must sign the will. All three requirements must be met simultaneously. The law also specifies who may not act as a witness — including persons lacking legal capacity, persons unable to read or write, and beneficiaries under the will.
The third form is a will executed as a notarial deed. Under Section 476(2), every will, regardless of its form, must state the day, month and year on which it was signed; otherwise it is invalid. A joint will made by multiple testators is always invalid.
In practice, a substantial proportion of wills drawn up without professional assistance fail precisely because of formal defects. The authenticity of a signature, witness testimony, and whether the witnesses were present at the same time can all be challenged; a missing date alone renders a will invalid. A will executed as a notarial deed eliminates these risks, and its contents cannot be disputed.
Protection of descendants and disinheritance
A testator’s freedom to dispose of property is not unlimited. Under Section 479 of the Civil Code, minor descendants must receive at least their full statutory share, and adult descendants at least half of that share. If a will conflicts with this rule, it is invalid to the extent affected. This is relative invalidity — the will is considered valid unless the affected descendant invokes its invalidity. Only descendants, not spouses or parents, are forced heirs.
A will is therefore not a means of excluding a descendant from inheritance entirely. This requires disinheritance under Section 469a, which is limited to exhaustively specified grounds: failure, contrary to good morals, to provide the testator with necessary assistance in illness, old age or other serious circumstances; a persistent lack of interest in the testator; a sentence of imprisonment of at least one year for an intentional criminal offence; or persistently leading a disorderly life. The deed of disinheritance must expressly state the reason and meet the same formal requirements as a will.
Deposit and registration of wills
A will executed as a notarial deed is recorded in the Central Notarial Register of Wills under Section 73c of the Notarial Code, maintained by the Chamber of Notaries of the Slovak Republic, and deposited in the Central Notarial Register of Documents. The register is not public, and information from it is provided to the court and to the notary acting as court commissioner in inheritance proceedings.
Registration is of fundamental practical importance. A will that no one knows about or that has been lost will not be taken into account in inheritance proceedings, and the testator’s wishes will not be carried out. Registration removes this possibility — the will will always be found during the proceedings and cannot be concealed, destroyed or damaged.
Planned recodification
Inheritance law is currently governed by the Civil Code of 1964, whose provisions in this area have remained unchanged for a long time. A draft of a new Civil Code is, however, in the legislative process. It is proposed to take effect on 1 July 2027 and introduces extensive changes to inheritance law.
The draft would introduce an inheritance agreement as the strongest basis of succession, taking precedence over both wills and statutory inheritance. It would also introduce a legacy, by which a testator obliges heirs to transfer a specified item to a person who does not become an heir; an instruction requiring an heir to perform a specified act; and the institution of an estate administrator. The compulsory share of forced heirs is also set to decrease substantially. This remains a draft, and its final form may still change during the legislative process; nevertheless, those making decisions with a longer time horizon should be aware of the planned change.
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It is better to arrange your last wishes in good time We will draw up your will as a notarial deed, arrange for its registration and deposit, and explain how your decision will affect each heir. You can also contact us if inheritance proceedings are already under way and you need help understanding them. Notary Office, Stará Vajnorská 8, Bratislava III. |
Legislation cited in this article
Act No. 40/1964 Coll., Civil Code — Sections 40a, 461 et seq., 462 (unclaimed estate), 469a (disinheritance), 473 to 475a (groups of heirs), 476, 476a, 476b, 476e (forms of wills and witnesses), 479 (forced heirs)
Act No. 323/1992 Coll. on Notaries and Notarial Activities (Notarial Code) — Section 73c (Central Notarial Register of Wills)
Draft new Civil Code — in the legislative process, proposed effective date: 1 July 2027
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This text reflects the law as at 30 September 2026. It is for information only and does not replace legal advice on a specific matter. Current prices are listed in the office’s price list.
JUDr. Martin Vlha, PhD., notary · Notary Office, Stará Vajnorská 8, Bratislava III
