A parent can influence the share of his/her inheritance by making an agreement or a will. If no will or any of the above agreements are made, his/her descendants will inherit the statutory inheritance portions after his/her death. But when an agreement or will is made, the share of the inheritance can be limited to a statutory share which is lower than the statutory inheritance portion by a half.

The heirs who have lived with you, helped you financially or assisted in any other way in acquiring or maintaining the property etc., are entitled to ask for a part of the deceased’s property, to which they have contributed, to be separated from the rest of the property. The value of this part is equivalent to their contribution to increasing or preserving the value of the deceased’s property. Accordingly, their contribution is not part of the inheritance but it belongs to them. The testator and his/her descendants can also draw up an agreement on the recognition of an ownership right, where the parent recognizes his/her descendants’ assistance and investments in the real estate resulting in an increased value of that real estate whereby that part is subsequently not included in the succession of the other heirs.

During your lifetime, your property is at your full disposition. The intestate heirs may in the inheritance proceedings demand gifts to be taken into account. This means that the gift which you gave to one of your children is considered to be part of the inherited property. This child’s share is then reduced proportionaltely to the value of that gift.