Civil partnership and inheritance

Your civil status affects your right to inherit from your spouse or partner. 'Civil status’ is defined as being one of the following:

• Single
• Married
• Separated or divorced
• Widowed
• In a civil partnership or being a former civil partner in a civil partnership that has ended by death or been dissolved

Civil partners have the same legal right to inherit as spouses and the same rights on intestacy. Intestacy is when someone dies without making a valid will. An existing will is automatically cancelled when you register a civil partnership unless the registration was considered when making the will. Bequests (gifts) left to a witness of a will or their spouse or civil partner are not valid.

Since the enactment of the Marriage Act 2015, no new civil partnerships can be registered in Ireland.

Couples in a civil partnership can apply to marry or remain in a civil partnership. Partnerships registered abroad since 16 May 2016 are not recognised as civil partnerships in Ireland.

If you are not married or in a civil partnership, you may only inherit from your partner if you are left a bequest in a valid will. However, a civil partner is entitled to what is called a "legal right share" of their deceased civil partner's estate even if:

• There is no will
• The will is invalid
• There is a valid will, but it leaves little or nothing to the surviving civil partner.

The civil status of the deceased person may also indirectly affect the inheritance rights of their children.

The amount of the surviving civil partner's legal right share depends on two factors:

• If there is a valid will
• If the deceased civil partner has any children.

You are entitled to the whole estate if:

• There is no will or the will is invalid, and
• The deceased civil partner has no children or grandchildren.

You are entitled to two-thirds of the estate if:

• There is no valid will, and
• The deceased civil partner has children or grandchildren.

You are entitled to one-half of the estate if:

• There is a valid will, and
• The deceased civil partner has no children or grandchildren.

You are entitled to one-third of the estate if:

• There is a valid will, and
• The deceased civil partner has children or grandchildren

If you are the surviving civil partner, you must be informed of this right and you should apply for your legal right share as soon as possible. You may want the shared home be given to you instead of your legal right share, even if the home was left to another person in the will. If the shared home is worth more than the legal right share, you will normally have to pay the difference into the deceased's estate. However, in cases of hardship, you may apply to the court to have the home given to you either without having to pay the difference, or by paying an amount that the court thinks is reasonable.

Children have a right to inherit from their biological parents. As the surviving civil partner's children are not the biological children of the deceased, they do not have a right to inherit from the deceased civil partner.

Children's inheritance rights may be affected by their deceased parent's civil status.

The children (minor and adult) are entitled to the entire estate divided equally between them if:

• There is no will or the will is invalid, and
• The deceased parent is not in a civil partnership or their civil partner is already dead.

But the children are only entitled to one-third of the estate divided equally between them if:

• There is no valid will or the will is invalid, and
• The deceased parent is in a civil partnership and is survived by their civil partner.

Children have no absolute right to inherit their parent's estate if the deceased parent has made a valid will. However, if a child considers that they have not been adequately provided for, they may make an application to court. The child need not be a minor or be dependent to do this. The court has to decide if the parent has "failed in their moral duty to make proper provision for the child in accordance with their means".

Each case is decided on its merits and the court looks at the situation from the point of view of a "prudent and just" parent. If the court orders that some provision be made for a child or children from the estate of the deceased, this order can reduce the entitlement of the surviving civil partner to a legal right share.

Anyone considering challenging a will on these grounds should get legal advice before applying to the court.

Marital status and inheritance rights

You can find information on how marriage affects inheritance in our document on marital status and inheritance.