Intestate Succession of Unmarried Partners

European legal systems remain divided over whether and how unmarried partners should be protected on intestacy. This volume compares these approaches, from equalization with spouses to limited rights and discretionary protection, and examines the choices that shape them.

This volume examines how European succession laws respond to the social significance of unmarried partnerships when one partner dies intestate. Its central thesis is that the legal position of unmarried partners cannot be understood through a simple opposition between recognition and non-recognition; rather, European systems employ distinct models of succession rights that differ in the degree and mechanism of protection they provide. Using a comparative law methodology, the volume analyses selected jurisdictions across Northern, Central, Southern, Southeastern, and Eastern Europe, as well as England and Wales and Scotland, combining the historical development of intestate succession with an examination of contemporary law. Its theoretical framework is functional and comparative: instead of relying on jurisdiction-specific terminology, it classifies legal systems according to the protection afforded to the surviving partner. The comparative analysis identifies three principal models: equalization with spouses, more limited statutory rights, and discretionary protection. It also demonstrates how differing historical foundations, doctrinal structures, and policy choices shape the legal treatment of cohabitation after death. By situating intestate succession within broader processes of family change, while distinguishing it from testamentary succession, mandatory family protection, and inheritance taxation, the volume defines a coherent field of inquiry. Bringing together jurisdictions from diverse legal traditions and regulatory settings, it contributes a structured framework for comparing the position of unmarried partners and clarifies the range of legal responses available to succession law in contemporary Europe.

General Introduction
Gregor Christandl, Dorota Miler, Denise Wiedemann: General Introduction
Part A: Historical Foundations
Dorota Miler: Central and Eastern Europe - Early Recognition of Unmarried Partners on Intestacy
Part B: Unmarried Partners in Intestate Succession: Comparative Models
I. Equalization with Spouses
Gregor Christandl: Introduction - Suzana Kraljić: Intestacy Rights of Unmarried Partners in Slovenia - Dubravka Klasiček: Intestacy Rights of Unmarried Partners in Croatia - Antoni Vaquer: Intestacy Rights of Unmarried Partners in Catalonia within the Spanish Legal Framework - Gregor Christandl: Conclusions
II. Limited Intestate Succession Rights
Dorota Miler: Introduction - Eniana Qarri: Intestacy Rights of Unmarried Partners in Albania -
Ondřej Frinta: Intestacy Rights of Unmarried Partners in the Czech Republic - Iryna Dzera, Tetiana Fedosieieva: Intestacy Rights of Unmarried Partners in Ukraine - Paul Patreider: Intestacy Rights of Unmarried Partners in Austria - John Asland: Rights of Unmarried Partners in Norway
Dorota Miler: Conclusions
III. Discretionary Protection
Denise Wiedemann: Introduction - Andy Hayward: Claims against the Estate of a Deceased Unmarried Partner on Intestacy in England and Wales - Jayne Holliday: Intestate Entitlements of Unmarried Partners in Scotland - Fanni Aarniva, Tuulikki Mikkola: Intestate Succession of Unmarried Partners in Finland - David de Oliveira Silva Nunes Fernandes, Fernando Eduardo da Silva Oliveira e Sá: The Position of Unmarried Partners in Relation to the Estate of the Deceased in Portugal - Majken with Lindhardt and Gitte Meldgaard Abrahamsen: Claims against the Estate of a Deceased Unmarried Partner on Intestacy in Denmark - Denise Wiedemann: Conclusions
Part C: Broader Perspectives
Denise Wiedemann: Resisting Intestate Succession for Unmarried Partners - Gregor Christandl, Dorota Miler, Denise Wiedemann: Comparative Assessment

• Edited by Gregor Christandl
• Edited by Dorota Miler
• Edited by Denise Wiedemann