Family and inheritance law in Estonia – divorce, child maintenance and estates

Need a family lawyer in Estonia who works in English? In Estonia, some divorces need no court, minimum child support follows a formula, and an heir who stays silent is deemed to accept the estate, debts included. Our lawyer (jurist) Ero Liivik at Erovik Law Office in Tallinn advises in English or Estonian.

Who we help

We help international couples, parents living apart, spouses dividing property and foreign heirs connected to Estonia, on Estonian law only.

Divorce: office, notary or court

If you both agree, you can divorce without a court by a joint written application. A vital statistics office (perekonnaseisuasutus) – for divorces, the local authority of a county centre such as Tallinn or Tartu – can do this if both of you live in Estonia and Estonian law applies, or if you have chosen Estonian law in a choice-of-law agreement. A notary can do it if the divorce falls within Estonian jurisdiction under EU Regulation 2019/1111 (Vital Statistics Registration Act (PKTS) § 3; Family Law Act (PKS) §§ 64 and 64¹).

At a vital statistics office you can apply online with a digital signature, confirming that you have no disputes about the divorce or related matters. The divorce takes place one to three months after the application, normally with both spouses present; a spouse who cannot attend for a good reason can send notarised or consular-certified consent. You can bring an interpreter at your own cost (PKTS §§ 9¹ and 44–47).

A court divorce is needed if you disagree about the divorce or related matters, or if neither the office nor a notary is competent (PKS § 65). The court can grant a divorce if the marriage has irretrievably broken down, which is presumed after at least two years apart, and may give up to six months for reconciliation (PKS § 67).

Dividing property

If Estonian law governs your property relations and you did not choose another regime or sign a notarised marital property contract, the default is joint property (varaühisus) (PKS §§ 24 and 60). Assets acquired during the marriage are joint; assets owned before it, personal items, and gifts or inheritances to one spouse are separate, but an asset counts as joint until shown otherwise (PKS §§ 25 and 27). Joint property is divided equally unless you agree otherwise, and division can be claimed in court with the divorce (PKS § 37).

Children: custody, contact and child support

Divorce does not by itself end joint custody. If parents live apart permanently, either can ask the court to transfer custody to them in whole or in part; the court decides in the child’s interests and will not do so if a child aged 14 or over objects (PKS §§ 123, 137 and 145). If you cannot agree on contact, the court sets the arrangements (PKS § 143), as a rule only after you have tried mediation, such as state family mediation (Code of Civil Procedure (TsMS) § 560¹).

Child support (elatis) is paid monthly in advance, usually by the parent who does not live with the child (PKS § 100). The minimum for one child is a base amount indexed every 1 April to consumer prices, plus 3% of the previous year’s Estonian average gross monthly wage. Child benefit is taken into account, and the amount is reduced proportionally if the child spends on average 7 to 15 days a month with the paying parent (PKS § 101). The court can award more than the minimum, or less for a good reason (PKS § 102). An adult child in education can receive support until 21 (PKS § 97), and support can be claimed for up to one year before the court claim (PKS § 108).

Inheritance: what foreign heirs should know

Succession proceedings (pärimismenetlus) are run by a notary, not a court, and start with a notarised application by an heir or another interested person (Law of Succession Act (PärS) § 166). As a rule, an Estonian notary handles the case if the deceased last lived in Estonia (PärS § 165). Under the EU Succession Regulation, which Denmark and Ireland do not apply, the authorities of the country of the deceased’s last habitual residence generally deal with the succession and apply its law, unless the deceased chose the law of their nationality.

• Silence means acceptance. If you do not renounce within three months of learning, or when you should have learned, of the death and your right to inherit, you are deemed to have accepted (PärS §§ 118–119). If you missed the deadline for a good reason, the notary can set a new one unless other heirs object. Renunciation must be certified by a notary – any Estonian notary can do it – and cannot be partial, conditional or, as a rule, undone (PärS §§ 116, 122 and 165).
• Debts pass to the heir. An heir who accepts must pay the deceased’s debts, from their own assets if necessary (PärS § 130). To limit liability to the value of the estate, ask the notary for an inventory, which a bailiff carries out (PärS §§ 137, 138 and 143).
• Certificates. The notary issues a certificate of succession no earlier than one month after publishing notice of the proceedings, and can also issue a European Certificate of Succession, which EU countries applying the regulation recognise without any special procedure (PärS § 171).
• Home wills expire. A will made without a notary (handwritten or witnessed) lapses if its maker is still alive six months later (PärS § 25).
• Compulsory portion. Descendants, parents or a spouse whom the deceased had a legal duty to maintain, and who were left out of a will or given less, can claim in money half the value of their statutory share (PärS §§ 104–105). The claim is time-barred three years after they learn of the death and the will, and ten years after the death at the latest (PärS § 109).
• Disputes between heirs. Co-heirs own the estate jointly; any of them can demand division, and failing agreement the court divides it (PärS §§ 147 and 152).

How Erovik Law Office can help

• Initial written analysis and action plan – EUR 120–180.
• Reviewing or amending agreements on property division, contact or child support – from EUR 120.
• Demand letters to a spouse, parent or co-heirs – EUR 120–200; a statement of claim – from EUR 300.
• Court representation – by agreement; hourly rate – EUR 60–80.

In Estonian civil courts a party may be represented by an advocate or by another person with the legal qualification required by TsMS § 218; stricter rules apply at the Supreme Court. Prices are final (no VAT); notary and state fees and translations are extra; international matters may be quoted separately. See our fees.

Related guides and contact

Guides: Divorce in Estonia, Inheriting property in Estonia, Making a will in Estonia and Power of attorney in Estonia; for a shared or inherited home, see real estate disputes.

Send a short description, your documents and any deadline – such as the three-month renunciation period – to info@erovik.ee or via the contact page. We agree scope and price first and usually reply within one working day.