Making a will in Estonia: forms, compulsory portion and cross-border estates

By Ero Liivik, lawyer (jurist) at Erovik Law Office · Updated 2 November 2026

A will in Estonia (testament) can be made with a notary or at home, but the two are not equal: a home will, whether handwritten or signed before witnesses, loses its validity six months after it was made if you are still alive. A notarial will has no such time limit and is entered in the succession register. Your freedom to choose your heirs is limited mainly by the compulsory portion, which in Estonia protects only close family members you had a legal duty to maintain.

Key points

• A home will expires six months after it was made if you are still alive (Law of Succession Act (PärS) § 25).
• Without a will, a partner you are neither married to nor registered with inherits nothing (PärS § 11).
• The compulsory portion is half of the statutory share, paid in money, and only for close family members you had to maintain (PärS §§ 104–105).
• A joint will is available only to spouses and only in notarially authenticated form (PärS § 89).
• For cross-border estates, EU rules generally apply the law of your last habitual residence, unless you choose the law of your nationality.

Who inherits if you do not make a will

Without a valid will or succession contract, the law decides (PärS § 10(1)). Your descendants inherit first, children in equal shares (PärS § 13). A spouse or registered partner (registreeritud elukaaslane) receives the same share as each child but at least a quarter, half alongside your parents and their descendants, and everything if there are no relatives of the first or second order (PärS § 16(1)–(2)). An unmarried partner without a registered cohabitation agreement is not a statutory heir (PärS § 11(1)).

If you are married under the default regime of community of property (varaühisus), only your share of the joint property belongs to your estate (Family Law Act (PKS) §§ 24(2), 39); see also our divorce guide. A will can cover all or part of your estate; anything it does not cover passes by law (PärS § 10(2)).

The four forms of will

Estonian law has two notarial and two home (kodune) forms of will (PärS § 20):

Form	Requirements	Validity
Notarially authenticated will (notariaalselt tõestatud testament)	The notary drafts it from your instructions or authenticates your text; you sign it before the notary (PärS § 21).	No time limit
Will deposited with a notary (notari hoiule antud testament)	You personally hand it over in a sealed envelope and confirm it is your will; the notary records this in a notarial act (PärS § 22).	No time limit; can be taken back at any time
Will signed before witnesses	The will states the date and year. You sign it before at least two witnesses with active legal capacity, present at the same time, and they sign right after you (PärS § 23(1), (3)).	Six months, if you are still alive (PärS § 25(1))
Handwritten will (omakäeliselt kirjutatud testament)	You write all of it by hand, add the date and year and sign it (PärS § 24(1)).	Six months, if you are still alive

A handwritten will that you present to a notary, who records it in a notarial act, becomes valid as a notarially authenticated will (PärS § 24(2)). A home will without a date that cannot be dated in another way is void (PärS § 25(2)). In a will signed before witnesses, provisions in favour of a witness or the witness’s close family are void (PärS § 23(4)–(5)).

Whoever holds a home will must give it to a notary without delay after learning of your death (PärS § 26(2)); you can also report it to the succession register (pärimisregister) kept by the Chamber of Notaries (PärS §§ 176(2), 177¹(3)). A notarial act is drawn up in Estonian, or in another language the notary knows well enough; if you do not understand it sufficiently, it must be translated for you, or the authentication is void (§§ 5, 17 and 33 of the Notarisation Act (TõS)). See our guide to the notary in Estonia; the Chamber of Notaries lists all notaries.

Who can make a will

You must make your will personally (PärS § 19(2)), not through a representative, even one with a power of attorney. A minor aged 15 or over may make a will only in notarially authenticated form, without needing the consent of a parent or other legal representative (PärS § 27). A will made while you could not judge how it affects your interests is void (§ 13(1) of the General Part of the Civil Code Act (TsÜS)); the notary records observations on your capacity in the notarial act (TõS § 29).

What a will can contain

• Heirs (pärija) receive all or a fraction of the estate; if no shares are stated, they inherit equally (PärS §§ 39(1), 40(1)).
• Legacies (annak) give someone a specific item, sum of money or right without making them your successor (PärS § 56).
• Substitute heirs (asepärija) inherit if a named heir dies before you, renounces or is unworthy to inherit (PärS § 42).
• An executor (testamenditäitja) carries out the will and may claim a reasonable fee unless the will says otherwise (PärS §§ 78, 84(2)).

Provisions for your spouse or registered partner are generally void if the relationship ended before your death or you had already taken legal steps to end it, such as filing a divorce claim in court (PärS § 32).

Joint wills and succession contracts

Only spouses can make a joint will (abikaasade vastastikune testament), and only in notarially authenticated form (PärS § 89). While both are alive, either spouse can revoke the linked dispositions by a notarially authenticated will, which takes effect when the other spouse receives notice of it through a notary; after the first death, the survivor can as a rule do so only by renouncing what the joint will gave them (PärS § 93). A divorce, or a divorce claim filed before death, normally makes the joint will invalid (PärS § 94).

A succession contract (pärimisleping) is an agreement in which you name the other party or someone else as heir or legatee. You must conclude it personally and have full active legal capacity, and it must be notarially authenticated (PärS §§ 95, 100). It takes precedence over a will, and during your lifetime it can be cancelled only by a notarially authenticated agreement, a new succession contract or withdrawal on limited grounds (PärS §§ 9(2), 102, 103); it does not stop you using or selling your property (PärS § 96(1)).

The compulsory portion

The compulsory portion (sundosa) can be claimed by a descendant, parent, spouse or registered partner whom your will or succession contract left out or gave less than their statutory share, but only if you had a valid maintenance obligation towards them under the Family Law Act when you died (PärS § 104(1)–(1¹)). Under that Act, you must maintain in particular your minor children, your adult children in education up to the age of 21, and your children or parents who are in need and cannot support themselves (PKS §§ 96, 97).

• Amount: half of the value of the statutory share, valued at the date of death (PärS §§ 105(1), 106(1)).
• Form: a claim for money against the heirs, not a share of the property (PärS § 104(5)).
• Gifts: gifts made in the last three years before death to reduce the compulsory portion count as part of the estate (PärS § 106(2)).
• Disinheriting: only for a crime against you or someone close to you, or a deliberate and serious breach of a legal duty to maintain you; the will must state the reason (PärS § 108).
• Deadline: three years from learning of the death and of the will, and at most ten years from the death (PärS § 109).

Example: a widowed parent of two minor children leaves everything to a partner they have not married or registered with. By law each child would have inherited half, so each can claim a compulsory portion worth a quarter of the estate, in money.

Changing or revoking a will

You can revoke all or part of a will at any time by a later will or a succession contract, and a home will also by destroying it (PärS § 88(1)–(2)). An earlier will stays valid as far as it does not conflict with the later one (PärS § 88(4)). If a home will that changed a notarial will expires after six months, the notarial will applies again (PärS § 88(6)).

Cross-border estates: which law applies

For deaths on or after 17 August 2015, the EU Succession Regulation (No 650/2012) aims to have a cross-border succession dealt with under a single law and by one authority. In principle, the courts of the EU country where you had your last habitual residence have jurisdiction, and that country’s law applies. You can instead choose the law of your country of nationality. Denmark and Ireland do not take part in the Regulation, and inheritance tax is outside its scope. Whether Estonian rules such as the compulsory portion apply therefore depends mainly on where you live when you die and on any choice of law. If you want your national law to apply, say so expressly in your will and have the wording checked. For succession proceedings, see our guide to inheriting property in Estonia.

Practical checklist

1. List your assets in Estonia and abroad, including joint property with your spouse.
2. Check who would inherit by law and who could claim a compulsory portion.
3. Decide on heirs, legacies, substitutes, an executor and, if relevant, the applicable law.
4. Prefer a notarial will to a home will, and update it after major life events.

Frequently asked questions

Is a handwritten will valid in Estonia?

Yes, if you write all of it by hand, date it and sign it. But it expires six months after it was made if you are still alive, unless a notary records it in a notarial act (PärS §§ 24, 25).

Can I leave nothing to my adult children?

Yes, unless you have a legal duty to maintain them when you die, for example because they are under 21 and still in education or are in need and cannot support themselves; only then can they claim a compulsory portion (PärS § 104; PKS § 97).

Can a will be challenged in Estonia?

Yes. A will that does not meet the form requirements is generally void (TsÜS § 83(1)). A will made through mistake, fraud or threat can be annulled by a court claim from a person who would inherit without it, within one year of learning of the ground and no later than 30 years after the death (PärS § 88(7)).

How Erovik Law Office can help

Erovik Law Office is not a notary and does not authenticate wills. We can review your draft will or succession contract before you sign it at the notary, explain how the compulsory portion and joint property affect your plans, and advise heirs and relatives in inheritance disputes, including compulsory portion claims. We work in Estonian and English. See our family and inheritance services, fees and contact page.

This guide reflects Estonian law in force on 1 November 2026. It is general information, not legal advice for your situation.