If you own a flat in Prague, a cottage in Bohemia or a share in a Czech company, one question decides almost everything about what happens to it when you die: which country’s law governs your estate. Most foreign owners assume it is the law of their nationality. Since 2015, that assumption is usually wrong.
One law now governs the whole estate
Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 applies to the succession of everyone who died on or after 17 August 2015. It replaced a patchwork in which movable and immovable assets could fall under different laws. Under the Regulation the estate is treated as a single whole.
The default connecting factor is habitual residence at the time of death. The courts of that Member State have jurisdiction, and that State’s law applies to the entire estate — including immovable property situated elsewhere.
For a German national who has lived in Prague for a decade, this means Czech law governs the Berlin flat as well as the Czech one. For a Czech who retired to Portugal, it means Portuguese law governs the family house in Moravia.
Three jurisdictions stand outside the system. Denmark and Ireland do not participate in the Regulation, and the United Kingdom is a third country. Their authorities apply their own conflict rules, which can produce a different answer — and occasionally a conflicting one.
You may choose the law of your nationality
The Regulation lets you choose the law of a State whose nationality you hold, either at the time of the choice or at the time of death. This is the single most useful planning step available to a foreign owner of Czech assets, and it is routinely missed.
The choice must be made expressly in a disposition of property upon death, or be demonstrated by the terms of such a disposition. In practice it belongs in your will, in explicit words. A will that merely happens to be drafted in the style of your home country is not a choice of law.
Czech law protects children whatever the will says
If Czech law applies — by default or by choice — testamentary freedom is not absolute.
Under Sec. 1643 of the Civil Code, the forced heir (nepominutelný dědic) is a child of the deceased and, where the child does not inherit, that child’s own descendants. A minor forced heir must receive at least three quarters of their statutory share; an adult forced heir at least one quarter. Sec. 1644 adds that the compulsory portion must remain entirely unencumbered, and any direction by the testator restricting it is disregarded.
One structural point is easy to miss. Under Sec. 1654(1), the forced heir has no right to a share of the estate itself, but only to a sum of money equal to the value of the compulsory portion. The heirs keep the flat; the forced heir is paid out. That distinction determines whether your intended beneficiary keeps the property or has to raise cash.
Common-law testators are frequently caught by this. A will that validly disinherits an adult child in England will not achieve the same result if Czech law governs the succession. Spouses and parents, by contrast, are not forced heirs under Czech law — a point that surprises in the other direction.
How a Czech estate is actually settled
Czech succession proceedings are conducted by the court, with a notary acting as court commissioner. The estate does not pass automatically on death in the way heirs from some systems expect: the transfer is confirmed by the court’s decision, and the Land Register entry follows from it.
For heirs abroad this has two practical consequences. Foreign documents generally need certified translation and, depending on the State of origin, an apostille or superlegalisation. And proceedings take considerably longer where an heir has to be traced or served abroad.
The European Certificate of Succession
The Certificate is the Regulation’s most practical innovation. Heirs, legatees, executors and estate administrators use it to prove their status and exercise their rights in another Member State, and it is recognised there without any further procedure.
For a Czech estate holding a bank account in Vienna, or an Austrian estate holding a flat in Brno, the Certificate usually removes the need for a second set of national proceedings.
What this means in practice
- Establish where your habitual residence actually is — it is a question of fact, not of registration
- If you want the law of your nationality to apply, say so expressly in your will
- If Czech law will govern, check your children’s position under Sec. 1643 before assuming your will works
- Keep your Czech assets documented: title deeds, company registration, account details
- Where the estate spans more than one Member State, raise the European Certificate of Succession early
Frequently asked questions
Does a will made abroad work for Czech property?
Usually the form will be accepted. The harder question is substance: a formally valid will may still fail to achieve what you intended if the governing law imposes forced heirship or construes your dispositions differently.
Is there inheritance tax in the Czech Republic?
No. The Czech Republic levies no separate inheritance tax, and income acquired by inheritance is exempt from income tax regardless of the amount and regardless of the heir’s relationship to the deceased. Your own country of residence may nevertheless tax the same estate.
How long do proceedings take?
Straightforward estates are often concluded within months. Cross-border estates involving foreign heirs, translations and assets in several States commonly run considerably longer.
Can I avoid all this by transferring the property during my lifetime?
A lifetime transfer is possible, but gifts may be taken into account when the compulsory portion is calculated, and a transfer carries its own tax and family-law consequences. It is a decision to take with advice, not a shortcut.
How we can help
We advise foreign owners of Czech assets and foreign heirs of Czech estates: choice-of-law clauses in wills, representation in Czech succession proceedings, applications for the European Certificate of Succession, and the Land Register steps that follow. Our practice is built on cross-border work — Dr. Tomas Mach is admitted in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany, and is a court-appointed expert for legal relations with foreign countries.
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