A will may be notarially authenticated or domestic. The Law of Succession Act outlines a number of requirements for a domestic will, which must be followed when drawing up the will. It should be remembered that a domestic will becomes invalid if six months have passed since it was drawn up and the testator is alive at the time. There are no time limits on the validity of a notarially authenticated will, i.e. it is valid until it is amended or revoked. The testator may revoke a will or a part thereof at any time by a later will or succession contract.

The succession contract can only be concluded notarially, and the binding arrangements contained within the succession contract can only be revoked or amended during the lifetime of the parties by a notarially authenticated agreement between the contracting parties or by a new succession contract. In cases provided for by law, it is also possible to request the cancellation of the succession contract or to withdraw from it.

An estate is opened upon the death of a person and the date of opening is the date of death of the deceased. An estate is the property of a bequeather – all of the bequeather’s possessions, rights and obligations that are not inextricably linked to the bequeather.

The successor is the legal successor of the bequeather, to whom the estate passes.

Read more about succession, successors, wills and succession contracts on the website of the Chamber of Notaries.

To find out who the successors are and obtain a certificate of succession, you must initiate succession proceedings with a notary. A notary can carry out the succession procedure if the deceased’s last place of residence was in Estonia.

Contact details for notary offices can be found on the Chamber of Notaries page. You can book an appointment with a notary, among other things, online via the e-notary self-service portal.

The notary will start the procedure if someone has expressed their wish to do so. The petition can be filed by the presumptive successor, a creditor of the deceased or any other person with rights to the estate.

In the course of the procedure, the notary shall make enquiries to the registers and credit institutions listed in the ministerial decree to determine the composition of the estate. For example, the deceased may have various other obligations (instalments, small loans) or valuable assets (crypto assets, a right of claim under a contract concluded with a neighbour, an art collection, etc.).

Benefits that form part of an estate (such as pensions, allowances and other benefits) are paid out by the Social Insurance Board based on a certificate of succession.

The successor has the right to accept or renounce the estate. If the successor does not wish to receive the estate, they can renounce it by submitting an application for waiver at the notary. The renunciation of succession must be notarially authenticated and may be submitted to any notary in Estonia, who will forward it to the notary conducting the succession proceedings.

The time limit for renunciation of succession is three (3) months, starting from the moment the successor learns or should have learned of the death of the bequeather and of their right of succession. If the successor does not submit an application for renunciation within this period, the successor automatically becomes the owner of the estate.

It is, therefore, important to act as quickly as possible to establish whether you wish to accept the estate and to get an overview of the composition of the estate and your liabilities. For more information on renunciation of succession, acceptance of succession, transfer of succession, conducting of proceedings, inventory of the estate and division of the estate, see the website of the Chamber of Notaries.

The successor may also make a declaration to this effect to the notary who will administer the succession before the deadline of three (3) months.

Acceptance of the estate transfers to the successor all of the rights and obligations of the bequeather, except for those which by their nature are inseparably connected with the person of the bequeather or which by law cannot be transferred from one person to another. If the successor accepts the estate, ownership of the items forming part of the estate shall be deemed to have passed to them retroactively from the time of the opening of the succession. If several successors (co-successors) have accepted the succession, the estate is owned by the successors jointly.

If an estate is insufficient, a successor shall perform the obligations out of the successor’s own property unless the successor has, after making an inventory, performed the obligations pursuant to the procedure provided by law, the estate has been declared bankrupt, or the proceedings have been terminated by abatement without declaring bankruptcy.

A successor who accepts the succession may submit a claim for inventory to a notary within three (3) months after the successor becomes aware or should have become aware of the circumstances from which it can be presumed that the estate is insufficient for covering the claims of the creditors of the bequeather. If the assets of the estate are insufficient to satisfy all the claims referred to in the Law of Succession Act (i.e., the funeral expenses of the deceased, the maintenance of their family members, the costs of administering the estate, the costs of taking an inventory, the claims of the deceased’s creditors lodged within the time limit in the calling proceedings and the claims ascertained in the course of making the inventory) and the successor does not agree to satisfy the claims out of the successor’s own property, the administrator of the estate or the successor shall be obliged to immediately submit a petition for the declaration of bankruptcy of the estate.

An overview of succession-related costs can be found by visiting the portal Jurist Aitab.

For more information on how to make arrangements in the event of death, intestate succession, carrying out of succession proceedings and other issues relating to succession, please consult the European e-Justice Portal.

Useful advice on succession is also available from the Chamber of Notaries and the free legal aid portal Jurist Aitab.

The state portal eesti.ee does not provide legal advice; the legal portal Jurist Aitab can help you find answers to everyday legal questions.

Preparing a gift contract or a will brings along completely different legal consequences.

For more information on gift contracts and wills, see the website of the Chamber of Notaries.