Civil Law of the Republic of Latvia

PART TWO Inheritance Law ............................................................................... 111 

CHAPTER 1 General Provisions (Sections 382-389) .................................................................. 113

CHAPTER 2 Intestate Succession ................................................................................................ 115

SUB-CHAPTER 1 General Provisions (Sections 390-391) ...................................................... 115

SUB-CHAPTER 2 Inheritance by Spouses (Sections 392-397) ................................................ 115

SUB-CHAPTER 3 Inheritance by Kin and Adoptees ................................................................ 116

I. Kinship that Determines the Right of Inheritance (Sections 398-402) ............................. 116

II. Order of Succession (Sections 403-415) .......................................................................... 117

SUB-CHAPTER 4 Property without Heirs (Sections 416-417) ................................................ 120

CHAPTER 3 Testamentary Inheritance ...................................................................................... 121

SUB-CHAPTER 1 General Provisions (Sections 418-419) ...................................................... 121

SUB-CHAPTER 2 Capacity to Make a Will (Sections 420-421) .............................................. 121

SUB-CHAPTER 3 Forced Heirs and Preferential Shares (Sections 422-426) .......................... 121

SUB-CHAPTER 4 Exclusion from Inheritance (Sections 427-431) ......................................... 122

SUB-CHAPTER 5 Forms of Wills (Section 432) ...................................................................... 123 I. Public Wills (Sections 433-444) ........................................................................................ 123 II. Private Wills (Sections 445-459) ...................................................................................... 125 III. Privileged Wills (Sections 460-462) ............................................................................... 127

SUB-CHAPTER 6 Contents of a Will (Sections 463-466) ........................................................ 128

SUB-CHAPTER 7 Appointment and Substitution of Heirs ...................................................... 128 I. Appointment of Heirs (Sections 467-476) ......................................................................... 128 II. Substitution (Sections 477-485) ....................................................................................... 130

19 Contents SUB-CHAPTER 8 Appointment of a Secondary Heir (Sections 486-493) .............................. 131

SUB-CHAPTER 9 Bequests for Generally Useful
and Charitable Purposes (Sections 494-499) .............................................................................. 133

SUB-CHAPTER 10 Legacies ..................................................................................................... 134 I. General Provisions (Sections 500-503) ............................................................................. 134 II. Participants in a Legacy (Sections 504-520) .................................................................... 134 III. The Legal Consequences of a Legacy (Sections 521-529) ............................................. 136 IV. Receipt and Renunciation of a Legacy (Sections 530-533) ............................................ 138 V. Execution of a Legacy (Sections 534-547) ...................................................................... 138 VI. Specific Kinds of Legacies (Sections 548-579) ............................................................. 141 VII. Reduction of Legacies (Sections 580-583) ................................................................... 145

SUB-CHAPTER 11 Conditions and other Restrictions of Last Will Instructions .................... 145 I. Conditional Last Will Instructions (Sections 584-598) ..................................................... 145 II. Designated Terms in Last Will Instructions (Section 599) .............................................. 149 III. Other Restrictions on Last Will Instructions (Sections 600-603) ................................... 149

SUB-CHAPTER 12 Reciprocal Wills (Sections 604-612) ........................................................ 149

SUB-CHAPTER 13 Execution of Last Will Instructions .......................................................... 151 I. Evidence of a Will (Sections 613-615) .............................................................................. 151 II. Execution of Wills (Sections 616-631) ............................................................................ 151 III. Interpretation of Last Will Instructions (Sections 632-635) ........................................... 154

SUB-CHAPTER 14 Contesting a Will (Sections 636-638) ....................................................... 155 CHAPTER 4 Contractual Inheritance ......................................................................................... 156

SUB-CHAPTER 1 Contractual Inheritance
Forms and Inheritance Contract (Sections 639-645) .................................................................. 156

SUB-CHAPTER 2 Consequences of an Inheritance Contract (Sections 646-654) ................... 157

CHAPTER 5 Opening of Succession, Protection of Estates, and Inheritance Actions ........... 159 SUB-CHAPTER 1 Opening of Succession (Sections 655-656) ................................................ 159 SUB-CHAPTER 2 Protection and Trusteeship of an Estate (Sections 657-666) ...................... 159 SUB-CHAPTER 3 Inheritance Actions (Sections 667-686) ...................................................... 161

CHAPTER 6 Accepting and Taking an Inheritance ................................................................... 165 SUB-CHAPTER 1 Accepting an Inheritance (Sections 687-700) ............................................. 165 SUB-CHAPTER 2 Consequences of Taking an Inheritance (Sections 701-714) ...................... 167

CHAPTER 7 Mutual Relationships Between Co-heirs and Division of the Inheritance ....... 171

SUB-CHAPTER 1 Mutual Relationships of Co-heirs (Sections 715-723) ............................... 171

SUB-CHAPTER 2 Division of the Estate .................................................................................. 172 I. Persons who may require division of an estate (Sections 724-728) ................................. 172 II. Property to be Divided (Sections 729-730) ...................................................................... 173 III. Order of Division ............................................................................................................ 174

1. General Provisions (Sections 731-740) ....................................................................... 174

2. Division of land of an agricultural nature which is outside

   the administrative boundaries of urban areas (Sections 741-751) .............................. 175

3. Documents (Section 752) ............................................................................................ 177

4. Consequences of Division (Sections 753-756) ........................................................... 178

SUB-CHAPTER 3 Additions to that which was received previously (Sections 757-765) ....... 179 CHAPTER 8 Termination and Loss of Inheritance Rights ....................................................... 181

SUB-CHAPTER 1 Loss of Inheritance Rights pursuant
to the Intent of the Heirs Themselves ......................................................................................... 181

Contents 20
I. Refusal of an inheritance prior to the invitation to inherit (Sections 766-774) ................ 181

II. Renunciation of an Inheritance after the Invitation to Inherit (Sections 775-783) ......... 182

SUB-CHAPTER 2 Incomplete Wills and Invalid Wills ............................................................ 183 I. Revocation of a Will against the Intent of the Testator (Sections 784-791) ..................... 183 II. Revocation of a Will, Changing the Intent of the Testator (Sections 792-793) ............... 185

1. Making a New Will (Sections 794-798) ...................................................................... 185 2. Revocation of a Will (Sections 799-804) .................................................................... 186

SUB-CHAPTER 3 Revocation of a Legacy ............................................................................... 187 I. Revocation of a Legacy on the Basis of the Intent of the Legatee (Sections 805-808) .... 187 II. Revoking a Legacy on the Basis of the Intent of the Estate-leaver (Sections 809-811) . 187 III. Revoking a Legacy Because a Will Fails (Section 812) ................................................. 188 IV. Direct Failure of a Legacy (Sections 813-817) ............................................................... 188 V. Consequences of Revoking a Legacy (Sections 818-819) ............................................... 189

SUB-CHAPTER 4 Revoking an Inheritance Contract (Sections 820-823) ............................... 189 SUB-CHAPTER 5 Forfeiture of Inheritances

and Legacies by Unworthy Persons (Sections 824-829) ............................................................ 190 SUB-CHAPTER 6 Accession Rights (Sections 830-840) ......................................................... 191