Inheritance in Case of Death of a Spouse or Parent

QUESTION
Who inherits if one of the spouses dies?

ANSWER:
If a spouse dies without leaving a will specifying how their property should be distributed, the estate is inherited according to law. The surviving spouse and the deceased’s children belong to the so-called first inheritance group, and each inherits in equal shares (§ 473(1) of Act No. 40/1964 Coll., the Civil Code, hereinafter “CC”).

For example, if the deceased husband had three children from a previous marriage and one child from the current marriage, the estate would be divided equally among all those children and the current wife. In this case, the wife would inherit one-fifth of the husband’s property.

If the deceased had no children, grandchildren, or other descendants, the second inheritance group applies. Here, the estate is inherited by the surviving spouse together with the deceased’s parents, and also by “those who lived with the deceased for at least one year prior to their death in a shared household and who, for this reason, cared for the household or were dependent on the deceased for support” (§ 474(1) CC).

In this group, heirs also inherit in equal shares, but the surviving spouse always receives at least one half of the estate (§ 474(2) CC), regardless of how many other heirs are in the group. If the deceased’s parents are no longer alive and the deceased lived alone at the time of death, the surviving spouse inherits the entire estate.

QUESTION
Good day, I need your advice. My mother has passed away — she lived in Slovakia and was buried last Friday. My mother had some loans, and I want to know if these debts will disappear or if we, the surviving family, will have to pay them. Thank you in advance.

ANSWER:
Your question relates to § 470(1) CC, which states:
“An heir is liable, up to the value of the inherited estate, for reasonable funeral expenses of the deceased and for the deceased’s debts, which are transferred to the heir upon the deceased’s death.”

This means that debts do not disappear. Responsibility for paying them passes to the heirs — but only up to the value of what they inherit. In other words, debts are paid from the assets of the deceased that become part of the estate at death, not from the heirs’ personal property.

According to § 470(2) CC:
“If there are multiple heirs, they are liable for funeral expenses and debts in proportion to what they have inherited from the estate.”

Therefore, each heir’s responsibility for the deceased’s debts depends on the size of their inheritance share: the larger the share, the greater the portion of debt they must cover from that inherited property.

We can assist you with legal advice regarding probate proceedings, including handling the deceased’s debts. We can help determine whether you can decline the inheritance or explore your options for dealing with the debts.