Accepting or renouncing an inheritance

How is an estate accepted?

According to the Supreme Court (Riigikohus), an heir can accept an estate in two ways (judgment 2-17-12712/24) [8]:

• By default. If the heir does not renounce the estate within the renunciation period, they are deemed to have accepted it (PärS § 118 lg 1) [3]. No separate application is needed.
• By application. Before the renunciation period ends, the heir may submit an application for acceptance to the notary handling the succession matter, which the notary certifies (PärS § 118 lg 2) [3].

An estate may not be accepted conditionally, and an application for partial or conditional acceptance is void (PärS § 122) [9]. Once the estate has been accepted, it can no longer be renounced unless the law provides otherwise (PärS § 116 lg 2) [10].

According to the Supreme Court, the deceased's rights and obligations that were not inseparably linked to the deceased pass to the heir retroactively from the date of death, regardless of when and how the estate was accepted (RK 2-17-12712/24) [8].

How long do you have to renounce, and how?

„Pärandist loobumise tähtaeg on kolm kuud.“ [4] (translation: the period for renouncing an estate is three months). The period starts when the heir learns or should learn of the deceased's death and of their own right to inherit (PärS § 119 lg 1) [4]. According to the Supreme Court, this generally only requires that the heir knows or should know the factual circumstances from which their right to inherit arises; they need not have a legal understanding of succession (RK 2-17-12712/24) [8].

To renounce, an application must be submitted to a notary within the period, and the notary certifies it (PärS § 118 lg 3) [3]. At an Estonian foreign mission, an application to accept or renounce an estate may also be certified by a consular officer with special authorisation (erikutsega konsulaarametnik), if there is a justified need and the act is directly connected with an Estonian citizen, an Estonian legal person or property located in Estonia (KonS § 30 lg 2) [11]; the certified application is forwarded without delay to the notary conducting the succession proceedings (KonS § 30 lg 3²) [11].

Before deciding, you are entitled to information on the composition of the estate and the content of any will or succession contract from the court, the notary and any other person holding them (PärS § 121) [12].

What happens after renouncing an estate?

Renunciation is final: once an estate has been renounced, it can no longer be accepted (PärS § 116 lg 2) [10]. An application for partial or conditional renunciation is void (PärS § 122 lg 2) [9].

In place of the person who renounced, the person entitled to inherit is the one who would have inherited if the renouncing person had died before the succession opened (PärS § 124 lg 1) [13]. In intestate succession this means that a renouncing child of the deceased may be replaced by their own descendants (PärS § 13 lg 3) [14]. The person taking their place may accept or renounce the estate within the same period, counted from the day they learned of the renunciation (PärS § 124 lg 2) [13].

To renounce an estate on behalf of a minor child, parents need the prior consent of a court (PKS § 131 lg 1; PKS § 188 lg 1 p 2) [15] [16]. Court consent is not needed if the child's right to the estate arose because a parent with the right to represent the child renounced it (PKS § 131 lg 2) [15].

Do I have to pay the deceased's debts?

On acceptance of the estate, all of the deceased's rights and obligations pass to the heir, except those inseparably linked to the deceased's person or which by law cannot pass to another person (PärS § 130 lg 1) [5]. If the estate is insufficient, the heir must perform the obligations out of their own assets, unless they have performed them in the statutory order after an inventory, bankruptcy of the estate has been declared, or bankruptcy proceedings ended without a declaration of bankruptcy (raugemine) (PärS § 130 lg 3) [5].

If the estate is not enough to cover the first-ranking costs (including the funeral) and the creditors' claims, and the heir does not agree to pay them out of their own assets, the heir must file a bankruptcy petition for the estate with the court within three months of learning or when they should have learned of this (PärS § 137 lg 2¹) [6]. After that, their liability is limited to the estate (PärS § 143 lg 4) [7].

How does an estate inventory work?

• Request. An heir who has accepted the estate may submit a request for an inventory to the notary (PärS § 137 lg 1) [6]. A notarially certified request may also be submitted within three months after the heir learned or should have learned of circumstances indicating that the estate will not be enough to satisfy the creditors' claims (PärS § 137 lg 2) [6].
• Who carries it out. The notary appoints a bailiff (kohtutäitur) to carry out the inventory (PärS § 138) [17].
• Time limit and costs. The notary sets a time limit for the inventory of not less than two months and not more than three months; it may be extended for a compelling reason (PärS § 139 lg 4) [18]. The costs of the inventory are covered from the estate (PärS § 139 lg 8) [18].
• Call to creditors. The person carrying out the inventory publishes a notice in the official publication Ametlikud Teadaanded calling on creditors to report their claims within one month of publication (PärS § 140 lg 2) [19].
• Order of payment. First, the costs of the funeral, the maintenance of family members, the administration of the estate and the inventory are paid; second, the creditors' claims reported on time in response to the call or identified during the inventory are satisfied; third, legacies (annakud), testamentary obligations and testamentary designations are performed (PärS § 142 lg 1) [20]. An heir who performs obligations in a different order or prefers one creditor to another is liable for the damage caused to the other creditors (PärS § 142 lg 4) [20].

After the inventory, the heir's liability is limited to the value of the estate (PärS § 143 lg 1) [7]. But if the heir conceals things or rights belonging to the estate, or declares non-existent obligations, in order to harm the creditors, they are also liable with their own assets (PärS § 144 lg 1) [21].

What the law says

• „Kui pärija käesoleva seaduse §-s 119 sätestatud tähtaja jooksul pärandist ei loobu, loetakse ta pärandi vastu võtnuks.“ [3] (translation: if the heir does not renounce the estate within the period set out in § 119, they are deemed to have accepted it; PärS § 118 lg 1) – by default, the estate is accepted.
• „Pärandist loobumiseks tuleb käesoleva seaduse §-s 119 sätestatud tähtaja jooksul esitada notarile avaldus, mille notar tõestab.“ [3] (translation: to renounce the estate, an application certified by a notary must be submitted to a notary within the period set out in § 119; PärS § 118 lg 3) – renunciation requires notarial certification.
• „Pärast pärandi vastuvõtmist ei saa sellest enam loobuda, kui seaduses ei ole sätestatud teisiti.“ [10] (translation: once the estate has been accepted, it can no longer be renounced unless the law provides otherwise; PärS § 116 lg 2).
• „Pärast inventuuri tegemist on pärija vastutus pärandvaraga seotud kohustuste eest piiratud pärandvara väärtusega.“ [7] (translation: after the inventory, the heir's liability for obligations related to the estate is limited to the value of the estate; PärS § 143 lg 1) – the inventory protects the heir's own assets.

What to do

1. Note down when you learned of the deceased's death and of your right to inherit – the three-month renunciation period runs from then (PärS § 119 lg 1) [4].
2. If you want to accept the estate, you do not have to do anything; if you wish, you may submit an application for acceptance to the notary handling the succession matter (PärS § 118 lg 1 and 2) [3].
3. If the debts may exceed the assets, submit a request for an inventory to the notary (PärS § 137 lg 1 and 2) [6] or renounce within the period by an application certified by a notary (PärS § 118 lg 3) [3]. If the estate is not enough to cover the first-ranking costs and the creditors' claims and you do not agree to pay them out of your own assets, you must file a bankruptcy petition for the estate with the court within three months (PärS § 137 lg 2¹) [6].
4. If you are a child of the deceased and renounce an intestate inheritance, bear in mind that your children may take your place (PärS § 13 lg 3) [14] and they too may accept or renounce the estate (PärS § 124 lg 1 and 2) [13]; to renounce on behalf of a minor child, a parent needs court consent, unless the child's right arose because that parent renounced (PKS § 131 lg 1 and 2) [15].
5. If you know that the debts may exceed the value of the estate, do not pay them before the inventory: otherwise you are liable for the damage this causes to the other creditors (PärS § 143 lg 2) [7].

Frequently asked questions

Can I accept only the flat but not the debts?

No. An application for partial acceptance or partial renunciation of an estate is void (PärS § 122 lg 2) [9], and on acceptance all of the deceased's rights and obligations pass to the heir (PärS § 130 lg 1) [5].

Can a creditor demand payment before I have accepted the estate?

As a rule, no: performance of the deceased's obligation may not be demanded from the heir before the estate is accepted (PärS § 134 lg 1) [22]. This does not apply, for example, if the creditor holds a pledge over an item in the estate and three months have passed since the succession opened (PärS § 134 lg 3) [22].

Can the renunciation period be extended?

Yes, if the period was missed for a good reason. At the request of the person entitled to inherit, the notary may extend the period or set a new one if the other persons entitled to inherit do not object; in the event of a dispute, the court decides (PärS § 119 lg 2) [4].

Who pays for the inventory?

The costs of the inventory are covered from the estate (PärS § 139 lg 8) [18].

Can a renunciation be annulled later?

As a rule, no: once an estate has been renounced, it can no longer be accepted (PärS § 116 lg 2) [10]. However, a court may declare the acceptance or renunciation of an estate void on the grounds set out in §§ 92, 94 and 96 of the General Part of the Civil Code Act (tsiviilseadustiku üldosa seadus) – mistake, fraud, threat or violence (PärS § 123 lg 1) [23]. A mistake can be relied on only if the heir was mistaken about whether they inherit by law, by will or by succession contract (PärS § 123 lg 2) [23].