The Compulsory Share - Half of What You Would Have Received Without the Will, From an Estate That Is Often "Hidden"
A will gives the testator freedom to dispose of their property, but with one limit: children, the spouse and parents are entitled to half of their intestate share regardless of the will. It is a simple rule that in practice splits into three hard questions: what is in the estate (and does it include the flat the testator gifted to one child a year before death), how the share is calculated when there are several people in the first order, and how it is actually received when the heir under the will already has the property registered.
This page describes the compulsory share as it is actually claimed: who is entitled and who is not, how the estate is determined and how gifted property "comes back" into it, how the share is calculated in concrete figures, what deadline and procedure the claim has, when the share can be withheld and how it is separated out in kind or by compensation. Voiding a will and dividing an estate have their own pages.
Updated · Practice area: Inheritance lawyer
Who Is Entitled to a Compulsory Share and How Much - Typical Situations in Figures
The share is always half of the intestate share, but the intestate share depends on the number of heirs - and that is where the mistakes appear.
Claiming the Compulsory Share - the Stages
Establishing entitlement and the circle of heirs
Who was an heir of the first order on the day of death: every child from every marriage and outside marriage, the spouse (a registered marriage - cohabitation gives no right), the parents. Each of them changes the denominator of the intestate share - a "hidden" child reduces everyone's share, and the lawyer verifies the full list of heirs through the civil registry.
Reconstructing the estate
Every asset on the day of death (registry, banks, companies, vehicle, securities) minus debts and estate expenses, plus whatever the law adds back. The lawyer searches for the estate with the same tools as on acceptance - notary enquiries, registry history, bank statements for recent years.
Analysing gifted and transferred property
The registry history shows what was transferred to the heir under the will or to others during life, and when: gifts, sales at a nominal price, life maintenance contracts. The lawyer assesses which transactions are added back to the estate (or which can be declared sham) and which are not - this often changes the value of the compulsory share several times over.
Valuation
The compulsory share is calculated in value, and the market value of every element of the estate on the day of death is determined by an independent appraiser - flat, land, company shareholding, vehicle. The heir under the will wants a low valuation, the entitled person a high one; between two reports the court orders an expert examination.
Claim before the notary or in court
Where the heir under the will acknowledges the share, the notary issues the certificate to both in the appropriate shares; where not, a claim for recognition of the compulsory share, determination of the estate and separation of the property, with an injunction. The lawyer frames the claim so that the court determines the composition of the estate (gifts included) and the share in one judgment.
Separation and enforcement
The share is separated in kind (an ideal share of the flat in the registry), by compensation (the heir under the will pays the value) or by a combination; if the property has already been sold, a monetary claim against the heir under the will. The lawyer chooses the option in the entitled person's interest: co-ownership of one room with a hostile relative is often worth less than compensation.
An Estate "Emptied" During Life - How Gifted Property Comes Back Into the Calculation
The most common way around the compulsory share is not a will but a gift: the testator gifts the flat to the preferred heir during life, and on the day of death almost nothing is left in the estate - and the compulsory share is half of "nothing". The law limits this device: when calculating the compulsory share, property the testator transferred by gift to the entitled person or to anyone else is added to the estate where the gift was made to reduce the compulsory share or within the period the law provides. That means the value of the gifted flat "comes back" into the estate, the share is calculated with it included, and the donee compensates the entitled person for the difference.
In practice this rule raises several questions over which disputes run: which gifts count (all, or only those within a certain period), how gifted property is valued (at the date of the gift or the date of death), and what happens when a gift is disguised as a sale. In the last case the lawyer proves the sale was a sham - no price was paid, the "buyer" is a child, the sum does not appear in any bank statement - and classifies the transaction as a gift that is added back. Bank statements and the registry history are the main evidence here.
A life maintenance contract is a separate case: it is for consideration (the carer performs a duty of maintenance) and as a rule is not added back - but where maintenance was never actually provided, the contract was signed in the final months or the carer is an heir anyway, the lawyer raises sham or voidness. Absent that, a life maintenance contract is the most effective instrument for protecting property from the compulsory share - which the planning page also describes.
What a Compulsory Share Dispute Rests On
- One half
- The compulsory share is half of the intestate share - what the entitled person would have received without a will, counting all heirs by law. Incapacity to work or age does not change the amount.
- First order
- Only children (including adopted children and children born outside marriage with paternity established), a spouse by registered marriage and parents are entitled. Grandchildren - only in place of a deceased child.
- Deadline
- The compulsory share is claimed under the general rules of acceptance - an application to the notary within six months or actual possession; a court dispute runs under the general limitation period from learning of the breach. The share is not separated automatically - without a claim it is lost.
- Deprivation
- The testator may deprive an heir of the compulsory share in the will where the heir is unworthy - for a deliberate crime against the testator or wilful evasion of a duty of maintenance; the deprivation must be reasoned and is reviewed by the court. A "bad relationship" is not a ground.
- Renunciation
- The entitled person may renounce the compulsory share - but not in favour of someone else: a renounced share stays with the heir under the will. Renunciation is notarised and cannot be reversed.
- Reduction by what was received
- Where the entitled person received something under the will or as a gift from the testator during life, that counts towards the compulsory share; only the difference is claimed. The rule works in both directions and makes the calculation symmetrical.
What to Bring to a Compulsory Share Consultation
- A copy of the will or an extract from the unified register and documents proving your kinship - to confirm the first order.
- The full list of heirs: every child from every marriage, the spouse, the parents - as of the day of death.
- The list of assets on the day of death and the registry history for the last several years - what the testator transferred, when and to whom.
- Gift, sale or life maintenance contracts, where known, and bank statements confirming or refuting payment of the price.
- Documents on debts and estate expenses - the estate is calculated net of debts.
- Whatever you yourself received from the testator under the will or during life - it counts towards the share and the lawyer must know in advance.
Three Compulsory Share Cases
A flat gifted eight months before death
A father gifted the flat to one daughter and died seven months later; only an account with a small balance remained in the estate. The other daughter claimed her compulsory share. The lawyer: the gift is added back, the flat's market value on the day of death by independent valuation, the compulsory share of 1/4 of that value plus 1/4 of the account. The court ordered the donee daughter to pay compensation; in a later settlement 1/4 of the flat was transferred in kind.
A "sale" to a son for which no money was paid
The testator "sold" the house to his son at a fifth of market value; the other son and the spouse claimed their compulsory shares. The lawyer: no movement of funds in the bank statements, the "buyer" had no income in that period, the price was a sham - the transaction is a gift and is added back. The court included the full value of the house in the estate; the spouse and the other son each received 1/6 by compensation.
A compulsory share withheld - and restored by the court
In the will the testator "deprived" his son of the compulsory share because "he had not seen him for ten years". The son challenged the deprivation. The lawyer: the only ground for deprivation is unworthiness - a crime against the testator or wilful evasion of a duty of maintenance; a breakdown in the relationship, at the testator's own initiative, is not a ground, and no duty of maintenance existed (the testator was provided for). The deprivation was declared void and the share restored.
Questions About the Compulsory Share
My name is not in the will at all. Am I still entitled to a compulsory share?
If you are an heir of the first order - a child, spouse or parent - yes, whatever the will says: a will cannot exclude the compulsory share, it can only withhold it on a reasoned ground of unworthiness. The share is half of the intestate share and must be claimed - an application to the notary within six months under the general rules of acceptance, otherwise the right is lost like any inheritance.
My father gave everything away during his life and there is nothing in the estate. Is the compulsory share half of zero?
Not if the giving away was by gift: when calculating the compulsory share, gifted property comes back into the estate and the donees compensate the entitled person for the difference. The lawyer establishes from the registry history what was gifted and when and assesses whether each transaction is added back; a disguised sale is classified as a gift. The main limitation is time - the earlier the gift, the harder it is to add back.
The compulsory share is 1/6 of the flat. Does that mean I live in the flat?
Not necessarily - the share is a category of value and is separated in kind (co-ownership in the registry), by compensation (the heir under the will pays the value of 1/6) or by a combination. Co-ownership of one room in a flat where another heir lives is left in practice without use or sale; the lawyer usually advises compensation or a buy-out under the pre-emption right, unless you need the flat yourself.
The heir under the will has no money for compensation. What then?
Then the share is separated in kind - an ideal share of the property in the registry - and the rules on dividing common property then apply: buy-out by instalments, sale and division of the proceeds, or co-ownership. Compensation by instalments under a settlement is often the best outcome for both, with security (a mortgage over the share). The lawyer arranges these options before or in court through a settlement.
I am the heir under the will. How do I lawfully reduce a compulsory share claim?
Check: the claimant is genuinely of the first order and the claim is in time; the estate is correctly calculated (debts and estate expenses deducted, the spouse's marital share separated); whether the claimant themselves received anything from the testator during life - it counts towards the share; the valuation is realistic. On these four points the lawyer often reduces the share materially, within the law and without a dispute.
Lawyers for the Compulsory Share
A compulsory share case rests on calculating the estate correctly - gifts added back, debts deducted, a realistic valuation - and on a deadline that is the ordinary inheritance deadline. 15 minutes after your request the coordinator connects you with a lawyer who runs compulsory share and add-back cases in court.
No published lawyers in this category yet
That does not mean we cannot help. Call us - we will match you with a specialist for a remote consultation or from a nearby city.
Call: 568 330 318Left Out of the Will, or the Estate Was "Emptied" During Life?
At a free consultation the lawyer calculates your compulsory share in real figures, tells you which gifted property comes back into the estate and by which day the application must be filed with the notary. The coordinator's call comes 15 minutes after you send the form.