Does a cohabiting partner inherit in Finland?
No — a cohabiting partner never inherits without a will. Finnish inheritance law doesn't recognise cohabitants: without a will the estate goes to children, parents or siblings — the partner can be left empty-handed in a home registered to the deceased. The Cohabitation Act (5+ years together or a common child) protects at SEPARATION: property separation and compensation where one partner's contributions enriched the other. For death, the only tools are a will, life insurance beneficiary designations and joint ownership.
📋 The rules
- Cohabitants have no statutory inheritance right — without a will, direct heirs or other relatives inherit, never partners.
- The Cohabitation Act applies after 5 years of shared household or with a common child (current or past).
- At separation each keeps property in their own name — the name principle governs.
- Compensation: contributions to the shared household (money, work, care) can ground a claim where the other would otherwise gain unjust enrichment.
- Inheritance tax on a testamentary gift to a partner falls in the harsher class 2 — unless a common child (or prior marriage) shifts treatment to class 1.
🔓 Exceptions
- A common child brings tax class 1 for testamentary gifts — and courts can grant discretionary assistance from the estate.
- Joint ownership (half the home each) protects most effectively in practice — your share doesn't pass to their heirs.
⚠️ Penalties
No sanctions — but the price of not planning is brutal: a surviving partner may have to buy their home from the heirs or move out. A will plus beneficiary designations is cheap insurance.
📎 Sources
- Finlex · Act on Dissolution of Cohabiting Households 26/2011 →
- Finlex · Code of Inheritance 40/1965 →
- Tax Administration · Inheritance tax classes →
❓ Frequently asked questions
Does a partner of 20 years inherit anything?
Not without a will — duration creates no inheritance right. The protections are a will, insurance beneficiary designations and joint ownership.
What is the Cohabitation Act's compensation?
A claim at separation (or against the estate) for contributions — money, renovations, care work — that enriched the other. Unjust enrichment gets compensated.
Can the survivor stay in the shared home?
Only by owning a share, receiving it by will, or the heirs' consent — the spousal right of occupancy doesn't extend to cohabitants.
How is a testamentary gift to a partner taxed?
Class 2 (harsher) — unless you have or had a common child, which brings class 1.
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