Can I disinherit my child in my will?
Only on a statutory ground — a child is a forced heir, and a will cannot simply skip over one. A descendant is entitled to a forced share of one half of what he would inherit under intestacy (Inheritance Act, Art. 70(3)). A will defeats that only by an express exclusion on one of the four grounds in Art. 85, or by divesting an over-indebted or spendthrift descendant in favour of his own children (Art. 88). The belief "I can leave everything to whomever I like" is wrong — but so is its mirror image, "a child can never be disinherited". The catch few people know: the forced share is never applied ex officio — if the heir does not claim it within 3 years, the will stands exactly as written.
📋 The rules
- Forced heirs (Inheritance Act, Art. 69, NN 48/03 — NN is Narodne novine, the official gazette): descendants, adoptees and their descendants, and the spouse (a cohabiting partner is equated with a spouse, Art. 8(2)), whenever they are called to the estate. Parents, adoptive parents and other ascendants are forced heirs only if they are permanently unfit for work and without the means to live.
- The size (Art. 70(3)): descendants, adoptees and the spouse — one half of what they would take under intestacy; the conditional group (parents and ascendants) — one third. The testator may direct that the forced share be satisfied in specified assets, rights or money (para. 4). Dispositions infringing the forced share are voidable, not void — the heir must challenge them himself.
- Exclusion (Arts. 85–87): the testator may exclude a forced heir wholly or in part where the heir (1) gravely wronged him by breaching a legal or moral family duty, (2) intentionally committed a serious criminal offence against him, his spouse, child or parent, (3) committed an offence against the Republic of Croatia or against values protected by international law, or (4) gave himself over to idleness and a dishonest life. The exclusion must be express in the will and must state the ground, the ground must exist when the will is written, and in a dispute it is proved by whoever relies on it. The excluded heir is treated as having died before the testator — so his children step into his place.
- Divestment (Art. 88): an over-indebted descendant or a spendthrift may be divested of the forced share, but only in favour of his own descendants, and only if at the opening of the succession he has a minor child or grandchild, or an adult child or grandchild unfit for work and without means.
- Form and deadlines: a will may be holographic (written and signed entirely by hand, Art. 30), written before 2 witnesses present at the same time (Art. 31 — close relatives cannot be witnesses) or public (judge, court adviser, notary or consul, Art. 32; a court will costs EUR 140 under the 2026 tariff). A forced heir must seek the reduction of testamentary dispositions within 3 years of the will being read, and the return of gifts within 3 years of the testator's death.
🔓 Exceptions
- The forced share is never applied ex officio: if the child does not raise the claim in the probate proceedings (or misses the 3-year deadline for reducing dispositions and clawing back gifts), the will stands exactly as written — silence means losing the forced share.
- Grounds for exclusion are examined strictly: the court requires the stated ground to have actually existed when the will was written; a vague "we stopped speaking" will not normally do, and if the exclusion falls, the child takes the full forced share despite the will.
- Lifetime dispositions lawfully bypass the will: property validly transferred during life — for instance under a lifetime or until-death maintenance contract, which is not a gift — does not enter the estate. Ordinary gifts, however, are counted into the computational value and can be clawed back within the three-year window.
⚠️ Penalties & fines
There are no fines here — the sanction is that the will partly falls: testamentary dispositions are cut back to satisfy the forced share, and gifts can be pulled back into the estate. The less obvious costs: (1) whoever invokes the exclusion must prove it, often in a separate lawsuit that can eat the value of the estate; (2) because an excluded heir is treated as having died before the testator, his children step into his place for the forced share, unless the will expressly covers them too; (3) the heirs still pay the probate fee on the net value of the estate (Tar. no. 11, NN 50/2026: from EUR 30 up to a maximum of EUR 700).
📎 Official sources
- zakon.hr · front page of the statute register — look up the Inheritance Act (consolidated text) →
- narodne-novine.nn.hr · front page of the official gazette — the Inheritance Act (NN 48/03) and the tariff NN 50/2026 →
- gov.hr · front page of the central government portal — the inheritance section →
❓ Frequently asked
How big is a child's forced share?
A descendant takes half of what he would have inherited had there been no will. Parents and ascendants take a third, and only if they are permanently unfit for work and without means; a spouse or cohabiting partner sits in the same group as descendants.
Is it enough to write "I disinherit my son" in the will?
It is not: the exclusion must be express and must state one of the four statutory grounds in Art. 85, and that ground must really have existed when the will was written. If it does not survive scrutiny in court, the child takes the full forced share.
If I exclude my child, do his children inherit instead?
Yes — an excluded heir is treated as having died before the testator, so his descendants step into his place. If you want to avoid that as well, the will has to cover them expressly.
Can I bypass the forced share by giving things away while I am alive?
Ordinary gifts are counted into the computational value of the estate and can be clawed back within three years of the testator's death. A lifetime or until-death maintenance contract is not a gift, and property passing under it never enters the estate.
How long do I have to claim my forced share?
The reduction of testamentary dispositions must be sought within three years of the will being read, and the return of gifts within three years of the testator's death. The forced share is never applied ex officio, so a missed deadline means the right is simply gone.
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