In addition to inheritance law, the statutory matrimonial property regime has an influence on the specific inheritance share of the surviving spouse.
Property law
Belgium has a different statutory matrimonial property regime. In Germany, the prevailing regime is the community of accrued gains. Under this regime, each spouse's property remains their own during the marriage. As a rule, assets acquired during the marriage also do not become joint property. Any increase in assets is only divided monetaryly after the marriage.
In Belgium, assets acquired during marriage generally become joint property of the spouses. This means that in the event of death, two categories of assets must be distinguished: separate property and community property. What the surviving spouse inherits is explained below.
The law of inheritance
Besides descendants of the first group In addition to their share under matrimonial property law, the surviving spouse receives a right of use to all of the deceased's separate property. If the spouses lived under the statutory matrimonial property regime of community of accrued gains, they also receive a right of use to the portion of the community property that belonged to the other spouse before the death, Article 745 of the Swiss Civil Code. The remaining portion of the community property is already theirs under matrimonial property law.
Besides relatives from the second and third groups If the community of property exists, he inherits ownership of the testator's share of the total property and a right of use to his own part of it.
Besides the other relatives The surviving spouse is the sole heir.