Austrian law distinguishes between four orders, the so-called. „Lines“ (§ 731 ABGB). Relatives of a closer line exclude relatives of the more distant line from the inheritance (see Section 730 ABGB). Within an order, the ascendants exclude their own descendants from the succession (children of the deceased exclude their grandchildren). The inheritance share of the closest relatives is calculated on a per capita basis (see Section 732 sentence 2, Sections 733, 735 sentence 2 ABGB). If an authorised person has predeceased the deceased, their descendants take their place.
The first line consists of the deceased's children and their descendants (Sections 731 I, 732-734 ABGB), whereby no distinction is made here between legitimate and illegitimate children.
The second line consists of the testator's parents and their descendants (Section 731 II, Sections 735-737 ABGB). If a parent has predeceased the deceased and leaves no descendants, the estate is inherited by the parent who is still alive (Section 737 sentence 1 ABGB).
The third line consists of the deceased's grandparents and the siblings of his parents (uncles and aunts of the deceased) and their descendants (§ 731 III, §§ 738-740 ABGB).
Example: Spouses M and F live in Austria under the statutory matrimonial property regime. They have two children together. M has another child from a previous partnership.
We deal with the inheritance rights of the surviving spouse in this article. All children are members of the first line. They inherit with equal rights. Children born out of wedlock are also treated equally. The spouse receives one third. The three children share the remaining two thirds, so that each receives two ninths. Your specialist inheritance lawyer in Düsseldorf and Krefeld, Dr Michael Gottschalk, will be happy to answer any further questions you may have.