Brief remarks on the ability of spouses to renounce forc ed heirship rights in portuguese law

Abstract

Since the legal reform of the Portuguese  Civil Code set forth on Decree-law  n. 496/77, forced heirship rights were extended  to surviving spouses, which enabled them to succeed  jointly with descendants of the deceased (if  they exist) or ascendants (in case there are no  descendants of the deceased), or to succeed as  the only forced heir (in case there are no descendants  or ascendants of the deceased), whereas  succession pacts are admitted only on cases expressly  permitted by law. On the other hand, Portuguese  Law n. 48/2018 introduced an exception  to the general rule of prohibition of renouncement  of succession rights, by allowing spouses  to mutually renounce forced heirship rights, as  long as certain legal conditions are met. In order  to protect the spouses who renounce such  rights, certain rights are still withheld to them,  such as the right to housing on the family’s main  residence and the use of its furniture.