It is the most common question when someone dies without a will: how much goes to the widow or widower, and how much to the children? The Portuguese answer comes in two steps that many people merge into one — and that confusion is where most sibling disputes begin.
Step 1 — The meação is not inheritance
If the couple was married under community of acquired property (the most common regime in Portugal) or full community, half of the common property already belongs to the surviving spouse. That half is called the meação. It is not inherited and not divided: it is already theirs.
Only the other half — plus the deceased's own separate property — forms the estate to be shared. Under separation of property, there is no meação: each spouse had their own assets, and everything belonging to the deceased enters the estate.
Step 2 — Intestate succession, and the one-quarter rule
Without a will, the estate is divided per capita between the spouse and the children, all on the same line. One protection applies: the spouse's share can never fall below one quarter of the estate (article 2139 of the Portuguese Civil Code). That floor only bites from four children onwards — below that, an equal split already gives the spouse more than a quarter.
Worked examples
- Spouse + 1 child — one half each.
- Spouse + 2 children — one third each.
- Spouse + 3 children — one quarter each.
- Spouse + 4 children — an equal split would give the spouse one fifth, below the minimum: the spouse takes 1/4 and the four children share the remaining 3/4, that is 3/16 each.
- Children with no surviving spouse — equal shares between them.
What if there is a will?
A will cannot disinherit those the law protects. Spouse, descendants and ascendants are forced heirs: a reserved portion of the estate, the legítima, belongs to them. Where there is a spouse and children, it is two thirds; the remaining third is the disposable portion the deceased could leave freely. The number of children does not change the reserved portion — only each individual share.
An important note on de facto unions
A de facto partner is not a forced heir. They may hold other rights, notably over the family home, but they do not inherit automatically as a spouse does. It is one of the largest misunderstandings inside families.
Knowing the shares is not enough: the partition is missing
Knowing your fraction gives you ownership of nothing in particular. Until the partition is done, nobody owns the house: each person holds a share of the whole. The estate stays undivided — and that is precisely the state Law no. 49/2026, published in the official gazette on 17 August 2026, is designed to change. The regime is not yet in force: the Government has 180 days to approve it.
A general rule, not a diagnosis
This page explains the rules as the law sets them out. Applying them to a specific family requires knowing the matrimonial regime, separate property, lifetime gifts and any wills — that is a lawyer's work, and HERDA refers you to independent lawyers.