Legal Tips
Inheritance in Croatia: What International Heirs Need to Know
When someone who owns property in Croatia dies, the Croatian property forms part of an estate with a cross-border dimension. Which country's law applies depends on where the deceased was habitually resident at the time of death — not where the property is located. For heirs, this still means two legal systems, two sets of procedures, and requirements that don't always fit together neatly.
The EU Succession Regulation (EU 650/2012)
Since August 2015, the EU Succession Regulation has applied in all EU member states (except Denmark and Ireland). It determines which national law governs a cross-border estate.
The basic rule:
The law of the country where the deceased was habitually resident at the time of death applies to the entire estate — including assets in other EU member states.
Choice of law:
EU citizens can elect in their will for the law of their nationality to govern their succession. A German national living in Croatia could specify that German law applies to their entire estate.
The European Certificate of Succession (ECS):
This document, issued by the competent authority of the member state handling the estate, allows an inheritance to be administered in another EU member state without the need for a separate local probate process.
Where it gets more complicated in Croatian practice
The ECS simplifies the recognition of inheritance rights considerably — but it doesn't solve everything.
Many legal systems applying the ECS work on the principle of universal succession: the entire estate passes to the heirs as a whole, without individual assets being itemised. Estate decisions and ECS documents from these jurisdictions often contain no description of specific assets.
Croatian land registry law, however, requires a precise description of the specific property being transferred — including its land registry designation, plot number, and area — before the entry can be made. In practice: even where the probate process abroad is fully concluded and an ECS exists, a supplementary document under Croatian law must be prepared before the Croatian land registry entry can be made. This is not a second probate process — it is an administrative step that cannot be completed without a Croatian lawyer.
Co-ownership: the most frequent complication
Where multiple people inherit a property jointly, they hold it as co-owners (suvlasnička zajednica) under Croatian law. While this arrangement exists, no individual co-owner can sell, let, or alter the property without the consent of all the others.
Resolving these arrangements is often the most complex part of an estate matter — particularly where the co-owners live in different countries, have different interests, or where the original estate was never fully settled across several generations. Agreed solutions — transfer to one owner, joint sale, division of the property — are generally preferable to court proceedings. We assist in finding workable solutions and documenting them properly.
Wills and estate planning
Anyone who owns property in Croatia should consider, at any age, how they want the inheritance to be handled. A Croatian will is possible and advisable, particularly when a specific person should inherit the Croatian property, or when the ownership structure should be arranged during the owner's lifetime to simplify the future estate.
Further reading: Inheritance and Estates and Croatian Probate and the European Certificate of Succession.
We advise on estate planning and draft wills under Croatian law. If you have questions about a specific estate situation or want to plan ahead, get in touch — no obligation.