Do I need to come to Lithuania to accept an inheritance?

Usually not. You can sign a power of attorney before a notary in your country, with an apostille where needed, or at a Lithuanian embassy or consulate. Your representative then applies to the Lithuanian notary for you and handles the paperwork.

When does the three-month period start?

From the day the inheritance opens, which is normally the day of death. It does not start when you find out about the death or when you receive a letter from the notary.

I missed the three months. Have I lost the inheritance?

Not necessarily. A court can extend the deadline if you had a good reason for missing it, and you can still accept late without going to court if all the heirs who have accepted agree. But you get back only what is still there, or the money from what was sold.

Which notary do I go to?

The notary at the place where the inheritance opened, which is the deceased's last permanent place of residence in Lithuania. The Lithuanian Chamber of Notaries lists notaries and the areas they cover.

My brother lives in the flat and says he has accepted for everyone. Is that right?

No. Each heir accepts for themselves. Your brother may have accepted his own share by living in and looking after the flat, but you still need to accept yours within three months, or arrange for someone to do it for you.

Can I sell the inherited flat from abroad?

Yes. After you receive the certificate of inheritance and the flat is registered in your name, a representative with a power of attorney can sell it for you. If there are several heirs, you own the flat together until you agree how to divide it, so a sale needs everyone's agreement.

Inheriting in Lithuania from abroad: a step-by-step guide

There is no probate in Lithuania

If you come from the UK or Ireland, you may expect a probate process: a court grant, an executor who collects the assets, pays the debts and only then distributes what is left. Lithuania does not work that way.

In Lithuania, the estate passes directly to the heirs. Each heir has to accept the inheritance. A notary at the place where the inheritance opened records the acceptance and later issues a certificate of inheritance (paveldėjimo teisės liudijimas). With that certificate, property is registered in the heirs’ names and banks release money. A court becomes involved only if something is disputed, a deadline has been missed, or the estate needs an administrator.

An executor exists in Lithuanian law too, but only if the will names one. Most estates are settled by the heirs themselves through the notary.

First question: which country deals with the inheritance

Before the Lithuanian steps, check which country’s authorities are in charge. Since 17 August 2015, the EU Succession Regulation decides this for deaths with a cross-border element.

The main rule is simple: the country where the deceased had their habitual residence at death deals with the whole estate and, as a rule, its law applies.

Your mother lived in Vilnius all her life and you live in London. The Lithuanian notary deals with the estate under Lithuanian law. Your living abroad does not change that.
Your father lived in Germany for twenty years but kept a flat in Lithuania. German authorities and German law are the starting point, even for the Lithuanian flat, unless he chose Lithuanian law in a will. You may still need a Lithuanian notary to register the flat.

The full picture, including what happens when the deceased lived in the UK, Norway or Ireland, is in which country’s law applies to an inheritance. The rest of this guide assumes the inheritance is handled in Lithuania.

Step by step

1. Find out about the will

Ask the notary to check the Lithuanian will register. Notaries and Lithuanian consular officers must report every will they certify or take into safekeeping, so the register shows whether an official will exists and where it is kept. A handwritten will that was never deposited does not appear in the register. If you find one, it must be submitted to a court for confirmation within one year of the death, otherwise it has no effect.

If there is no valid will, the law decides who inherits: first the children and the surviving spouse, then parents and grandchildren, and so on. Our guide to wills for international families explains the order of heirs and the spouse’s share.

2. Accept within three months

You have three months from the day of death to accept. There are two ways:

Apply to the notary at the place where the inheritance opened, normally the deceased’s last permanent residence.
Take over the property in practice: live in the flat, pay its bills and taxes, look after it, use the car. Taking over even one item counts as accepting the whole inheritance.

For someone living abroad, the second way rarely works, and it is hard to prove later. Apply to the notary.

You cannot accept part of an inheritance, or accept it with conditions. It is all or nothing.

3. Decide how to deal with debts

This is the step people skip and later regret. If you accept in the usual way, you become liable for the deceased’s debts with all your own assets, and jointly with the other heirs who accepted the same way. If you are not sure what the deceased owed, you can ask to accept on the basis of an inventory: a bailiff lists the assets and debts, and your liability is then limited to what you inherit.

The details, and the option of refusing, are in our guide to deadlines, refusing an inheritance and the deceased’s debts.

4. Get the certificate of inheritance

The notary issues the certificate once three months have passed since the death, or earlier if it is clear there are no other heirs. Before issuing it, the notary calculates any inheritance tax, which must be paid first. For close family it is usually zero: see inheritance tax in Lithuania.

The certificate is the document you use in Lithuania. If you need to prove your rights in another EU country, ask for a European Certificate of Succession as well.

5. Register the property and divide it

With the certificate, real estate is registered in your name in the Real Property Register, and banks pay out accounts. If several people inherit, they own everything together in shares until they divide it. A division of real estate needs a notarial agreement. If the heirs cannot agree, any of them can ask a court to divide the estate.

Until three months have passed or the certificate is issued, an heir who has taken over the property cannot sell or mortgage it. They can pay for the funeral, maintain the property and cover similar urgent costs.

Doing it from abroad

Most of this can be done without travelling:

Power of attorney. Sign it before a notary where you live, with an apostille if your country requires one for Lithuania, or at a Lithuanian embassy or consulate. It should clearly cover accepting the inheritance, dealing with the notary, banks and the Real Property Register, and, if you want, selling.
Documents. The death certificate, documents proving your relationship to the deceased (birth and marriage certificates) and your identity documents. Foreign documents need a Lithuanian translation. See documents from abroad.
Declarations in your own country. In some EU countries you can make a declaration accepting or refusing an inheritance before a local authority, and EU rules recognise it. If you do this, make sure the Lithuanian notary learns about it within the three months.

Common mistakes

Waiting for a letter

The notary may contact known heirs, but the three months run regardless. Do not wait for anyone to tell you what to do.

Assuming one heir acts for all

A sibling who lives in the flat accepts only for themselves.

Ignoring debts

Unpaid loans, utility bills and guarantees pass to the heirs. Check before you accept.

Forgetting assets in other countries

A Lithuanian certificate does not by itself release a bank account in Ireland or a pension in the UK. Each country has its own procedure.

Inheriting property in Lithuania when you live abroad