Disinheritance due to "lack of interest": am I still entitled to an inheritance?

Disinheritance due to “lack of interest”: am I still entitled to an inheritance?

31. May 2026

2 minutes of reading

Legal news

A client contacted us with a question, “After my mother died, it turned out that she had made a will in favor of my brother. He claims that my mother disinherited me at the same time because I had not shown any interest in her for a long time. I don’t agree – we hadn’t had a close relationship for several years, but I had repeatedly tried to contact her and she had rather refused contact. Do I still have a chance to inherit anything?”

The mere allegation by the other heir that there has been a disinheritance does not mean that everything is legally in order. In the case of descendants, the law protects the so-called obligatory share and a valid disinheritance is only possible on legal grounds. In cases like this, it is crucial to determine whether there is a disinheritance document at all, how it is worded and whether the alleged reason can actually be proven.

We would first investigate whether the mother actually made a separate declaration of disinheritance or whether it was just a case of her omitting you from the will. That’s an important distinction. If you are a non-passing heir and there is no valid disinheritance, you may still be entitled to at least a mandatory share despite the will. It is not enough to make a general statement that you were “not interested”. It must be clear that there was a genuine and long-standing lack of interest on your part and not a relationship breakdown for which the testatrix was also responsible.

In practice, it is mainly the evidence that is decisive: messages, emails, witnesses, attempts at contact or, conversely, circumstances that show that the relationship was broken off at the parent’s initiative. If a valid disinheritance is not proven, you can claim your obligatory share, even if the majority of the property was bequeathed to the brother by the will.