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This guide explains how inheritance works in Lebanon: the two systems that govern who inherits, the protected shares the law reserves for close relatives, and the two practical steps every estate must go through, namely the certificate of inheritance and the estate transfer tax. It is written for heirs and families abroad who need to settle an estate in Lebanon from a distance. It is an orientation guide and does not replace legal advice on the particular estate.

One Country, Two Systems of Inheritance

Lebanon has no single civil code of inheritance. Succession is governed by the community of the deceased, and the rules differ sharply between the two systems.

For Muslims, inheritance follows Islamic law and is administered by the religious courts: the Sunni and Jaafari Sharia courts, and the Druze courts for the Druze community. Shares are fixed by the religious rules of succession, a son generally takes twice the share of a daughter, and the surviving spouse, the parents, and other relatives each receive a determined fraction. A Muslim may dispose of up to one third of the estate by will in favour of a person who is not already an heir; the remaining two thirds devolve by the fixed shares.

For non-Muslims, that is Christians of the various denominations and Jews, inheritance is governed by a civil statute: the Law of 23 June 1959 on the inheritance of non-Mohammedans. This law sets out who inherits when there is no will (intestate succession), reserves a protected portion for the closest heirs, and allows the deceased to dispose freely of the rest by will. Wills of non-Mohammedans are themselves governed by the Decree-Law of 7 March 1929.

Where the estate involves a foreign national, the succession may be affected by the Law of 18 June 1929 and by the conflict-of-laws rules that decide which country’s law applies to which assets. Heirs of mixed or foreign families should have this question settled at the outset, because it determines everything that follows.

Who Inherits, and the Protected Share

Under the 1959 law that governs non-Muslim estates, the law does not leave the closest relatives entirely at the mercy of a will. Certain heirs are “reserved heirs” (réservataires) who are entitled to a minimum protected share of the estate that a will cannot defeat. The surviving spouse is among them (Article 58 of the Law of 23 June 1959), alongside the descendants and, in their absence, the ascendants. The size of the reserved share depends on which heirs survive and how many there are (Articles 59 to 64). Only a reserved heir has standing to ask a court to cut down a will that trespasses on the reserved portion, by an action known as réduction (Article 65).

When there is no will, the estate passes by the intestate shares the statute fixes for each class of heir, the spouse taking a quarter where descendants survive (Article 20). The detail of these shares, and how the reserved portion is calculated, is set out in our dedicated guide to Christian and non-Muslim inheritance shares under the 1959 law. To see the figures for a particular family, our inheritance shares calculator applies the statute automatically.

For Muslim estates, the protected-share logic works differently: the fixed shares of Islamic succession already determine each heir’s entitlement, and the freedom to make a bequest is confined to the optional one third in favour of a non-heir.

The Two Steps Every Estate Must Pass Through

Whatever the system, settling an estate in Lebanon runs through two practical channels that heirs cannot avoid.

The first is the certificate of inheritance, the Probate Decision (قرار حصر الإرث) issued by the competent court. It establishes the death, identifies the heirs, and fixes each heir’s share. Nothing in the estate, neither real property, nor a bank account, nor a company shareholding, can be transferred into the heirs’ names until this decision exists. Obtaining it requires the death certificate, the family civil-status records with the deceased’s name struck off, the mukhtar’s statement of heirs, and the declaration licence from the Ministry of Finance.

The second is the estate transfer tax (رسم الانتقال), assessed by the Ministry of Finance on each heir’s individual share before the estate can be released. It is imposed under Legislative Decree No. 146 of 12 June 1959, as amended, and its rates and exemptions have been recalibrated repeatedly in recent years, so most figures circulating online are out of date. We set out the current rates, the per-heir exemptions, and a worked example in our guide to inheritance tax in Lebanon, and our inheritance tax calculator estimates the tax on a given share.

These two steps are linked in sequence: the preliminary estate declaration to the Ministry of Finance comes first, and the licence it produces is itself one of the documents needed to obtain the Probate Decision. The full filing sequence, the deadlines, the bank-account inquiry, and the real-estate transfer are set out step by step in our probate, inheritance and asset-transfer procedure guide.

Special Concerns for Heirs Abroad

Distance turns a manageable file into a difficult one. Several points recur for diaspora families.

Documents executed abroad, a death certificate, a power of attorney, a marriage or birth record, generally need to pass through the Lebanese embassy or consulate and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before they are usable in Lebanon, and a death abroad must be reported so the deceased’s name is removed from the Lebanese civil-status records. This consular chain takes time and should be started early.

Heirs who cannot travel act through a power of attorney granted to counsel or to a trusted relative in Lebanon, drawn so that it covers every step: the declaration, the Probate Decision, the tax settlement, and the transfer or sale of the assets. Where all the heirs were outside Lebanon at the date of death, or the events giving rise to the transfer occurred abroad, the tax administration may, at its discretion, extend the declaration deadline up to one year (Article 24 of Legislative Decree 146/1959); for deaths abroad the file is handled by the Beirut transfer-fee department. The practical workflow for settling an estate remotely is covered in claiming an inheritance in Lebanon from abroad.

Wills and Estate Planning

A well-drawn will, made within the limits the law allows, spares heirs much of the later dispute. For non-Muslims, the disposable portion can be directed by will provided the reserved shares of the protected heirs are respected, and the will must meet the form requirements of the Decree-Law of 7 March 1929 (Articles 54 to 56 of the Law of 23 June 1959). For Muslims, the bequest is confined to the optional one third in favour of a non-heir. Our note on wills and testaments in Lebanon sets out the forms and their limits.

How We Help

Settling a Lebanese estate from abroad is mostly a question of sequencing documents correctly and acting on time. We represent heirs in obtaining the Probate Decision, declaring the estate and settling the transfer tax, releasing bank accounts and real property, and, where the shares are disputed, before the competent courts. We act throughout under a power of attorney, so that heirs abroad need not travel.

Related resources:

• Inheritance Tax in Lebanon: Rates, Exemptions and How to Calculate It
• Christian and Non-Muslim Inheritance in Lebanon: Shares Under the 1959 Law
• Probate, Inheritance and Asset Transfer in Lebanon: Procedure and Inheritance Tax
• Wills and Testaments in Lebanon
• Inheritance Tax Calculator
• Inheritance Shares Calculator
• Probate, Inheritance and Estate Planning (practice page)

References: Law of 23 June 1959 on the inheritance of non-Mohammedans (Articles 20, 54 to 65); Decree-Law of 7 March 1929 (wills of non-Mohammedans); Legislative Decree No. 146 of 12 June 1959 on the transfer fee, as amended; Law of 18 June 1929 (inheritance involving foreigners).