Do I need a separate Romanian will if I already have a foreign will

Not always, but it is often advisable if you own significant assets in Romania. A single foreign will may be formally valid in Romania, especially under the 1973 Hague Convention on the Form of Testamentary Dispositions, but it can create interpretation difficulties and may clash with Romanian forced heirship rules. In many cases, it is safer either to have a coordinated Romanian notarial will dealing with Romanian assets or to ensure that your foreign will clearly covers those assets and respects the reserved shares of Romanian forced heirs.

Can I choose that my home country law applies to my Romanian assets

Yes. Under Article 22 of Regulation (EU) No 650/2012, a person with cross-border connections can choose the law of the State of his or her nationality to govern the succession as a whole. This choice can cover Romanian assets as well as assets in other EU countries. However, Romanian authorities may still invoke public policy to protect close family members where the chosen law would lead to extreme results, for example a complete disinheritance of children or spouse.

Who are the forced heirs in Romanian law and what is their reserved share

Forced heirs in Romanian law are the descendants of the deceased, the surviving spouse and the privileged ascendants, meaning the parents of the deceased. Each forced heir is entitled to a reserved portion of the estate, which is generally equal to half of the share that heir would receive as a legal heir in intestacy. The remaining part of the estate is the disposable portion, which the testator can freely allocate by will or gifts, subject to claw-back rules if the reserved shares are infringed.

How does the EU Succession Regulation affect succession of Romanian property

For deaths on or after 17 August 2015, the EU Succession Regulation applies to most cross-border successions involving Romanian property. As a rule, the law of the State where the deceased had his or her habitual residence at the time of death will govern the succession as a whole, and the authorities of that State have jurisdiction. The Regulation also allows a person to choose the law of his or her nationality for the succession. Romanian notaries and courts will apply these rules when handling estates with foreign elements and will recognise decisions and certificates from other EU Member States.

What happens if I die without a will owning property in Romania

If you die without a will, Romanian intestacy rules will normally determine who inherits your property, unless a different law applies under the EU Succession Regulation. In Romania, descendants, spouse and, in some cases, parents and collaterals inherit in a statutory order and proportions. The surviving spouse and children are strongly protected as forced heirs and will receive at least a reserved share. A notary in Romania will open the succession, identify the heirs and issue a certificate of inheritance needed to register the new owners in the land book.

Estate planning for Romanian assets and cross-border wills

Romanians living abroad and foreign nationals with homes, land or business holdings in Romania increasingly find themselves caught between several legal systems when it comes to their estate planning. A flat in Bucharest co-exists with a bank account in London and a pension in Germany; children live in different countries; spouses may have different nationalities; and the family expects a single, coherent plan. In reality, however, without careful structuring, the inheritance of Romanian assets can splinter into parallel procedures, conflicting laws and unpleasant surprises around forced heirship and tax.

This article looks specifically at Romanian assets in a cross-border context. It is written for:

Romanian citizens in the diaspora who own property or investments in Romania and live in another EU Member State or outside the EU;
foreign nationals who have bought Romanian real estate, opened local bank accounts, or invested in Romanian companies; and
families where some heirs live in Romania and others abroad, or where spouses have different nationalities and different connections to Romania.

We will focus on four pillars:

Why a specific plan is needed for Romanian assets in cross-border estates;
The interaction between a Romanian will, a foreign will and a choice of law under the EU Succession Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 650/2012);
How forced heirship and the reserved share work in Romanian law and how they can limit freedom of testation; and
Practical drafting tips and clauses that make life easier for heirs, notaries and courts when the time comes.

The focus is on civil-law aspects. Tax issues and any regulatory restrictions on acquiring or owning specific categories of assets (such as agricultural land) should be assessed separately with specialised advisers.

Why a Specific Plan Is Needed for Romanian Assets

1. Cross-border estates are now the rule, not the exception

Free movement of persons and capital in the EU has made it normal for an estate to include assets in several countries. EU institutions estimate that hundreds of thousands of successions every year are cross-border, with a total value over EUR 100 billion. The EU Succession Regulation was adopted precisely because these situations create legal uncertainty and duplicate proceedings.

Romania is fully bound by this Regulation for deaths occurring on or after 17 August 2015. This means that, for most people with a connection to Romania and another EU Member State, the Regulation will govern jurisdiction, applicable law and recognition of decisions across the EU. However, the Regulation does not replace national succession law; it determines which national law applies. Romanian intestacy rules, forced heirship and formalities for wills still matter very much whenever Romanian law is selected or applies by default.

2. Real estate is always visible and hard to ignore

Real estate in Romania is transparent: each property is registered in the land book (cartea funciară) with a unique number, and succession can only be completed with notarial or judicial documents that allow registration of the heirs or buyers. A foreign executor or heir cannot simply deal with the flat or house “informally”. Without the right succession documentation, the land book will not be updated, which blocks any sale, mortgage or donation of the property.

This transparency is an advantage for legal certainty, but it also means that unplanned estates often hit a wall when it comes to Romanian property. Typical complications include:

separate succession procedures in the country of habitual residence and in Romania;
conflicting documents (for example, a UK grant of probate and a Romanian notarial certificate that do not fully match);
heirs who are minors or incapacitated under Romanian law, requiring additional authorisations; and
hidden forced heirship claims that surface when the notary reconstructs donations and lifetime gifts.

3. Romanian succession procedure is primarily notarial

In Romania, most successions are handled by public notaries, not by the courts. The notary verifies the circle of heirs, applies the applicable succession law (which may be Romanian or foreign under the EU Succession Regulation), checks whether a will exists, reconstructs the estate and then issues a certificate of inheritance that is used to register rights in the land book and other registries. Court intervention is generally reserved for disputes.

For cross-border estates this has several consequences:

the notary will require original documents (wills, grants of probate, civil status documents), often with apostille or legalisation and sworn translations;
if the EU Succession Regulation applies, the notary may request or issue a European Certificate of Succession (ECS), which is recognised in all participating Member States as proof of heirship and powers of the executor or administrator;
if foreign law applies to the succession as a whole, the notary must understand and apply that law, sometimes with the help of legal opinions.

The more fragmented and unclear the estate plan is, the more complex this notarial phase becomes. A tailored plan for Romanian assets aims to reduce doubt, provide clear instructions for the notary and coordinate with parallel procedures in other countries.

4. Why “one size fits all” wills often fail for Romanian assets

Many people living abroad sign a single “international” or “worldwide” will in their country of residence, assuming that this will smoothly control all their assets everywhere. This may work imperfectly or not at all for Romanian property, for at least three reasons:

Formal validity: a will that is perfectly valid in England or Canada might still raise questions in Romania (for example, if it is entirely handwritten but signed in front of a solicitor, or if it does not meet minimum requirements on signatures or date). The 1973 Hague Convention on the Form of Testamentary Dispositions, to which Romania is a party, mitigates some risks by providing generous conflict-of-law rules on form, but not every situation is clear-cut.
Interpretation problems: a will drafted with concepts from common law (trusts, executors with broad discretionary powers, life interests) may not map neatly onto Romanian civil-law concepts. Notaries and registries may struggle to implement it without additional court decisions.
Forced heirship: provisions that freely dispose of the whole estate might clash with mandatory reserved shares for children, spouse and (in some cases) parents under Romanian law, leading to partial invalidity or claw-back claims.

For these reasons, a separate or at least carefully coordinated plan for Romanian assets is often advisable, particularly where substantial real estate or business interests are involved.

Romanian Will vs. Foreign Will vs. Choice of Law under the EU Succession Regulation

1. The basic mechanics of the EU Succession Regulation

The EU Succession Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 650/2012) applies to succession of persons who die on or after 17 August 2015 and have cross-border elements, for almost all EU Member States, including Romania. Denmark and Ireland are not bound, but their citizens can still benefit from certain aspects when their estate is handled in another participating state.

The Regulation introduces two core ideas:

One court, one law: as a rule, the courts (or notaries) of the Member State of the deceased’s habitual residence at the time of death have jurisdiction to handle the succession and apply their own law to the succession as a whole. This is expressed in Article 4 (jurisdiction) and Article 21 (applicable law).
Choice of law by the testator: Article 22 allows any person to choose, in a will or similar disposition, that the law of the State of his or her nationality (or of one of the nationalities, in case of multiple citizenships) will govern the succession as a whole. This is often called a “professio iuris”.

In practice, this means that a Romanian living in Spain can choose Romanian law or Spanish law for his or her entire estate, including property in Romania and Spain. A German living in Romania can choose German law; if he does not, Romanian law (as law of habitual residence) will normally apply to the worldwide estate, subject to public policy exceptions.

2. Romanian law as the default for Romanians habitually resident in Romania

If a Romanian citizen lives and dies in Romania and has not chosen another law, the EU Succession Regulation simply confirms what domestic conflict-of-law rules would already do: Romanian law applies to the whole succession, regardless of where assets are located within the EU. The same will be true for many foreign nationals who are long-term residents in Romania and whose “centre of life” is clearly there.

In such cases, a will dealing with Romanian assets can follow Romanian concepts and terminology without worrying about foreign succession law. The complexity arises when:

the deceased lived mainly in another EU Member State (for example, Italy, Germany, Spain or France), but still owns Romanian property; or
the deceased is a non-EU national with strong ties to both Romania and another country (for example, a Canadian or US citizen who has retired in Transylvania).

3. Romanian will vs. foreign will: coordination, not competition

As a starting point, a person can validly have more than one will, provided they do not contradict each other or revoke each other accidentally. In cross-border practice, three approaches are common:

Single “universal” will: one will governed by a single law (for example, the law chosen under the EU Succession Regulation) that purports to dispose of all assets worldwide. This is elegant but can create implementation issues in jurisdictions unfamiliar with that law or with civil-law concepts.
Separate wills for each country: one will dealing with assets in the country of habitual residence, and one or more separate wills for Romanian or other foreign assets. Each will is drafted under the law best suited to those assets. The main risk is unintended revocation: a later will may be interpreted as revoking earlier wills if this is not expressly excluded.
Hybrid structure: a main will with a clear choice of law and universal dispositions, complemented by local “top-up” documents that deal only with technical aspects (for example, appointing a local executor or implementing a specific structure for real estate), expressly subordinated to the main will.

For Romanian assets, the safest practice is usually to ensure that any foreign will:

either expressly includes Romanian assets and is compatible with Romanian forced heirship rules; or
expressly excludes Romanian assets, leaving them to be governed by a Romanian will drafted with local law in mind.

In both scenarios, the interplay with the choice of law under the EU Succession Regulation must be carefully handled.

4. Using a choice of law to simplify Romanian inheritance

The choice-of-law clause (professio iuris) is one of the most powerful tools for estate planning in the EU. For example:

a Romanian citizen living in Germany can choose Romanian law to govern the entire estate, even if he has become tax resident in Germany;
a French citizen living in Bucharest can choose French law to govern his estate, including the flat in Bucharest and accounts in Romania; and
a dual Romanian–Canadian national living in Canada but owning a holiday house in Romania can choose Romanian law or Canadian law (if the relevant province’s law is the law of nationality for succession purposes) to apply to the entire estate, at least for assets in EU Member States. The effect on non-EU assets depends on conflict-of-law rules outside the EU.

When planning for Romanian assets, two questions arise:

Is the chosen law actually more favourable than Romanian law in terms of freedom of testation, recognition of trusts, or planning tools?
Will Romanian authorities accept the chosen law fully, or will they apply public policy exceptions to preserve some elements of Romanian forced heirship and family protection?

Because the EU Succession Regulation allows national public policy exceptions, and because Romanian law strongly protects forced heirs, it is risky to assume that a choice of foreign law will completely eliminate the rights of Romanian-resident children or spouse over Romanian property. The more “extreme” the result (for example, total disinheritance of all children in favour of a new partner), the higher the risk of public policy objections.

5. Formal validity of foreign wills dealing with Romanian assets

From a formal point of view, a foreign will is often recognised in Romania if it complies with at least one of the laws listed in the 1973 Hague Convention on the Form of Testamentary Dispositions (for example, the law of the place where the will was made, the law of nationality, habitual residence, or the law of the place where the property is located). However, heirs should expect that:

the original will (or an official copy) will be required, often with apostille/legalisation and sworn translation into Romanian;
if the will is holograph (entirely handwritten and signed by the testator), legibility and clarity will be scrutinised carefully; and
any ambiguities about the scope (worldwide vs. local assets) and interaction with other wills will lead to delays and possibly court involvement.

For larger estates or complex family situations, a Romanian notarial will that mirrors or coordinates with the foreign will can dramatically reduce friction at the succession stage.

Forced Heirship Constraints

1. Who are the forced heirs under Romanian law?

Romanian inheritance law protects certain close relatives by granting them a reserved portion (rezervă succesorală) of the estate that they cannot be deprived of entirely, even by will. According to the Civil Code, the forced heirs are:

the descendants (children, grandchildren, etc.);
the surviving spouse; and
the so-called privileged ascendants (the parents of the deceased).

The reserved portion is defined as the part of the inheritance to which these heirs are entitled by law, even against the wishes of the deceased. Broadly, for each forced heir, the reserved portion is equal to half of the share that heir would receive as a legal heir in intestacy, in the absence of any gifts or disinheritance.¹

¹ See Article 1086 et seq. of the Romanian Civil Code and explanations on the European e-Justice portal and by Romanian legal authors.

2. How the reserved share is calculated in practice

To understand the impact of forced heirship, consider these simplified examples (ignoring debts and expense adjustments):

Example 1: Two children, no spouse, no parents.
Under intestacy, each child would receive 1/2 of the estate. The reserved portion for each forced heir is half of that share, i.e. 1/4 of the entire estate. Together, the two children have a minimum reserved share of 1/2 of the estate. The other half is the disposable portion the testator can leave to anyone.
Example 2: Surviving spouse and two children.
Under intestacy, the spouse and children generally share the estate, with the spouse and children each taking a fraction according to statutory rules. The reserved portion of each forced heir is half of that legal share. If a will tried to leave everything to a charity, the children and spouse could reduce it to the extent necessary to restore their reserved shares.
Example 3: Surviving spouse, no descendants, parents alive.
The spouse and parents are legal heirs, and again each has a reserved portion equal to half of their statutory share. The available portion for free disposition will often be smaller than in Example 1.

The calculation is technically complex in real life, because it requires reconstructing lifetime gifts and certain transactions to see whether the disposable portion has been exceeded. Romanian law allows forced heirs to bring actions for reduction (acțiune în reductiune) of gifts and legacies that infringe their reserved share.

3. Can a choice of foreign law circumvent Romanian forced heirship?

Many common-law and some civil-law systems allow far more freedom of testation than Romania, sometimes with no forced heirship at all. Under the EU Succession Regulation, a person can choose that more flexible law of nationality to govern the succession as a whole. For example, a British or US citizen living in Romania might be tempted to choose English or Californian law in order to leave Romanian assets entirely to a spouse or a non-family beneficiary.

However, there are important caveats:

The EU Succession Regulation allows Member States to refuse to apply provisions of foreign law that are manifestly incompatible with their public policy (ordre public). It is arguable that, in a case where all family connections, heirs and assets are in Romania, a complete disinheritance of children or spouse might trigger such a refusal, at least in relation to Romanian real estate.
Even if foreign law is applied to the succession as a whole, rights in rem over Romanian immovables and the functioning of the land book remain governed by Romanian property law. A structure that is too alien (for example, a discretionary trust with no fixed shares) may encounter practical obstacles in registration.
Heirs may bring proceedings in Romania invoking both the EU Regulation and Romanian public policy to claim at least a portion of the estate, particularly when they are vulnerable (minor children, spouse without independent resources).

The current practice is still evolving, and each case must be assessed individually. As a conservative planning assumption, it is prudent to assume that close family members linked to Romania will retain some level of protection and to design the estate plan accordingly, rather than relying exclusively on a foreign law to disinherit them completely.

4. Disinheritance and its limits

Romanian law does allow disinheritance clauses in wills, by which the testator excludes one or more legal heirs from the succession in whole or in part. However, disinheritance cannot affect the reserved portion of forced heirs. For example:

a child may be disinherited only in relation to the disposable portion of the estate; the reserved portion must remain intact, unless specific grounds exist for unworthiness (such as serious crimes against the deceased);
a spouse can be deprived of the part exceeding his or her reserved share, but not of the entire legal share when he or she is a forced heir; and
parents as privileged ascendants also enjoy a reserved portion as long as they qualify as legal heirs in the concrete case.

Where a will or a series of gifts exceeds the disposable portion, forced heirs have a right to bring an action for reduction, which may affect both Romanian and foreign beneficiaries and assets located in Romania.

Practical Drafting Tips and Common Clauses

1. Start with a clear conflict-of-laws strategy

For anyone with Romanian assets and cross-border ties, the first question is: which law do you want to govern your succession? Options include:

Romanian law (for Romanians or foreign nationals who want to align succession of Romanian and other EU assets with their life in Romania);
law of another EU nationality (for example, a German, French or Italian citizen who wants their familiar national law to apply worldwide); or
no express choice of law, leaving the determination to the habitual residence test at the time of death.

In most cross-border cases, it is advisable to make an explicit choice of law in the will, using wording that clearly refers to Article 22 of Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 and confirms that the choice covers the succession as a whole. This helps notaries and courts avoid time-consuming conflict-of-law analysis at a moment when the family is under stress.

2. Consider a “Romanian-friendly” structure for real estate

For Romanian immovables, a number of practical considerations should shape drafting:

Avoid overly complex testamentary trusts for Romanian real estate, unless you are ready to accept additional court and registration steps. Romanian law does not recognise Anglo-Saxon trusts in the same way, and land book registration requires clear rights-holders with definite shares.
Use clear, simple dispositions, such as “I leave my apartment located in Bucharest, identified in Land Book no. [•], to my daughter [name]” combined with a global division of the remaining assets.
Coordinate with matrimonial property rules: if the property is part of the matrimonial community, only the deceased’s share (usually half) will fall into the estate. The will should acknowledge this and avoid purporting to dispose of the spouse’s share.
Plan for co-ownership between heirs: if several heirs inherit the same property, consider including instructions for sale and division of proceeds, or options for one heir to buy out the others at an agreed valuation method, to avoid deadlock and partition litigation.

3. Typical clauses in cross-border wills involving Romanian assets

While each estate plan is unique, several clauses recur in practice and are particularly useful for Romanian assets:

Choice of law clause: “I choose, pursuant to Article 22 of Regulation (EU) No 650/2012, that the law of [State of nationality] shall govern my succession as a whole.”
Coordination clause for multiple wills: A statement that this will is intended to complement, not revoke, a will made in another country, except to the extent of express inconsistency; or conversely, an express revocation of all previous wills to avoid confusion.
Asset-location clause: A non-exhaustive list of major Romanian assets (properties, bank accounts, shareholdings) with identifiers (land book numbers, IBANs, company registration numbers) to assist heirs and notaries.
Specific legacies of Romanian property: Clear bequests of particular Romanian assets to specified beneficiaries, possibly combined with equalisation mechanisms through other assets for fairness among heirs.
Administrative powers for executors: For estates governed by a law that recognises executors, clauses granting them power to appear before Romanian notaries, sell property, sign transfer deeds and manage compliance with Romanian formalities, subject to local law.
Substitution and failure-of-beneficiary clauses: Provisions covering situations where a beneficiary predeceases the testator or disclaims their share, specifying whether their descendants should step into their place or whether the share should go elsewhere.

4. Language, form and storage of the will

For Romanian notarial wills, the language is Romanian, and the will is kept in the notary’s records and registered in the national notarial register. For foreign wills:

it is generally advisable to draft in the language of the relevant legal system and to ensure that key summaries can be translated easily into Romanian;
originals should be stored in a manner that allows heirs to access them quickly (for example, with a notary, solicitor or specialised will registry); and
the testator should inform at least one trusted person and, ideally, the main beneficiaries that such wills exist and where they are kept.

Dual-language wills (for example, English and Romanian) are possible, but they require care to avoid conflicts between versions. Typically, the will should specify which language prevails in case of discrepancies and it should be reviewed by lawyers qualified in both systems.

5. Planning for minors, vulnerable heirs and family governance

Where heirs include minors, disabled persons or family members living far away from Romania, estate planning should address governance as much as distribution:

Appointment of guardians or tutors for minor children, in accordance with both the law of habitual residence and Romanian rules;
Use of conditional legacies or administrative structures (where recognised) to ensure that Romanian assets are managed by a capable adult until the heir reaches a certain age;
Instructions regarding the sale versus retention of Romanian property (for example, requiring the property to be kept as a family holiday home unless a super-majority of heirs decide to sell); and
Setting out dispute resolution mechanisms (mediation, choice of forum) for conflicts among heirs concerning Romanian assets.

6. Coordinating estate planning with lifetime transfers

Many diaspora clients and foreign owners make lifetime gifts of Romanian property, either to “skip” a generation or to reduce the complexity of the estate. While this is sometimes effective, it must be coordinated with succession planning because:

lifetime gifts can be collated and brought into the calculation of the reserved share for forced heirs; and
gifts made without preserving the donor’s rights (for example, without a usufruct) can expose elderly donors to risk if family relationships deteriorate.

Well-structured lifetime transfers can complement an estate plan, but they are not a substitute for a clear will and choice-of-law strategy. Legal advice should cover both the civil consequences and any applicable tax or reporting obligations in Romania and abroad.

Conclusion

Estate planning for Romanian assets in a cross-border context is no longer a niche concern. For Romanians in the diaspora and foreign nationals alike, Romanian property and investments can represent a significant part of family wealth and emotional value. Yet without a specific plan, these assets are often the ones that cause the most friction, delay and cost when someone dies.

A robust plan should:

take into account the EU Succession Regulation, including the possibility of choosing the law of nationality and the role of habitual residence;
respect or consciously manage Romanian forced heirship and the reserved shares of spouse, children and parents;
coordinate Romanian and foreign wills, avoiding accidental revocations and contradictions;
address the practicalities of Romanian succession procedure, land book registration and notarial practice; and
reflect family dynamics, vulnerabilities and long-term goals, not just formal legal rules.

Well-drafted documents, combined with open communication in the family and timely legal advice, can prevent the common scenario in which heirs in several countries spend years litigating over a flat in Romania that could have been transferred smoothly with some foresight.