How does divorce affect inheritance?
Divorced spouses cannot be legal heirs to each other.
Testamentary dispositions made by the deceased in favor of their spouse also become void if a divorce subsequently occurs. However, the deceased may order otherwise in their testamentary disposition. In other words, they may state that the will remains valid even in the event of a divorce. Conversely, if the court has ruled for separation rather than divorce, the surviving spouse retains their right to legal inheritance, as the marital relationship has not been terminated in this case.
An important issue regarding this matter arises in cases where a divorce lawsuit has been filed but one of the spouses dies before it is finalized. In this instance, the spouse is a legal heir because the marital relationship, and consequently the spouse's legal heirship, continues until the divorce decree becomes final. If one of the spouses dies during this period, the surviving spouse remains an heir. Here, the marriage ends not by divorce, but by death.