Probate Proceedings in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Author: Azur Prnjavorac, attorney at law, Regional Bar Association Tuzla  |  Published: January 2014  |  Last updated: 20 September 2026  |  Legislation and case law verified on 20 September 2026

Probate proceedings in Bosnia and Herzegovina are the procedure in which, after the death of the deceased, the heirs, the composition of the estate, the basis of inheritance and the rights of each heir are legally determined. Although at first sight it looks like a formality, in practice the probate procedure very often raises complex questions of inheritance, property, family and land-registry law, especially when the deceased leaves unregistered real estate, co-ownership shares, a disputed will, a claim for the forced share or heirs who live outside Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Law Office Prnjavorac represents heirs in probate proceedings in Tuzla, Sarajevo, Mostar, Banja Luka, Zenica, Bihać, Brčko, Bijeljina, Doboj, Trebinje, Prijedor and every other town and municipality in BiH: from identifying the heirs and analysing the will, through protecting forced heirs and obtaining land-registry documentation, to implementing the decision on inheritance before courts, notaries, the cadastre and the land registers. Case law on inheritance is published on our pages inheritance law in BiH and inheritance law attorney.

What are probate proceedings and who opens them?

The probate hearing is the part of the probate proceedings in which the court, or a notary as court commissioner, discusses at a hearing everything relevant to the succession: who the heirs are, on what basis they inherit (the law, a will or, in the Federation of BiH and Brčko District, a succession contract), what the estate consists of and what share or legacy belongs to whom. These are non-contentious proceedings, so nobody sues anybody and no judgment is passed; a decision on inheritance is issued instead. The estate passes to the heirs by operation of law at the moment of the deceased's death (Article 162 of the Law on Inheritance of the FBiH, Article 167 of the Law on Inheritance of BD), and the decision merely determines who inherited what and enables registration in the public registers.

The proceedings are not opened by a claim or an application of the heirs. The registrar who enters the death in the register of deaths draws up a death certificate and sends it to the court within 15 days (Article 216 LI FBiH, Article 99 of the Law on Non-Contentious Procedure of the RS), and the court then opens the proceedings ex officio; in Brčko District within 30 days of receiving the death certificate (Article 231 LI BD). In Republika Srpska an application to open the proceedings may also be filed by heirs, legatees and other persons with a right arising from the estate (Article 93 LNCP RS). A death certificate is drawn up even when the deceased left no assets; if it is incomplete, the court establishes the data on the heirs and the assets on the record at the hearing itself. In practice this means that the probate court knows only about the assets that the heirs report, so the heirs' first task is to establish what the deceased actually owned.

In all three jurisdictions the court as a rule entrusts the probate proceedings to a notary. In the Federation of BiH the notary as court commissioner may take all actions and issue all decisions like a judge of the municipal court, except those expressly reserved to the court (Article 200 LI FBiH), and returns the file to the court when the proceedings must be suspended and the parties referred to litigation (Article 260 LI FBiH). In Republika Srpska the court entrusts the proceedings to a notary within eight days of receiving the death certificate, unless one of the heirs demands that the proceedings be conducted exclusively before the court (Article 94 LNCP RS). An objection to the court may be lodged against a decision issued by the notary within eight days (Article 209 LI FBiH, Article 213 LI BD), and an appeal against a court decision within 15 days (Article 212 LI FBiH). More on how the notary works and when a lawyer is needed alongside: representation before the notary.

Which law applies and which court has jurisdiction?

There is no state-level inheritance law in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Substantive inheritance law and the procedure are regulated at the level of the Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska and Brčko District, and which law applies depends on where the deceased had his or her residence at the time of death. All three laws start from the same principle: all natural persons are equal in inheritance under the same conditions, and foreigners are equal to citizens of BiH (Article 3 LI FBiH).

Territorial jurisdiction is determined solely by the deceased's last residence, not by where the real estate is located or where the heirs live; if the deceased had no residence, the place of stay is decisive, and failing both, the court in whose territory the estate or its major part is located (Article 201 LI FBiH, Article 97 LNCP RS). The parties cannot change the jurisdiction of the probate court by agreement (Article 202 LI FBiH). If the deceased had assets in both entities, the proceedings are conducted before one court, and the final decision is then implemented at the land-registry offices and cadastres of all locations. When the deceased lived abroad, the jurisdiction of the domestic court and the applicable law are assessed under the Law on Resolution of Conflict of Laws with the Regulations of Other Countries: for real estate of a BiH citizen located in BiH the jurisdiction of the domestic court is exclusive (Article 71), and the same applies to real estate of a foreign citizen in BiH (Article 72). More on the page private international law.

How do probate proceedings run, step by step?

Whether conducted by the court or by a notary, probate proceedings in practice pass through the same six stages. The sequence is laid down in the chapter on probate proceedings of the Law on Inheritance of the FBiH (Articles 216 to 254), in Republika Srpska in the Law on Non-Contentious Procedure (Articles 93 to 154) and in Brčko District in the Law on Inheritance of BD (Articles 205 to 272):

1. Death certificate and opening of the proceedings. After registering the death, the registrar draws up a death certificate with data on the deceased, the heirs and the assets and sends it to the competent court within 15 days (Article 216 LI FBiH, Article 99 LNCP RS). The court opens the proceedings ex officio and, if a will was handed in with the death certificate, opens and proclaims it.
2. Entrusting the notary. The court sends the file without delay to a notary as court commissioner (Article 200 LI FBiH; in the RS within eight days, Article 94 LNCP RS), who schedules the hearing and conducts the proceedings. Heirs in Republika Srpska may demand that the court alone conducts the proceedings.
3. Collecting documents and inventory of the estate. The heirs report all assets and submit extracts from the civil registers, land-registry extracts, possession sheets, contracts and certificates of banks and registers. If the parties object to the inventory, the court may order a new one (Article 238 LI FBiH).
4. Probate hearing and declarations of inheritance. The court or the notary summons all interested persons (Article 234 LI FBiH), establishes the circle of heirs, the basis of succession and the composition of the estate (Article 236), and the heirs declare whether they accept, assign or renounce (Article 237). If facts are disputed, the proceedings are suspended and a party is referred to litigation (Articles 239 to 242).
5. Decision on inheritance. When the facts are undisputed, a decision on inheritance is issued determining the heirs, their shares and the legacies; it is served on all heirs and legatees (Article 244 LI FBiH). An objection to the court may be lodged against a notary's decision within eight days, and an appeal against a court decision within 15 days (Articles 209 and 212 LI FBiH). The final decision is sent by the court to the tax administration and the land-registry office.
6. Implementation of the decision. The final decision is the basis for registration in the land register and the cadastre, for payment of savings deposits, transfer of vehicles, shares and holdings in companies and for settling tax obligations. Until it is implemented, the heir formally cannot sell, encumber or donate the inherited real estate.

Which documents should be prepared for the probate hearing?

The court obtains the death certificate ex officio, but the proceedings are much faster when the heirs collect the documents themselves before the hearing. To establish the circle of heirs, an extract from the register of deaths for the deceased and extracts from the registers of births and marriages for the heirs are needed, or proof of kinship or of the existence of an extramarital union. For real estate, a land-registry extract and a possession sheet must be obtained, and for unregistered real estate a purchase contract, an earlier decision on inheritance, a building permit or another document proving the legal basis of acquisition. For savings deposits, shares, vehicles and business holdings, certificates of banks, the Securities Register, the police and the court register are attached, and if there is a will, a succession contract, a contract of lifelong support or a contract on the transfer and distribution of assets during life, it is handed to the court because the composition of the estate depends on it (Article 217 LI FBiH on the contents of the death certificate). An heir living abroad also submits a power of attorney for a lawyer certified by a notary or at a BiH embassy.

Who inherits by law and how are the orders of succession calculated?

When the deceased left no will, the legal heirs inherit according to the orders of succession. The basic rule is the same in all three jurisdictions: heirs of a closer order exclude the heirs of all more distant orders, and only when there is nobody in one order who can and wants to inherit does the estate pass to the next order (Article 8 LI FBiH, Article 8 LI RS, Article 8 LI BD). Within an order the right of representation applies: the descendants of a child who died earlier take its place (Article 11 LI FBiH).

In the Federation of BiH and Brčko District the extramarital partner is equal to a spouse in inheritance, but only if the community of life of a woman and a man met the conditions of the family law (in the FBiH at least three years, or less if a common child was born in it) and lasted until the death of the deceased (Article 9 LI FBiH). The existence of the extramarital union must be proved in the probate proceedings, and as soon as one of the heirs contests it, the court refers the partner to litigation. The Law on Inheritance of Republika Srpska does not list the extramarital partner among the legal heirs, so in the RS he or she inherits only under a will. If there are no heirs in any order, the estate in the Federation of BiH passes to the municipality or city (Article 21 LI FBiH), in Republika Srpska it becomes the property of Republika Srpska (Article 7 LI RS) and in Brčko District the property of the District (Article 7 LI BD). Read the collection of decisions in this field on the page inheritance law in BiH.

What is the forced share, who can claim it and within what time limit?

The forced share (compulsory portion) is the part of the estate that the deceased cannot dispose of by will or by gifts, because by operation of law it belongs to the closest relatives. Forced heirs are the children of the deceased, his adopted children by full adoption and the spouse; other descendants, adopted children by incomplete adoption, parents and siblings are forced heirs only if they are permanently unable to work and have no means of subsistence, and all of them only when they would be called to inherit under the intestate order (Article 28 LI FBiH, Article 30 LI RS, Article 32 LI BD). The forced share of children, adopted children and the spouse is one half, and that of the other forced heirs one third of what would belong to them by law; the remainder, the disposable part, the deceased may dispose of freely (Article 29 LI FBiH, Article 31 LI RS, Article 33 LI BD).

Practical example: the deceased leaves a wife and two children, so by law each would inherit one third. If by will he left everything to one child, the other child and the wife are entitled to a forced share of one half of their intestate share, that is one sixth of the estate each, and the testamentary heir keeps the rest. The value of the estate on which the forced share is calculated is established by deducting debts and costs from the inventoried assets and then adding the gifts the deceased made to heirs and, in the last year of life, to other persons (Article 31 LI FBiH); when gifts are added, the value of the gifted item at the time of death is taken, according to its condition at the time of the gift (Supreme Court of the FBiH, 23 0 P 053373 24 Rev of 20 February 2024). When the deceased has assets in both entities, the whole estate enters the calculation, not only the part in the Federation (Supreme Court of the FBiH, 65 0 P 730641 24 Rev of 14 March 2024).

The forced share is not granted automatically. The forced heir must claim it in the probate proceedings, before the first-instance decision, by a request for reduction of the testamentary dispositions or for return of gifts; the court or the notary decides on the request and refers to litigation only if the facts are disputed (Article 239 paragraph 2 item 2 LI FBiH). A reduction of dispositions by will may be requested within three years of the proclamation of the will, and the return of gifts and the reduction of dispositions by succession contract within three years of the deceased's death (Article 44 LI FBiH); a claim for return of gifts filed after that time limit cannot succeed (Cantonal Court in Bihać, 23 0 P 056700 24 Gž of 16 January 2024). When the forced share is infringed, dispositions by will are reduced first, then those by succession contract, and only then are gifts returned (Article 38 LI FBiH). The forced share is infringed when the assets remaining in the estate are insufficient to cover what had to belong to the forced heir (Supreme Court of the FBiH, 070-0-Rev-07-001183 of 4 November 2008).

The deceased may exclude a forced heir from the inheritance only on statutory grounds, above all for a serious breach of a legal or moral duty towards the deceased (Article 45 LI FBiH). This requires culpable conduct of the heir; if the lack of contact was caused by the deceased's own conduct, the exclusion is unjustified, but even then the will is not void and the forced heir simply receives his forced share (Supreme Court of the FBiH, 58 0 P 274353 26 Rev of 19 February 2026). How our office protects the forced share is described on the page inheritance law attorney.

How are the declaration of inheritance, renunciation and assignment made?

Everyone is entitled, but nobody is obliged, to make a declaration of inheritance; whoever does not renounce is deemed to want to be an heir, and whoever has once validly accepted the inheritance can no longer renounce it (Article 237 LI FBiH). The declaration is made orally on the record before the court or the notary, or is submitted to the court as a notarial deed; the power of attorney for making a declaration of inheritance must have the same form, and an heir abroad may make it before a consular representative of BiH (Article 237 paragraph 6 LI FBiH). The declaration states whether it concerns the share due by law, by will, by succession contract or the forced share; if this is not stated, it is deemed to cover the inheritance on any basis.

Renunciation is declared until the first-instance decision, cannot be partial or conditional and is irrevocable; it also binds the descendants of the person who renounced unless he expressly declares that he renounces only in his own name, and an heir who renounced only in his own name is treated as if he had never been an heir (Article 163 LI FBiH, Article 168 LI BD). Renunciation does not cover assets found later. What is colloquially called "renunciation in favour" of a particular heir is expressly not treated by the law as renunciation but as a declaration of assignment of the inheritance share (Article 166 LI FBiH): such an heir accepts the inheritance and assigns his share to a co-heir, and is therefore also liable for the deceased's debts up to the value of that share. A statement made orally at the hearing but not entered in the record in the statutory form has no legal effect, nor has a renunciation of an inheritance that has not yet been opened (Article 167 LI FBiH).

Are heirs liable for the debts of the deceased?

Yes, but to a limited extent. An heir is liable for the deceased's debts up to the value of the inherited assets, and where there are several heirs they are liable jointly and severally, each up to the value of his share, regardless of whether the estate has been divided; among themselves they share the debts in proportion to their shares (Article 172 LI FBiH, Article 163 LI RS, Article 177 LI BD). An heir who renounced the inheritance is not liable for any debt. Nobody, therefore, is liable out of his own assets beyond what he inherited, but in litigation with a creditor the burden of proving that the value of the inherited share is lower than the debt lies on the heir (Supreme Court of the FBiH, 58 0 P 160661 22 Rev of 23 May 2022).

The deceased's creditors may, within three months of the opening of the succession, demand separation of the estate from the heir's assets so as to be satisfied from the estate before the heir's own creditors (Article 173 LI FBiH). Heirs who suspect that the debts exceed the assets are advised to gather information on loans, guarantees, tax and utility debts before making their declaration rather than renouncing hastily: renunciation is irrevocable and covers the whole inheritance, while liability in any case exists only up to the value of what is inherited.

When does the court suspend the probate proceedings and refer the heirs to litigation?

The probate court and the notary decide only on undisputed facts. If facts on which a right of a party depends are disputed between the parties, the court suspends the probate proceedings and refers the parties to litigation or administrative proceedings, in particular when the validity or contents of a will or succession contract, the relationship between an heir and the deceased, the size of an inheritance share or of the forced share, the adding of gifts, the justification of the exclusion of a forced heir, unworthiness or whether somebody has renounced the inheritance are in dispute (Article 239 LI FBiH, Article 243 LI BD). The proceedings are also suspended when the composition of the estate or the object of a legacy is disputed (Article 241 LI FBiH), whereas a dispute over the right to a legacy does not suspend them (Article 240). If the dispute is not about facts but about the application of the law, the court resolves it itself, and it does not suspend the proceedings either when the disputed facts can be established from public documents.

The party whose right the court considers less probable is referred to litigation, with a time limit that may not exceed 30 days; if that party brings the action within the time limit, the suspension lasts until the litigation is finally concluded, and if not, the probate proceedings continue regardless of its claim, which it may still pursue in litigation (Article 242 LI FBiH). The time limit set by the probate court for the referred party is not preclusive, so an action brought after it is not untimely and is not dismissed (Supreme Court of the FBiH, 53 0 P 066799 23 Rev of 23 May 2023). Before suspending, the court examines whether it can issue a partial decision on inheritance for the undisputed part of the estate (Article 241 paragraph 3). Whoever knew about a will at the time of the probate hearing and deliberately did not produce it cannot rely on it later in litigation (Cantonal Court in Tuzla, 32 0 P 336596 23 Gž 2 of 16 February 2024). It is precisely in these disputes, over the extramarital union, the forced share, the will and the composition of the estate, that a probate case turns into inheritance litigation lasting years, so it pays for the heirs to try to settle disputed issues by agreement, if necessary with a mediator, before the hearing.

How long do probate proceedings take in BiH?

The law sets no time limit for completing probate proceedings, and the actual duration depends on the number of heirs, the composition of the estate, the existence of a will, whether the real estate is registered and whether all heirs can be reached. The following ranges come from our office's practice, not from the law:

How much do probate proceedings cost and who pays?

The costs of probate proceedings consist of the fee and expenses of the notary as court commissioner, which in the Federation of BiH are determined under the Rulebook on the fee and expenses of the notary as court commissioner in probate proceedings, so that one fee covers all actions in one set of proceedings, while the inventory of the estate and supplementary and partial decisions are paid separately (Article 267 LI FBiH). When the proceedings are conducted by a notary, no court fee is paid (Article 267 paragraph 3 LI FBiH, Article 271 LI BD); the notary may not charge more than the tariff, but may withhold the certificate of finality until the fee has been paid. The costs are as a rule borne by the heirs in proportion to their shares. Added to this are the costs of obtaining extracts and certificates, translation and certification of foreign documents and, if the heir has engaged a lawyer, the fee under the Attorney Tariff of the FBiH, which our office agrees in advance according to the value and complexity of the estate. Inheritance tax is governed by cantonal or entity regulations on real-estate transfer tax and tax on inheritance and gifts (in Sarajevo Canton the Law on real-estate transfer tax and tax on inheritance and gifts of Sarajevo Canton), which as a rule exempt the closest relatives, so the actual obligation is checked according to the location of the real estate.

Will, succession contract and lifelong support: what forms part of the estate?

A will may be made by any person capable of judgement who has reached 15 years of age (Article 62 LI FBiH, Article 66 LI BD), and it is valid only in a form prescribed by law: holographic, written before witnesses, judicial, notarial, consular or, in extraordinary circumstances, oral. An oral will is an exception valid only when the deceased objectively could not make a written one; illness and old age by themselves are not such circumstances, but a broken hand and a stay in a hospital closed to visitors because of the epidemic are (Supreme Court of the RS, 71 0 P 350112 24 Rev of 16 January 2025). If the deceased leaves a will, the court proclaims it and also notifies the persons who would inherit by law of the opening of the proceedings, because they may claim the forced share or contest the will. Everything on form, contents and revocation on the page wills in BiH.

In the Federation of BiH and Brčko District spouses and extramarital partners may conclude a succession contract in the form of a notarial deed, which takes precedence over inheritance under a will and under the law (Articles 126 to 131 LI FBiH, Articles 130 to 132 LI BD); in Republika Srpska any contract by which a person leaves his estate to the other contracting party or to a third person is void (Article 125 LI RS). In all three jurisdictions a contract on the transfer and distribution of assets during life is permitted, by which a parent divides his assets among his descendants during his lifetime with the consent of all, so that those assets do not form part of the estate after his death (Articles 135 and 136 LI FBiH, notarial deed). Assets covered by a contract of lifelong support do not form part of the estate either: the provider of support becomes the owner at the moment of the recipient's death and needs no probate proceedings for that (Supreme Court of the RS, Rev 29865/2015 of 22 August 2016). A holding in a limited liability company, by contrast, passes to the heirs at the moment of the member's death and forms part of the estate, so the heirs cannot be treated by the company as third parties merely because they are not yet entered in the register (Supreme Court of the FBiH, 65 0 P 329284 22 Rev of 5 July 2022). The surviving spouse's share of the marital property does not form part of the estate: only the deceased's share, as a rule one half, does, so the marital property is often determined before or alongside the probate.

What if assets are found only after the probate proceedings have ended?

For assets found after the decision on inheritance has become final, the whole hearing is not repeated. The court distributes those assets by a supplementary decision to the heirs already determined, in the same shares and on the same basis, unless an heir renounced or assigned his share to a co-heir (Article 251 LI FBiH, Article 254 LI BD). If no probate hearing was held at all, the court conducts it ex officio for real estate that is found, and for movables only at the request of interested persons. In practice this most often concerns unregistered real estate, old savings deposits, shares from privatisation or claims of the deceased; if a dispute arises as to whether those assets form part of the estate at all, here too the court refers the heirs to litigation. A particularly common case in Bosnia and Herzegovina is real estate still registered in the land register in the name of a grandfather or great-grandfather: then a chain of supplementary probates after each earlier owner must be conducted, because the assets cannot be transferred to today's heirs until legal succession has been traced to them. The heir's claim for surrender of the estate against a possessor in good faith becomes time-barred one year after he learned of it and at the latest after ten years, against a possessor in bad faith after 20 years (Article 171 LI FBiH), whereas the right to partition of the inheritance is not subject to limitation (Article 174).

Which mistakes do heirs most often make in probate proceedings?

Decades of work on probate cases have singled out the mistakes that later cause heirs costs and disputes, most of which are avoided by taking advice before the first hearing:

1. Reporting only part of the assets. Heirs report what they know of, and later unregistered real estate, savings in foreign banks, shares or holdings come to light, so a supplementary probate with new costs must be conducted.
2. Informal "renunciation in favour" of somebody. Words spoken at the hearing have no effect unless entered in the record in the statutory form; assigning a share is not renunciation and the heir remains liable for debts up to the value of the assigned share.
3. Hasty renunciation because of debts. Renunciation is irrevocable and covers the whole inheritance, while liability in any case exists only up to the value of the inherited assets.
4. Not implementing the decision. The final decision must be implemented in the land register and the cadastre; until then the heir cannot sell, encumber or donate the real estate.
5. Neglecting old estates. When real estate is registered in an ancestor's name, the chain of unresolved estates must be settled backwards before the assets can be transferred.
6. Misunderstanding the extramarital union. In the FBiH and Brčko District the extramarital partner inherits like a spouse only after proving a union that meets the conditions of the family law; in Republika Srpska he or she does not inherit by law.
7. Missing the forced share. The forced share must be claimed in the probate proceedings; if it is not, the court acts on the will, and a reduction of the will may be requested at the latest three years after its proclamation.
8. Concealing a will. Whoever knew about a will and deliberately did not produce it at the hearing loses the possibility to rely on it in later litigation.

How are probate proceedings conducted when an heir lives abroad?

Heirs living in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the United States or other countries do not have to travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The proceedings are conducted through a lawyer to whom they give a power of attorney, certified at a BiH embassy or consulate or before a foreign notary with an apostille, or without an apostille where a treaty exempting documents from legalisation is in force between BiH and that country, as with Austria. The declaration of acceptance, assignment or renunciation is made before a consular representative of BiH or in the form of a notarial deed, and may also be made by the attorney-in-fact if the power of attorney has the same form (Article 237 paragraph 6 LI FBiH). The lawyer then reports the assets, attends the hearing before the notary or the court, receives the decision and implements it in the land register and the cadastre, without the client travelling. More on working with clients abroad: Bosnian lawyer for clients abroad, in particular for clients in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the United States.

A foreign decision on inheritance, for example a decision of an Austrian or German court or a European Certificate of Succession, has no effect in BiH by itself. For movable assets, recognition of the foreign court decision may be sought before the competent court in BiH, but for real estate in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina the domestic court has exclusive jurisdiction, whether the deceased was a domestic or a foreign citizen (Articles 71 and 72 of the Law on Resolution of Conflict of Laws with the Regulations of Other Countries), so probate proceedings are always conducted in BiH for such real estate and a foreign decision cannot serve as the basis for registration in the land register. Conversely, when a foreign authority has jurisdiction over the estate, the domestic court, on receiving the death certificate, invites by public notice the heirs, legatees and creditors in BiH to report their rights before the movables are handed over to the foreign authority (Article 255 LI FBiH). For heirs from the diaspora the most common practical obstacle is not the procedure itself but assets that were never transferred to today's owners, which is why a chain of supplementary probates has to be conducted before the main one.

Text of the law: provisions on the probate hearing and the order of succession

For heirs who wish to check the exact wording, we reproduce the provisions of the Law on Inheritance of the Federation of BiH most often referred to on this page, in our own translation. The full law is available as a PDF in Bosnian, and the integral text of the Law on Inheritance of Brčko District, with an anchor on every article, on a separate page in Bosnian.

Glossary of basic probate terms

Inheritance law uses technical terms that confuse parties facing probate for the first time. The glossary explains the most important ones as the laws and courts in BiH use them.

Deceased (testator, ostavitelj)

The natural person after whose death the probate proceedings are conducted; the laws of Republika Srpska and Brčko District use the term ostavilac, and case law also the Latin de cuius.

Estate (ostavina, zaostavština)

All rights and obligations of the deceased capable of being inherited: real estate, movables, money, shares, business holdings, claims and debts. Assets covered by a contract of lifelong support and the surviving spouse's share of the marital property are not included.

Death certificate (smrtovnica)

The document the registrar draws up after registering the death and sends to the court within 15 days; it contains data on the deceased, the heirs and the assets and is the formal basis for opening the probate proceedings ex officio (Articles 216 and 217 LI FBiH).

Notary as court commissioner

The notary to whom the court entrusts the conduct of the probate proceedings; he takes all actions and issues decisions like a judge, and the parties may lodge an objection to the court against his decision within eight days (Articles 200 and 209 LI FBiH, Article 94 LNCP RS).

Declaration of inheritance (nasljednička izjava)

The statement by which an heir accepts the inheritance, renounces it or assigns his share to a co-heir; it is made on the record or as a notarial deed until the first-instance decision and cannot be revoked (Articles 163 and 237 LI FBiH).

Forced share (nužni dio)

The part of the estate the deceased cannot dispose of because by law it belongs to the forced heirs: one half of the intestate share for children, adopted children and the spouse, one third for parents and siblings under special conditions (Articles 28 and 29 LI FBiH).

Disposable part

The part of the estate remaining after the forced shares, which the deceased may freely dispose of by will, succession contract or gifts (Article 29 paragraph 3 LI FBiH).

Intestate share (zakonski dio)

The part of the estate that would belong to an heir under the statutory order of succession if there were no will; the basis for calculating the forced share.

Right of representation

The rule under which the part of the estate that would have belonged to an heir who died earlier is inherited by his descendants in equal parts (Article 11 LI FBiH).

Will (testament)

A unilateral, revocable declaration of last will by which the deceased disposes of his assets in the event of death; it may be made by a person capable of judgement who has reached 15 years of age, in a form prescribed by law (Article 62 LI FBiH).

Succession contract (ugovor o nasljeđivanju)

A notarial contract by which spouses or extramarital partners leave the estate or part of it to each other; permitted in the Federation of BiH and Brčko District, not in Republika Srpska, and taking precedence over the will and the law (Articles 126 to 131 LI FBiH, Articles 130 to 132 LI BD).

Legacy (legat)

A disposition in a will by which the deceased leaves a specific item or right to a particular person without appointing him an heir; the legatee is not liable for the deceased's debts.

Unworthiness to inherit

Statutory grounds on which a person cannot inherit either by law or by will, for example intentionally taking the life of the deceased or coercion in making the will; the court establishes it ex officio (Article 158 LI FBiH).

Decision on inheritance (rješenje o nasljeđivanju)

The decision determining the heirs, their shares and the legacies; once final, it is the basis for registration in the land register, the cadastre and other registers (Article 244 LI FBiH).

Supplementary decision on inheritance

The decision by which the court distributes assets found later to the heirs already determined without repeating the hearing (Article 251 LI FBiH).

Separation of the estate (separatio bonorum)

The right of the deceased's creditors to demand, within three months of the opening of the succession, that the estate be separated from the heir's assets for their satisfaction (Article 173 LI FBiH).

Sources and case law on this topic

Frequently asked questions about probate proceedings in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Last updated: 20 September 2026 | Law Office Prnjavorac, Đorđa Mihajlovića 10b, Tuzla | Author: Azur Prnjavorac, attorney at law