Key facts
- Reserved shares (Art. 2445 CCyC): descendants two-thirds, ascendants one-half, spouse one-half.
- Succession is governed by the law of the last domicile; Argentine law always governs Argentine real estate (Art. 2644).
- Lifetime gifts count when the reserved shares are calculated, and heirs can ask for their reduction.
- A foreign will is valid in form if it meets one of several laws listed in Art. 2645.
- There is no federal inheritance tax, but Buenos Aires province has one.
Many families that look at a second citizenship come from common-law countries, where a person can usually leave their estate to whoever they choose. Argentina follows the civil-law tradition. Its Civil and Commercial Code (CCyC, in force since 2015) reserves a fixed part of every estate for close family. A will can only distribute what is left.
This guide explains the rules as written in the Code, with article numbers, as of 10 October 2026. It is general information, not legal advice. Succession across borders depends on personal facts, so speak to an Argentine lawyer, and to a lawyer in each country where you hold assets, before you act.
Who the forced heirs are
Article 2444 names three groups of legitimarios (forced heirs): descendants, ascendants and the spouse. They have a reserved portion, the legítima, of which they cannot be deprived “by will or by acts of free disposal during lifetime”, in other words by gifts.
Article 2445 sets the size of each reserved portion:
| Who survives | Reserved portion | Freely disposable portion |
|---|---|---|
| Descendants (children, grandchildren) | Two-thirds | One-third |
| Ascendants only (parents, grandparents) | One-half | One-half |
| Spouse only | One-half | One-half |
| Spouse and descendants | Calculated on the larger reserved share (two-thirds) | One-third |
The last row comes from Article 2446. When a spouse inherits together with children, the spouse takes the same share as a child of the deceased’s own property (Article 2433). The spouse has no share in the deceased’s half of the community property, because the spouse already keeps their own half of it under the marital property regime.
Some details matter in practice:
- Unmarried partners are not forced heirs. A surviving conviviente without housing of their own can claim a free right to live in the last family home for a maximum of two years (Article 527). A surviving spouse, by contrast, has a lifetime right to live in the marital home if it was not co-owned with others (Article 2383).
- Separation ends the spouse’s rights. Divorce, or a de facto separation without the will to reunite, excludes inheritance between spouses (Article 2437).
- No conditions on the reserved share. A testator cannot attach a condition or burden to the reserved portion. If they do, the clause is treated as not written (Article 2447).
- No advance waiver. A child cannot validly waive their reserved share before the parent dies (Article 2449).
Lifetime gifts are counted
The reserved shares are calculated on the net value of the estate at death plus the gifts the deceased made during life that count for each heir (Article 2445). A parent cannot avoid the rules simply by giving assets away before death.
If the will and the estate do not cover an heir’s reserved share, that heir can ask for the reduction of gifts, starting with the most recent (Article 2453). A 2020 reform, Ley 27.587, made property titles that came from gifts more secure. Reduction no longer affects registrable assets that a donee sold to a third party in good faith and for value (Article 2457). The reduction claim also fails against a donee who has possessed the donated asset for ten years (Article 2459).
For a family, the practical effect is that gifts of Argentine property to one child can still be challenged by the other children for years. Keep records of every gift and its value.
Two tools that do give flexibility
The Code is strict, but it is not rigid in every respect:
- The free portion. You can leave one-third of the estate (or one-half, where there are no descendants) to anyone, including one child, a partner or a charity.
- Heirs with a disability. Article 2448 lets a person leave, in addition to the free portion, up to one-third of the reserved portions to a descendant or ascendant with a disability. The Code expressly allows this “by any means”, including a fideicomiso, the Argentine trust. See our guide to fideicomisos and trusts in Argentina.
- Family business pacts. Contracts about a future inheritance are generally void. Article 1010 makes an exception for pacts about a productive business or shareholdings, made to keep management together or to prevent conflicts. These pacts can set compensation for other heirs, but they must not affect the reserved shares.
Which country’s law applies
This is the central question for an internationally mobile family. Argentina’s private international law rules are in Book Six of the Code.
Applicable law. Article 2644 says succession is governed by the law of the deceased’s domicile at the time of death. For real estate located in Argentina, Argentine law applies. In practice an estate can be split. Argentine forced heirship applies to an apartment in Buenos Aires even if the owner lived and died in London. Assets elsewhere follow the law of the last domicile.
Domicile, not nationality. For these rules, a person is domiciled in the state where they reside with the intention to settle (Article 2613). Becoming an Argentine citizen, including through the new Argentina citizenship by investment programme, does not by itself change your domicile. An investor-citizen who lives in Dubai or Madrid will usually have the succession of their movable assets governed by the law of that place, as Argentine courts see it.
Jurisdiction. The judges of the last domicile have jurisdiction, and so do Argentine judges for real estate located in Argentina (Article 2643).
Two complications. If the foreign law that applies refers back to Argentine law, Argentine domestic law applies (Article 2596, on renvoi). And a judge can exclude foreign law that conflicts with fundamental principles of Argentine public policy (Article 2600). How these rules apply to a foreign law that has no forced heirship is a question to put to your lawyer early.
Other countries apply their own rules. For example, the EU Succession Regulation (650/2012) lets a person choose the law of a state whose nationality they hold. Article 2644 of the Argentine Code contains no such choice. A family with assets in the EU and in Argentina may therefore face two systems that reach different answers.
Marriage comes first
Before any succession, the marital property regime decides what belongs to each spouse. Under Article 2625, the regime is governed by the law of the first marital domicile, unless the couple signed a marriage agreement. A couple who moves to Argentina can opt for Argentine law by public deed. Argentine law offers community of property or separation of property (Article 446), and spouses can change regime by deed after one year (Article 449).
Wills: forms that work
Argentina recognises two ordinary forms of will:
- Holographic will (ológrafo): written entirely, dated and signed by the testator’s own hand (Article 2477).
- Will by public deed (por acto público): made before a notary (escribano) and two qualified witnesses (Article 2479).
A joint will by two or more people is invalid (Article 2465). Argentine nationals abroad, and foreigners domiciled in Argentina, can also make a consular will before an Argentine consul and two witnesses (Article 2646).
A will made abroad is valid in form if it meets the law of the place where it was made, or the law of the testator’s domicile, habitual residence or nationality at the time, or Argentine forms (Article 2645). Capacity to make a will follows the law of the domicile when the will is made (Article 2647). Formal validity does not protect the content: a foreign will that leaves Argentine real estate away from forced heirs can be reduced.
Tax on inheritance
There is no federal inheritance or gift tax in Argentina. According to PwC, Buenos Aires province has gift and inheritance taxes under certain conditions and thresholds. The undivided estate (sucesión indivisa) is a taxpayer for the personal assets tax until heirs are declared (Ley 23.966, Article 17). See our guide to the personal assets tax.
A planning checklist
- Map your assets by country and note where each is located, especially real estate.
- Establish your domicile clearly and keep evidence of it. Citizenship does not answer this question.
- Check your marital regime and whether a marriage agreement or a change of regime makes sense.
- Make a will for each relevant country, drafted to work together, with Argentine counsel for Argentine assets.
- Record lifetime gifts and their value at the time of the gift.
- Consider a fideicomiso for specific aims, such as a disabled heir or a family property, within the limits of the reserved shares.
Our family guide covers who can be included in a citizenship application, and the dual citizenship guide explains how a second nationality sits with your first.
Sources
- InfoLEG, Código Civil y Comercial de la Nación (Ley 26.994), consolidated text, Arts. 446, 449, 527, 1010, 2383, 2433, 2437, 2444–2459, 2465, 2477, 2479, 2596, 2600, 2613, 2625, 2643–2647: https://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/235000-239999/235975/texact.htm
- InfoLEG, Ley 23.966, Title VI (personal assets tax), consolidated text: https://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/0-4999/365/texact.htm
- EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 on succession: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2012/650/oj
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Argentina, other taxes (last reviewed 16 June 2026): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/argentina/individual/other-taxes
- Infobae, the Supreme Court and DNU 366/2025 (7 October 2026): https://www.infobae.com/judiciales/2026/10/07/la-corte-suprema-analizara-otro-dnu-de-javier-milei-que-modifico-el-regimen-para-otorgar-ciudadanias/
- Perfil, on the Cámara Nacional Electoral ruling: https://www.perfil.com/noticias/judiciales/la-camara-nacional-electoral-anulo-el-dnu-de-milei-sobre-ciudadania-y-migraciones-el-fallo-considero-la-medida-inconstitucional.phtml