The succession is to have one or more persons in possession of the legal patrimonial relations of a deceased person and the consequent return of the assets that belonged to him - cfr. art. 2024 of the CC.

Many Portuguese emigrated to other countries, leaving assets in Portugal or family members who later died, leaving them an inheritance. For the transmission of this inheritance, it is necessary to carry out some procedures such as the qualification of heirs, check the existence of wills, list of assets, participation of the death to the Tax Authority, payment of the Stamp Tax (when applicable) and sharing.

If there is no agreement between the heirs regarding the division of assets or if the debts of the deceased are greater than the value of the inheritance or if there are minor, larger heirs accompanied or absent in an uncertain part, an inventory is mandatory.

With the agreement of the interested parties, all of them being larger and capable, the procedure may be carried out in the conservatories or by a notary.

When the heirs do not know what are the assets to which they are entitled, it is necessary to research the assets subject to succession, in order to present the list of assets both in the administrative procedure and in the scope of the inventory.