Taiwan's New Inheritance Structure Regarding the Mandatory Portion Amendment
When preparing an estate plan involving Taiwanese assets, testators -especially foreigners, single individuals, and childless couples- often face unexpected limitations imposed by Taiwanese laws. For nearly a century, the Taiwanese Civil Code restricted full testamentary freedom by guaranteeing a minimum inheritance share to the deceased's relatives, regardless of the deceased's wishes. However, a landmark amendment passed by the Taiwan Congress (Legislative Yuan) on 28 July 2026, has fundamentally reshaped Taiwan's succession landscape by completely eliminating the mandatory portion (compulsory portion) for the deceased's siblings.
The Deceased's Siblings May Be Entitled to Inherit the Estate If There Is No Will
The latest amendment has already removed siblings from the protected list regarding the mandatory portion under Article 1223 of the Taiwanese Civil Code. To understand what happended here, you have to first read this article: Who can inherit under Taiwanese laws if there is no will. You will find that the deceased's siblings may be entitled to inherit when the deceased has no children nor parents. The latest amendment did not change this point. That is to say, even though the deceased or the surviving spouse hates the deceased's siblings, the deceased's siblings may still inherit the estate if there is no will.
Legal Inheritance Share If There Is No Will
Secondly, you have to understand the concept of legal inheritance share under Taiwanese inhertiance structure. Put it simply, if there is no will, when the surviving spouse inherits in conjunction with the decedent's lineal descendants by blood such as children, as a matter of law, they may inherit equal shares as per capita. This is the so called legal inheritance share. When the surviving spouse inherits in conjunction with the decedent's parents or siblings, the surviving spouse may inherit one half of the estate. See Article 1144 of the Taiwanese Civil Code. For more examples to illustrate this point, you may check this article: How much can you inherit under Taiwanese laws if there is no will? Now, according to the latest amendment, the siblings' legal inheritance share remains the same. Supposing the deceased is survived by his spouse A, one sister B, and one brother C. Here, A may inherit 1/2, B may inherit 1/4, and C may inherit 1/4 if there is no will. What has been changed is the mandatory portion which would be calculated on the basis of the legal inheritance share if there is a will.
If There Is A Will, Sblings' Mandatory Portion Has Been Struck Out
In Taiwan, each heir, including the spouse, shall be entitled to a mandatory portion (compulsory portion) of the inheritance estate. In other words, the testator can freely distribute her estate to the heirs or give her estate to any third party as gifts by making a will but may not infringe the mandatory portion of each heir. The latest amendment of the Taiwanese Civil Code struct out the siblings' mandatory portion but other heirs' mandatory portions remain the same. To be clear, the revised mandatory portion allocations are:
1. Lineal Descendants & Parents: One-half of their legal inheritance share will be the mandatory portion.
2. Surviving Spouse: One-half of their legal inheritance share will be the mandatory portion.
3. Grandparents: One-third of their legal inhertiance share will be the mandatory portion.
4. Siblings: No mandatroy portion.
Therefore, when you do not have any children nor parents and you do not want your siblings to have a share of your estate, now you can make a will to exclude your siblings in terms of inheriting your estate. The new law will become effective since the early 2027 approximately (six months after the President of Taiwan announces it but it has not been publicly announced yet ).
To add up, when the deceased passes away before the new law becomes effective, the old legal structure applies. When the deceased passes away after the new law becomes effective, the new legal structure applies.
