The person living in a de facto union cannot be heir to the inheritance of his partner. Thus, the only possibility for the de facto unity to inherit is if there is a will and there is a statement of the deceased person’s express wish to use the available share of the inheritance in their favor.

Even so, despite the fact that the united person is not actually an heir, he can continue to live in the family home,

Let’s see,

If the member who owns the house dies, and the other does not have a home, he can stay in the house for a period of five years, if the union is less than five years old.

If the union has lasted for more than five years, it may stay for the time equal to the duration of the union.

In exceptional cases, the judge may extend the time limits.

Once this time has passed, the survivor may stay on the property, but as a tenant. The latter also has the preemptive right in case of sale of the property. If the members of the de facto union are co-owners, the survivor is entitled to the house.

The surviving member loses the right to reside in the house if:

– do not live in the house for more than one year, unless the lack of housing is due to force majeure.
– if you have your own home in the area of ​​the respective municipality of the family’s home address; in the case of the areas of the municipalities of Lisbon or Porto, the neighboring municipalities are included.