Legal rights

In Scots succession law, legal rights are automatic claims that the deceased's spouse or civil partner and children (including adopted and non-marital children) have on the moveable estate — cash, shares, pensions, vehicles, personal effects. Legal rights cannot be defeated by a will: a child or surviving spouse can elect to take their legal rights even where the will leaves them nothing. [source: legislation-gov-uk/succession-scotland-act-1964-contents-2026-05-03.html]

The shares are: [source: legislation-gov-uk/succession-scotland-act-1964-contents-2026-05-03.html]

Surviving family	Spouse / civil partner share	Children's collective share
Spouse and children	One-third of the moveable estate	One-third of the moveable estate
Spouse only (no children)	One-half of the moveable estate	—
Children only (no spouse)	—	One-half of the moveable estate

The remaining share — known as the dead's part — passes under the will or, if there is no will, under the rules of intestate succession after prior rights have been satisfied.

A claimant must elect: they can take the provision in the will or their legal rights, not both (the doctrine of "approbate and reprobate"). The election is generally made within 20 years. [source: legislation-gov-uk/succession-scotland-act-1964-contents-2026-05-03.html]

Legal rights apply only to moveable estate. Heritable estate (land and buildings in Scotland) is excluded. This makes the moveable–heritable distinction unusually load-bearing in Scots succession; an executor preparing the inventory on Form C1 needs to identify which assets fall on which side of the line.

Legal rights have no equivalent in England and Wales, where the will is generally absolute (subject only to claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, which require a court application and are not automatic). → Confirmation in Scotland · Succession (Scotland) Act 1964

Last verified: 3 May 2026 against legislation.gov.uk Succession (Scotland) Act 1964.