Can my parent legally leave me nothing in their will in Malta?

Your assumption is generally correct. Under the Civil Code, Chapter 16 of the Laws of Malta, Maltese succession law follows the principle of forced heirship, meaning certain close relatives, particularly children and the surviving spouse, are entitled to a legally protected minimum share of the deceased's estate, known as the legitim or reserved portion, which cannot simply be removed or reduced to nothing through a will, regardless of the testator's personal wishes or family disagreements. Where there is one child, that child is generally entitled to a minimum of one-quarter of the net estate, with the specific reserved fraction varying based on the total number of children, and a will that purports to leave a child with nothing, or with less than their legally reserved portion, can generally be challenged in court by the affected heir seeking to enforce their legitim. If you believe you have genuinely been left out of your parent's will or given less than your reserved portion, it would be worth having a lawyer review the actual will once your parent's estate is eventually administered, to properly calculate your legitim entitlement and, if necessary, formally pursue a claim to enforce it against the estate.