Can my parent legally leave me nothing in their will in Malta?
- 04.08.2026
My siblings and I in Malta jointly inherited a property from our parent, but we can’t agree on what to do with it, some of us want to sell, others want to keep it. Is there a legal mechanism to resolve this deadlock, such as forcing a sale, if we genuinely cannot reach agreement among ourselves?
Yes, Maltese law does provide a mechanism for resolving exactly this kind of deadlock among co-heirs, generally through an action for partition (diviżjoni) under provisions connected to the Civil Code, Chapter 16 of the Laws of Malta, and the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure, Chapter 12 of the Laws of Malta, which allows any co-owner of jointly inherited property to apply to the court to have the property formally divided among the co-heirs, and where the property cannot practically be divided in kind, such as with a single residential property that isn't easily split, the court can order it to be sold, typically by judicial auction, with the proceeds then divided among the co-heirs according to their respective shares. Before resorting to a formal partition action, which can take time and involve legal costs that reduce the overall value ultimately available to be shared among you, it is often worth genuinely exploring whether a private agreement can be reached, for example one sibling buying out the others' shares at a fairly assessed value, since this can often achieve a faster and more cost-effective outcome for everyone involved. If informal negotiation between you and your siblings continues to be unsuccessful, a lawyer can advise on formally initiating a partition action to bring the deadlock to a legal resolution.
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