Making a Will in Denmark: Your Choices and the Required Steps
How do you make a will in Denmark that reflects your wishes and meets the required formalities? Start with the people you want to provide for, understand the inheritance portions protected by Danish law, and arrange the physical signing process. Preparing the wording online is a preparation step: Danish law does not recognise digital signing of a will.
This guide covers Denmark (DK) only and provides general information, not personal legal advice. MemWall’s Denmark-specific will preparation provides text for you to print and sign according to Danish formal requirements. MemWall does not perform notarial functions or provide individual legal advice.
1. Prepare a clear picture of your wishes
Before drafting, gather your thoughts in a short preparation note. Useful subjects include:
- Your spouse or partner, children and other descendants.
- Whether you or your spouse have children from another relationship.
- The people or organisations you would like to include.
- An overview of your assets and any existing will.
- Family circumstances or connections to another country that you want to discuss with an adviser.
Treat this as a working checklist. Separate settled wishes from questions, and describe family relationships clearly rather than relying on labels that might be misunderstood.
Under Danish law, where there is both a spouse and lineal descendants, the statutory inheritance division is one half to the spouse and one half to the descendants under arveloven § 9. A will allows different arrangements within the limits of Danish forced-heirship rules.
2. Understand the protected inheritance portions
In Denmark, tvangsarv, or forced inheritance, is 25% of each protected heir’s statutory inheritance share. It is not 25% of the whole estate for every child. The rules are in arveloven § 5, stk. 1 for lineal descendants and arveloven § 10 for a spouse.
The basic Danish shares, before considering a testamentary cap on a descendant’s forced inheritance, are:
| Family situation | Forced inheritance | Portion freely allocated by will |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse and children | 12.5% of the estate to the spouse; 12.5% to the children together | 75% |
| Children, but no spouse | 25% of the estate to the children together | 75% |
| Spouse, but no lineal descendants | 25% of the estate to the spouse | 75% |
| Neither spouse nor lineal descendants | No spouse’s or descendants’ forced inheritance | 100% |
Where there are several children, they share the children’s protected portion; each child does not receive the full group percentage. Under Danish law, parents have no forced-inheritance portion.
The Danish cap for a lineal descendant
A Danish will can limit each lineal descendant’s forced inheritance to DKK 1,580,000 for 2026, under arveloven § 5, stk. 2, jf. § 97, and BEK nr. 1416 af 24. november 2025 § 2. The amount is adjusted annually.
This limit is imposed by will; it is not an automatic replacement for the percentage calculation. If you want to use it, make that intention an explicit drafting question and seek individual advice about its application to your circumstances.
3. Consider unmarried partnerships and blended families separately
In Denmark, cohabiting partners do not inherit automatically. If you want to provide for an unmarried partner, do not assume that living together has the same inheritance effect as marriage. Write down what you want to achieve and ask which arrangements fit your circumstances.
Danish law also distinguishes joint children from the deceased’s children who are not joint children with the surviving spouse. An undivided estate, known as uskiftet bo, is possible with joint children under arveloven §§ 17–25. The deceased’s non-joint children can demand their inheritance immediately, and an undivided estate requires their consent under arveloven § 18, stk. 1.
For preparation, identify these relationships clearly. A conversation with family may help you explain your intentions, while questions about inheritance and consent can remain on your list for individual legal advice.
4. Complete the Danish signing formalities
A will prepared through MemWall must be printed and physically signed in accordance with Danish inheritance rules. The document does not become a valid will merely because you have completed or downloaded it. The Danish formalities must be fulfilled, either for a notarial will under arveloven § 63 or a witnessed will under arveloven § 64.
A notarial will in Denmark
Under arveloven § 63, you sign the will or acknowledge your signature before a notary. The notary endorses the will, including an assessment of whether you were capable of making it rationally.
A Danish notarial will is registered in Centralregistret for Testamenter, the Central Register of Wills. It is the form that provides the strongest evidential assurance.
If you choose this route, include the notarial step in your practical plan rather than treating the printed document as the completed task.
A witnessed will in Denmark
Under arveloven § 64, you sign or acknowledge your signature before two witnesses who are present at the same time and know that they are witnessing a will.
The Danish witness requirements include:
- Both witnesses must be at least 18 and have the necessary mental capacity.
- Witness-disqualification rules exclude, among others, people who benefit under the will or whose close relations benefit.
- The witnesses must endorse the will.
Do not choose witnesses solely because they are available or familiar with your wishes. Check their eligibility and resolve any uncertainty before arranging the signing.
The Danish emergency exception
Under arveloven § 65, someone prevented by illness or another emergency from making a notarial or witnessed will may make an emergency will in any manner. It lapses after three months during which the person has no longer been prevented from making a will in the usual way.
For ordinary preparation, focus on arranging the notarial or witnessed route rather than relying on this exception.
5. Check capacity and keep the decision your own
In Denmark, a person who has reached 18 or has married can make a will under arveloven § 62, stk. 1. A person aged 15 or above can make a will concerning property they may dispose of themselves under arveloven § 62, stk. 2.
A Danish will is invalid if the person lacked the ability to make it rationally under arveloven § 74. It may also be set aside for coercion, fraud or exploitation under arveloven § 75.
As a practical step, give yourself time to read the wording, ask questions and consider whether it expresses your intentions. Seek individual legal advice if capacity or pressure from others is a concern.
6. Handle changes and international questions carefully
When rereading your will, compare the wording with your present wishes. Note anything you no longer understand or want to change before editing a working copy.
Under Danish law, a will can be changed or revoked according to the rules for making a will, under arveloven § 67. Updating a draft alone does not complete those formalities.
For international situations, Denmark is not covered by the EU Succession Regulation, forordning (EU) nr. 650/2012, and a choice of law cannot therefore be made under its article 22. Choice of law follows Danish international private law, including arveloven § 98 and the Nordic Convention of 19 November 1934 on inheritance and estate administration, amended in 1975.
If your planning involves another country, gather the relevant details and obtain individual advice rather than assuming that a cross-border template applies.
7. Keep preparation and completion distinct
MemWall’s role in Danish will preparation is limited to providing prepared text that you print and sign according to Danish formal requirements. You can use the MemWall information on preparing a last will and testament to orient yourself before working on the wording.
Keep a short completion checklist:
- Describe your family circumstances and wishes clearly.
- Check the Danish forced-inheritance rules relevant to your plan.
- Resolve unanswered questions with an individual legal adviser where needed.
- Review the prepared wording.
- Arrange and complete the chosen signing formalities.
Stories, photographs and personal messages can be a separate part of your preparation. MemWall’s personal legacy planning page can help you organise that personal work alongside, rather than in place of, completing your will.