Living in Iceland · After death

If you die here

It is the question no one likes to ask. But for foreigners with family abroad, silence on this is the cruelest kind of help. Iceland has a clear, written process for almost every part of it: what follows is that process, in plain language.

Last verified 4 August 2026 · althingi.is (Erfðalög nr. 8/1962), syslumenn.is, island.is, skatturinn.is, kirkjugardar.is

Your situations, one by one

You die without a will (intestate)

What actually happens: Icelandic inheritance law (Erfðalög nr. 8/1962) decides for you. If you leave a spouse and children, the surviving spouse takes one-third of the estate and the children share the remaining two-thirds equally. If you leave a spouse and no descendants, the spouse inherits everything. If there are no legal heirs at all (spouse, descendants, parents, siblings), the estate passes to the State Treasury.
What to do: If you have any wish that differs from this default, a partner you are not married to, a child from a previous relationship, someone abroad, write a will. The official starting point for estate matters in Iceland is the District Commissioner (sýslumaður) at syslumenn.is.
The common trap: Assuming an unmarried partner will inherit. Cohabitation (sambúð) on its own does not create inheritance rights under Erfðalög: only marriage or a will does.

Forced heirship: what you can and cannot give away

What actually happens: Even with a will, Icelandic law protects a class of close heirs called skylduerfingjar, your spouse and your descendants. They are entitled to a reserved share of your estate, and a will cannot fully disinherit them. You can normally direct who receives the freely-disposable portion, but the reserved share is fixed by statute.
What to do: If your wishes go against the default split, draft the will with a lawyer (lögmaður) who knows Erfðalög. The text of the act is published at althingi.is, Erfðalög nr. 8/1962.
The common trap: Copying a will template from your home country. The forced-heirship rules and the formal requirements are not the same as in most common-law countries.

Writing a valid will in Iceland

What actually happens: A will (erfðaskrá) is valid in Iceland when it is in writing and either notarised by a notary public (a function carried out by the District Commissioner, sýslumaður) or signed in the presence of two qualified witnesses who attest that you signed it of your own free will and were of sound mind.
What to do: The simplest, safest route is to make the will at the sýslumaður's office, they keep the original on file, which makes it almost impossible to lose or contest on form. Booking and locations are at syslumenn.is.
The common trap: Keeping the only copy at home. If no one finds it after your death, the estate is settled as if you had no will.

You are a foreigner: does your home-country will apply?

What actually happens: Iceland is in the EEA but is not bound by the EU Succession Regulation (650/2012), which is the rule that lets EU citizens choose their home country's law. In practice, if your habitual residence is Iceland, an Icelandic court will generally apply Icelandic inheritance law to your estate here, including the forced-heirship rules, even if your will was written abroad.
What to do: If you have meaningful assets in more than one country, get advice from a lawyer who handles cross-border estates. Often the cleanest answer is two coordinated wills: one for assets in Iceland, one for assets in your home country, drafted so they do not contradict each other.
The common trap: Writing one will abroad and assuming Iceland will honour it in full. The form may be respected; the substantive split often will not be.

The first days: who handles things and how the bills get paid

What actually happens: When someone dies in Iceland, the District Commissioner (sýslumaður) for the district of last residence opens the estate. Bank accounts are frozen, but the sýslumaður can authorise the release of funds from the deceased's own accounts to cover essential first costs, most importantly the funeral. The estate is normally settled within a few months, depending on complexity.
What to do: The funeral home (útfararstofa) typically guides the family through the first 48 hours and liaises with the sýslumaður on payment. The official process and forms are at syslumenn.is.
The common trap: Trying to move money out of the deceased's account before the sýslumaður authorises it. Banks will reverse the transaction and it slows everything down.

Funerals in Iceland: civil and religious options

What actually happens: Most funerals are arranged through a funeral home, which handles the death certificate, the cemetery, and the ceremony. Both burial and cremation are available; cremations are centralised and take place on a limited number of days each week, arranged via the funeral home with Kirkjugarðar Reykjavíkur. Religious ceremonies (Lutheran, Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim and others) and fully civil ceremonies are all available, your registered religious or life-stance association does not bind the family's choice.
What to do: Tell at least one trusted person your preference (burial vs cremation, religious vs civil, repatriation or not) while you are well: ideally in writing. The funeral home will follow the family's instructions; there is no national registry of funeral wishes.
The common trap: Embalming as a default. It is not the standard practice in Iceland and is usually only arranged when a body is being repatriated abroad and the destination country requires it.

Repatriating a body to your home country

What actually happens: Repatriation is arranged through the funeral home in coordination with your embassy. It involves a sealed coffin meeting international (IATA) standards, a death certificate translated and apostilled, an export permit, and air freight. It is significantly more expensive and slower than a local funeral, and the destination country's rules (some require embalming, some require specific paperwork) drive the timeline.
What to do: Contact the funeral home and your embassy on the same day. The embassy issues the consular paperwork; the funeral home handles the Icelandic side. For the official list of consular missions accredited to Iceland, see government.is.
The common trap: Promising the family abroad a date before the embassy confirms the paperwork. Repatriation timelines are driven by the destination country, not by Iceland.

Your kennitala, bank accounts and contracts after death

What actually happens: Your kennitala is not reused, it stays linked to you in Þjóðskrá and is marked as deceased once the death is registered. Bank accounts are frozen and pass into the estate. Ongoing contracts (rent, phone, utilities, subscriptions) do not cancel automatically, the executor or family must notify each provider, usually with a copy of the death certificate.
What to do: Keep a simple list somewhere your next of kin can find it: bank, landlord, employer, insurer, pension fund, phone provider, key subscriptions. It saves your family weeks of detective work at the worst possible time.

If you die leaving children

What actually happens: If both legal parents die, or if the surviving parent does not have custody, the District Commissioner appoints a guardian (lögráðamaður) to manage the child's personal and financial affairs until age 18. The court considers the child's best interests, the family's wishes, and any designation you have left in writing.
What to do: If you want a specific person to be guardian, especially someone abroad or someone who is not the obvious next of kin, say so in writing, ideally inside your will. The sýslumaður weighs that designation seriously, even though the final decision is the court's. Guidance is at syslumenn.is.
The common trap: Leaving the question unspoken because it feels unbearable. The court will decide either way; the only question is whether your voice is in the room.

Pensions and life insurance

What actually happens: Most people working in Iceland pay into a mandatory pension fund (lífeyrissjóður); many funds pay a survivor's pension to a spouse and a children's pension until age 18 (or longer for students). Private life insurance benefits are normally paid directly to the named beneficiaries, outside the estate.
What to do: Tell your family which pension fund you pay into and where any private life insurance policy is held. For the tax treatment of payouts (which depends on the type of benefit), confirm with Skatturinn (Iceland Revenue and Customs) at skatturinn.is.
The common trap: Assuming the pension fund will find your family on its own. Most funds pay survivor benefits only after the family files a claim with a death certificate.

Editor's note (opinion)

The hardest part of this page is not the law, Iceland's rules here are clear and the sýslumaður is genuinely helpful. The hardest part is that most foreigners never write anything down, so when something happens, the family abroad faces a system in a language they do not read, with no instructions from the person they have lost. A single sheet of paper, bank, pension fund, funeral wishes, a named guardian, changes everything. Companion Iceland