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

What actually happens: Icelandic inheritance law (Erfðalög, say: ERTH-a-luhg, the Inheritance Act no. 8/1962) then decides for you. If you leave a husband or wife and children, the husband or wife gets one third and the children share the other two thirds equally. If you leave a husband or wife and no children, they get everything. If there is no family at all (no spouse, children, parents or brothers and sisters), the money goes to the State.
What to do: Do you want something different from this? For example money for a partner you are not married to, or a child from an earlier relationship, or someone in another country? Then you must write a will. Everything about estates starts with the District Commissioner (sýslumaður, say: SIS-lu-math-ur) at syslumenn.is.
The common trap: Thinking a partner you live with but did not marry will inherit. Living together (sambúð) gives no right to inherit. Only marriage or a will does.

What you can and cannot give away in a will

What actually happens: Even with a will, the law protects your closest family. They are called skylduerfingjar (say: SKIL-du-er-fin-gyar, heirs who cannot be cut out): your husband or wife, and your children. They must get a set share of what you leave. A will cannot take it all away from them. The rest of the money you can give to whoever you choose.
What to do: If your wishes are different from the normal split, write the will with a lawyer (lögmaður, say: LUHG-math-ur) who knows this law. The law itself is at althingi.is, Erfðalög no. 8/1962.
The common trap: Copying a will from your home country. The rules about protected family shares, and about how a will must be signed, are not the same here.

How to make a will that works in Iceland

What actually happens: A will (erfðaskrá, say: ERTH-a-skrow) counts in Iceland when it is written down and either stamped by a notary (this job is done by the District Commissioner) or signed in front of two witnesses who confirm that you signed it freely and knew what you were doing.
What to do: The easiest and safest way is to make the will at the sýslumaður's office. They keep the original, so it cannot be lost and it is very hard to argue against. Offices and booking: syslumenn.is.
The common trap: Keeping the only copy at home. If nobody finds it after you die, everything is shared out as if you never wrote a will.

You are a foreigner: does a will from home count here?

What actually happens: Iceland is in the EEA but does not follow the EU inheritance rule (650/2012) that lets EU citizens pick their own country's law. So if your real home is Iceland, an Icelandic court will normally use Icelandic inheritance law for what you leave here, including the protected family shares, even if your will was written in another country.
What to do: If you own things in more than one country, talk to a lawyer who works with estates across borders. Often the cleanest answer is two wills that match each other: one for what you own in Iceland, one for what you own at home.
The common trap: Writing one will abroad and believing Iceland will follow all of it. The signing may be accepted. The way the money is split often will not be.

The first days: who is in charge and who pays the bills

What actually happens: When someone dies in Iceland, the District Commissioner for the area where they last lived opens the estate. Bank accounts are locked. But the sýslumaður can allow money to be taken from the dead person's own account for the first necessary costs, above all the funeral. Most estates are finished within a few months.
What to do: The funeral home (útfararstofa, say: OOT-far-ar-sto-va) usually walks the family through the first two days and talks to the sýslumaður about payment. Forms and steps are at syslumenn.is.
The common trap: Moving money out of the dead person's account before the sýslumaður says yes. The bank will take it back and everything gets slower.

Funerals: religious and non-religious

What actually happens: Most funerals are arranged by a funeral home, which takes care of the death certificate, the cemetery and the ceremony. Burial and cremation are both possible. Cremations happen in one place and only on certain days each week, arranged by the funeral home with Kirkjugarðar Reykjavíkur. Religious ceremonies (Lutheran, Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim and others) and non-religious ceremonies are all possible. The religious group you are registered with does not decide for the family.
What to do: Tell at least one person you trust what you want (burial or cremation, religious or not, sent home or not) while you are well, and write it down. The funeral home follows what the family says. There is no national list of funeral wishes.
The common trap: Expecting embalming. It is not normal here. It is usually only done when a body is being sent to another country and that country asks for it.

Sending a body to your home country

What actually happens: This is arranged by the funeral home together with your embassy. It needs a sealed coffin that meets international air rules, a death certificate translated and stamped (apostille), an export permit, and a flight. It costs much more than a funeral here and takes longer. The other country's rules decide how long it takes, not Iceland.
What to do: Call the funeral home and your embassy on the same day. The embassy makes the papers on their side, the funeral home on the Icelandic side. Embassies and consulates for Iceland are listed at government.is.
The common trap: Promising the family abroad a date before the embassy confirms the papers. The date is out of Iceland's hands.

Your kennitala, bank accounts and contracts after death

What actually happens: Your kennitala (personal ID number) is never given to anyone else. It stays yours, and Þjóðskrá (Registers Iceland) marks it as deceased once the death is registered. Bank accounts are locked and become part of the estate. Contracts you still have (rent, phone, electricity, subscriptions) do not stop by themselves. Someone must tell each company, usually with a copy of the death certificate.
What to do: Keep one simple list where your family can find it: bank, landlord, employer, insurance, pension fund, phone company, main subscriptions. It saves them weeks of searching at the worst time.

If you die and your children are still young

What actually happens: If both legal parents die, or the parent who is left does not have custody, the District Commissioner appoints a guardian (lögráðamaður, say: LUHG-rowth-a-math-ur, an adult who looks after the child's life and money) until the child is 18. The decision looks at what is best for the child, what the family wants, and anything you wrote down.
What to do: If you want one particular person, especially someone abroad or someone who is not the obvious choice, write it down, best of all inside your will. The sýslumaður takes that seriously, even though the final decision is not yours. See syslumenn.is.
The common trap: Saying nothing because the thought is too painful. A decision will be made anyway. The only question is whether your wish is heard.

Pensions and life insurance

What actually happens: Almost everyone working in Iceland pays into a pension fund (lífeyrissjóður, say: LEE-fey-ris-syoh-thur). Many funds pay money to a husband or wife after a death, and money for children until they are 18, or longer if they are studying. Private life insurance is usually paid straight to the people you named, and is not part of the estate.
What to do: Tell your family which pension fund you pay into, and where any life insurance papers are. For how these payments are taxed, ask Skatturinn (the tax office) at skatturinn.is.
The common trap: Waiting for the pension fund to find your family. Most funds only pay after the family asks and sends a death certificate.

Editor's note (opinion)

The hard part of this page is not the law. Iceland's rules here are clear, and the sýslumaður is genuinely helpful. The hard part is that most foreigners never write anything down. So when something happens, a family in another country meets a system in a language they cannot read, with no instructions from the person they lost. One sheet of paper (bank, pension fund, funeral wishes, a named guardian) changes everything. Companion Iceland

Sources

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