Inheriting a Montenegro Apartment: What the Treaty with Serbia and Montenegrin Law Say

A Montenegro apartment is inherited under Montenegrin law and processed in Montenegro — even if the person who died lived and died in Serbia their whole life¹. This follows from Montenegro’s law on private international law: for real estate, the law of the country where the property is located applies, and Montenegro’s courts have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes about property rights to real estate located in Montenegro¹. A treaty on legal assistance in civil and criminal matters is in force between Serbia and Montenegro, under which citizens of one country enjoy the same legal protection in the other country’s courts as its own citizens² — meaning the heir’s citizenship by itself creates no additional barriers. By default, inheritance proceedings in Montenegro are handled not by a court but by a notary — the case opens automatically after the death is registered, and the law gives the notary 60 days to decide from the moment the court hands the case over³. There is no separate "inheritance tax" in Montenegro: inherited real estate is taxed under the same property transfer tax as a purchase, but a spouse, children, and parents of the deceased are fully exempt from this tax⁴.

The question "how is a Montenegro apartment inherited when the deceased is a Serbian citizen" has two distinct legal layers, and it is important not to confuse them. The first is the intergovernmental "Ugovor između Crne Gore i Republike Srbije o pravnoj pomoći u građanskim i krivičnim stvarima" (Treaty between Montenegro and the Republic of Serbia on Legal Assistance in Civil and Criminal Matters), published by the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro²; it deals primarily with procedural matters — equal access to courts, recognition of documents, and legal assistance between the two countries. The second, and practically more important for the question of "whose law applies," is Montenegro’s own internal law on private international law (Zakon o međunarodnom privatnom pravu), which directly determines which country’s legislation governs inheritance of real estate and which country’s court has the right to handle the case¹. The analysis below is built around this second law — it gives the substantive answer, while the legal-assistance treaty ensures that a Serbian citizen before a Montenegrin court or notary is not placed in a less favorable position than a Montenegrin citizen².

Intuitively, it seems that since the deceased was a Serbian citizen who permanently lived in Serbia, the entire estate should be handled under Serbian rules. In practice, for real estate this is not the case. Montenegro’s law on private international law generally designates the law of the deceased’s habitual residence at the time of death as applicable to inheritance — regardless of citizenship¹. But specifically for real estate, the law gives the deceased the right to choose in advance the law of the country where that property is located as applicable¹; and if no such choice was made, Montenegrin courts have exclusive jurisdiction over cases concerning property rights to real estate located in Montenegro¹. In other words: even if the main probate case (bank accounts, movable property, proceedings in Serbia) is handled at the deceased’s place of residence in Serbia, the apartment in Bar specifically will most likely have to be processed separately — in Montenegro, before a Montenegrin notary, under Montenegrin rules. This is not a penalty or discrimination against foreigners: the same principle (law and jurisdiction of the location of the property) is standard practice in private international law generally, not something specific to Montenegrin legislation.

If there is no will, the statutory order of succession applies — the so-called inheritance orders (nasljedni redovi). In the first order, the children and spouse of the deceased inherit, in equal shares among themselves⁵. If there is no one in the first order, the parents of the deceased and the spouse inherit (half to the parents, half to the spouse; or everything to the parents if there is no spouse)⁵. The third order consists of grandparents (on both the mother’s and father’s side, half to each pair), and the fourth order consists of great-grandparents⁵. The standard rule of inheritance law applies: heirs in a closer order fully exclude those in a more distant order from inheriting⁵. Foreign citizens in Montenegro have inheritance rights equal to those of Montenegrin citizens — the law expresses this through a reciprocity condition (uzajamnost)⁵, and since Serbian citizens already freely acquire real estate in Montenegro, in practice this condition creates no separate barrier for Serbian heirs.

If a will exists, it takes priority over the statutory order of succession — but it cannot completely deprive those entitled to a compulsory share of their portion (see below). Montenegrin inheritance law recognizes several forms of will: a holographic will, written and signed by the testator personally; a will made in the presence of two witnesses; a judicial will (before a judge or notary); an international will in the form of the Washington Convention; and, in exceptional circumstances, an oral will⁵. Separately, the law explicitly recognizes wills made abroad if they meet a form provided for by law⁵ — meaning a will drawn up in Serbia under Serbian rules (for example, before a Serbian notary) generally does not need to be redone in Montenegro if it meets one of the recognized forms. Even so, for a specific will it is worth separately checking the form’s compliance with a Montenegrin notary before opening the probate case — this is a case where it is better to confirm the formalities in advance than to face a challenge to the will’s form after the testator’s death.

Even when a will exists, a narrow circle of close relatives — children, spouse, parents, and adopted children — have a right to a compulsory (necessary) share that a will cannot override⁵. For descendants and the spouse, the compulsory share is half of what they would have been entitled to by law in the absence of a will; for other persons entitled to it, it is a third of the statutory share⁵. A claim to reduce testamentary dispositions in favor of the compulsory share must be filed within three years of the will being read out, while a claim to recover gifts made in lieu of the compulsory share must be filed within three years of the testator’s death⁵. The validity of the will itself can be challenged within one year from when the interested party learned of the grounds for invalidating the will, but no later than ten years from the day the will was read out⁵. This means that even a carefully drafted will cannot completely "bypass" close relatives — if it tries to, the shortchanged heir has a legal mechanism to obtain their compulsory share, but it must be used in time.

Contrary to the common assumption of a "probate case in court," in Montenegro inheritance cases are by default handled not by a court but by a notary. The case does not open on the heirs’ application but automatically: after a death is registered with the civil registry, the competent basic court forwards the information to the notary in the district of the deceased’s last residence, and it is that notary — not one chosen by the heirs — who handles the case³. For the first hearing, the heirs must bring documents confirming ownership: extracts from the real estate register (no older than six months), vehicle registration documents, and information on bank accounts and securities³. Under the law governing non-contentious proceedings, the notary is required to issue a decision within 60 days of receiving the case from the court — this is confirmed by the president of Montenegro’s Notary Chamber⁹; according to industry analyses, accounting for the time it takes for the court to actually hand the case to the notary, the entire undisputed process typically takes about 60–90 days from start to finish³ — noticeably faster than classic court litigation. According to the president of the Notary Chamber, only an "insignificant number" of cases end up in court⁹. If a dispute does arise — over the circle of heirs, the validity of the will, or the composition of the estate — the case is referred back to court and turns into an ordinary court proceeding, which can drag on for years³. It is the notary’s decision (or the court’s, if the case moved there) that becomes the basis for subsequently registering ownership.

Montenegro has no separate law or separate rate specifically for an "inheritance tax." Inherited real estate is taxed under the same tax as a purchase — the property transfer tax (porez na promet nepokretnosti), with a progressive scale of 3% up to €150,000; €4,500 plus 5% on the portion from €150,000.01 to €500,000; and €22,000 plus 6% on the portion above that⁴ ⁶. But Article 14 of this law provides separate exemptions specifically for inheritance and gifts between close relatives⁴ — and it is this article, not some separate "law on inheritance," that determines who ends up paying the tax and who does not.

Article 14 of the property transfer tax law explicitly exempts a first-order heir, the spouse, and a parent of the deceased from this tax — that is, children, the spouse, and parents as a single list, with no additional conditions⁴ ⁶ ⁷. For second-order heirs (siblings, grandparents), however, the exemption is no longer unconditional: the law requires that the heir have continuously lived with the deceased in the same household for at least three years, if it concerns agricultural property being used for its intended purpose, or for at least one year, if a single apartment or house is inherited⁴. If this condition is not met, the second-order heir and "all other relatives or third parties" pay the tax under the ordinary progressive scale — the same as on a regular purchase⁴. In practice, for most Zen Gardens property owners (where the apartment passes to a spouse or children) this means a full exemption from tax on inheritance — but if for some reason the apartment passes to a more distant relative, it is worth checking with the notary in advance whether the cohabitation condition is met, rather than assuming the exemption is automatic for any relative.

The notary’s decision opening the estate is the basis for the transfer of ownership, but by itself it is not yet registration. As a separate step, the heir must file an application for registration (upis) in the real estate cadastre, attaching the notary’s decision as the title document⁸. According to specialized publications, the entire procedure — from opening the probate case to registering ownership in the cadastre and resolving tax matters — typically takes two to six months and costs, including notary and related fees, roughly in the range of €200–1,500⁸; this is an approximate estimate of service costs, not a fixed state fee, and the exact amount in your case should be checked with the specific notary. Until registration in the cadastre is completed, the heir’s ownership is not legally secured by an entry in the register — meaning that a further sale, renting out through official channels, or processing paperwork for the apartment will be difficult until this step is completed.

The first common mistake is to confuse the deceased’s citizenship with the applicable law: the fact that the deceased was a Serbian citizen does not mean the Montenegro apartment can or should be inherited under Serbian law — what decides is not citizenship, but the location of the property¹. The second is to assume that because a probate case in Serbia has already been opened and closed, the Montenegro apartment can automatically be transferred on the basis of the Serbian decision, without a separate procedure in Montenegro; because of the exclusive jurisdiction of Montenegrin courts over property rights to local real estate¹, in practice a separate action in Montenegro is almost always required. The third is to think that the inheritance tax for relatives is waived entirely and unconditionally for everyone; this is true for the first order (children, spouse, parents), but more distant relatives must meet the cohabitation condition⁴. And the fourth is to confuse the notary’s decision opening the estate with the actual registration of ownership: these are two separate, sequential steps, and until the second is completed, the title is not formally secured⁸.

If you are planning to put the question of inheriting Montenegro real estate in order in advance — or have already run into an open probate case — here is what to check, in order: first, ask a Montenegrin notary or lawyer whether a will was made and in what form, and if so, whether that form meets the requirements recognized in Montenegro⁵; second, gather in advance the documents confirming ownership of the property (a current cadastre extract, no older than six months)³; third, after the deceased’s death, wait for the case to be automatically forwarded to a notary, and confirm exactly who has been assigned to handle it³; fourth, during the procedure itself with the notary, clarify your tax-exemption status — whether the specific heir falls within the group exempt unconditionally, or needs to confirm cohabitation⁴; and finally, after receiving the notary’s decision — without delay, file an application for registration of ownership in the cadastre, since it is this entry, not the decision itself, that finally secures the right for the heir⁸.

Sources

1. Zakon o međunarodnom privatnom pravu Crne Gore (Montenegro’s Law on Private International Law), Arts. 71, 72(2), 119, 128 — applicable law and jurisdiction for inheritance of real estate (paragraf.me).

2. Ugovor između Crne Gore i Republike Srbije o pravnoj pomoći u građanskim i krivičnim stvarima (Treaty between Montenegro and the Republic of Serbia on Legal Assistance in Civil and Criminal Matters), published by the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro on 3 July 2019 — equal legal protection for the other country’s citizens in court, Art. 2 (gov.me; treaty text — podaci.net).

3. Inflacija.me, "Notari ubrzavaju podjelu imovine: Pravila za ostavinski postupak" — the procedure for opening a probate case with a notary, the 60–90-day timeframe, and the required documents.

4. Zakon o porezu na promet nepokretnosti Crne Gore (Montenegro’s Law on Property Transfer Tax), Art. 14 — exemption from tax on inheritance and gifts (me.propisi.net).

5. Zakon o nasljeđivanju Crne Gore (Montenegro’s Law on Inheritance) — orders of succession, forms of wills, compulsory share, and the reciprocity condition for foreigners (paragraf.me).

6. Ekonomik.co, "Glavni porezi u Crnoj Gori u 2026. godini" — property transfer tax rates and the overall tax context for 2026.

7. Inflacija.me, "Porez na promet nepokretnosti: vodič" — exemption of first-order heirs (children, spouse) from the property transfer tax.

8. eParcela.me — an overview of the real estate inheritance procedure in Montenegro: timeframe (2–6 months) and approximate cost (€200–1,500).

9. RTCG (Radio Televizija Crne Gore) and Kodex.me, citing the president of Montenegro’s Notary Chamber — the 60-day deadline for the notary’s decision from when the court hands over the case, and the "insignificant number" of cases that reach court.

— Currency Control and Legal Payment in Montenegro — how to pay for a purchase — and other large expenses, including a renovation — without tripping currency-control rules.

— Mortgage in Montenegro for Foreigners: Real Rates — for anyone financing the purchase instead of paying by transfer in full.

— Cost of Living in Montenegro — a realistic monthly budget, so utility bills and renovation costs don’t come as a surprise.

— Car and Driving License in Montenegro — the other piece of bureaucracy that usually follows right after you settle into a new place.

— How to Get a Residence Permit in Montenegro — the general routes to a boravak for anyone relocating.