Blended families: €500,000 exempt, then tax divided by three
Prevent a child raised in a blended family from facing inheritance taxation disconnected from the reality of a durable family relationship.
Proposed rule
A qualifying child of the spouse or partner receives a €500,000 inheritance-tax allowance. Above it, the reference tax burden is divided by three. If current law treats the beneficiary as unrelated and applies 60%, the reform rate becomes 20% on the excess over €500,000.
If current adoption rules already place the beneficiary in the direct-line regime, the more favourable €1m child allowance should prevail.
Anti-abuse criteria
The statute must rely on objective evidence such as duration of the couple, cohabitation, effective care of the child and continuity of the family bond. The exact test remains a drafting issue, not an invented threshold.