When a deceased left no will, things can get complicated. Then the legal succession, which the probate court decides on, applies.
When a loved one dies, money is the last thing on your mind. If the deceased has not left a will, the paperwork is often inevitable. Then relatives must contact the probate court, which decides on the succession. Here’s how to proceed in such a case.
No will, now what? How the inheritance of relatives in the event of death is determined by law
Like a poll of German bank found in 2018, about 15 percent of people under the age of 50 have a will. Among 50 to 64 year olds it is 36 percent and among people over 65 58 percent have a written last will. This means that more than half of Germans have not written a will. In all these cases, the statutory succession applies.
If there is no will, according to Section 2353 of the German Civil Code (BGB), relatives must make an appointment with the probate court and apply for a certificate of inheritance there. A certificate of inheritance is required in order to accept the estate. However, this can also become invalid if the circumstances of the inheritance change again, for example if another heir makes a claim.
If several persons are entitled to inherit, a community of heirs is automatically created. The probate court, which refers to the legal succession (§ 1924-1926 BGB), then also determines who inherits and to what extent. The probate court also first looks for an heir if there is no direct heir. If there are no more relatives, the state inherits.
Statutory Succession: Children and Spouses – Heirs are divided into categories
The legal succession divides descendants and relatives of a deceased into so-called orders. Heirs of the first order are the children of the deceased who inherit in equal parts. If a deceased has four children, each gets 25 percent of the inheritance. However, if there is a surviving spouse, that spouse is also a first-class heir and inherits at least 25 percent of the entire inheritance if the couple lived in separate estates4, and as much as 50 percent if there was no marriage contract. In this case, the four children would have to share the remaining 75 or 50 percent between four.
In addition, according to the Federal Ministry of Justice, since the “Second Law on Equality of Inheritance for Children out of Wedlock” retrospectively from May 29, 2009, illegitimate children are also entitled to inherit, to the same extent as legitimate children. If one of the descendants has already died, the siblings no longer inherit, but instead – if any – the children of the deceased descendant.
Second and third degree heirs: when do uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces and grandparents inherit?
If there are no first-order heirs, i.e. neither spouses nor children, the second-order heirs inherit first – the parents of the deceased. If one of the parents is also dead, their children, i.e. the siblings of the deceased, inherit their share. If both parents are deceased, the siblings inherit equally.
Nephews and nieces inherit if a sibling of the deceased would inherit who is also no longer alive. Then their children, i.e. nieces and nephews of the deceased, get their parent’s share.
Third-order heirs are the grandparents and their descendants. So if a deceased had no children, spouse, parents, siblings, or nephews and nieces, the grandparents inherit. If they are still alive, they get the inheritance equally. If a grandparent is already deceased, their descendants, i.e. the uncles and aunts of the deceased, inherit. If they are also dead, the inheritance goes to their descendants, i.e. to the cousins of the deceased.
Compulsory share: Even those who are disinherited have a right to their inheritance according to the statutory succession
Descendants who have been disinherited are also entitled to their share of the inheritance. According to § 2303 BGB, the compulsory portion corresponds to 50 percent of the statutory entitlement. For example, if a testator has two children and no spouse, each child would inherit 50 percent. If one of the children is disinherited, he would still be entitled to half of his share, i.e. 25 percent of the total inheritance, which he can claim from the other heir.
2023-07-10 05:43:05
#legal #succession #apply
