Inheritance law concerns the transfer of property and other rights of a natural person upon death. The regulation of the succession in a will opens up a multitude of possibilities to regulate what happens to the assets after death and to prevent disputes between the heirs. We will be happy to advise and support you with all related questions.
Our expert for inheritance law: lawyer Olav Sydow
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With us you will find lawyer Olav Sydow , a knowledgeable, competent contact person who specializes in inheritance law and who will support you with any problems that may arise. If a relative has died and the inheritance has thus occurred, extremely rapid action is sometimes required. In hardly any other area of law are such serious disadvantages threatened by the passage of time as in inheritance law!!! On the one hand, this relates to securing the estate. The grief caused by the loss of a close relative sometimes means that it is overlooked that co-heirs or third parties can tamper with the estate or even destroy an existing will. |
The old adage: “Opportunity makes the thief” is sadly confirmed here. Once this has happened, it is often very difficult or impossible to determine what was in the estate and whether and by whom things were stolen. This avoidable problem should definitely be prevented by timely documentation and securing of the estate.
The deadlines must be observed
On the other hand, from a legal point of view, there is a risk of serious disadvantages over time. This concerns the question of acceptance or waiver of the inheritance. The inheritance goes according to § 1942 para. 1 BGB automatically to the heir or heirs appointed by will or legal succession (if there is no will or only an ineffective will), a declaration of acceptance is not required for this. On the other hand, according to § 1944 BGB, the inheritance can only be waived within six weeks of knowledge of the inheritance and the reason for the appointment as heir (based on a will or legal succession).
This can be considered if the estate is over-indebted (according to § 1967 BGB, the heir is fully liable with his own assets for all liabilities of the deceased!).
However, it can also be more advantageous to renounce the inheritance and assert the compulsory portion (possibly with claims for a supplementary compulsory portion) if one or more co-heirs are significantly preferred by provisions in the will or considerable assets were already transferred to co-heirs before the inheritance.
The same also applies to a surviving spouse, for whom it may be more advantageous to refuse the inheritance, to assert the compulsory portion and to claim the accrued gains to which he or she is entitled (which is regularly flat-rate at ¼ in the case of legal succession in accordance with Section 1371 (1) BGB). § 1371 para. 2, 3 BGB to be calculated specifically.
Any contestation of a will is also subject to a time limit. The deadline according to § 2082 para. 1 BGB one year from knowledge of the reason for avoidance. A reason for rescission exists, for example, in the case of an error on the part of the testator or inability to make a testament.
Problems and Pitfalls
But there are also a number of possible problems and pitfalls in other areas of inheritance law and estate administration, where legal advice and assistance may be required. Arrange a meeting with us. We will be happy to clarify all pending questions with you in detail and at your leisure.
We will help you with the
- Regulation of your estate matters such as
- Drafting a will
- Effective joint (Berlin) will
- Draft contract of inheritance
- Donations during lifetime, also in the context of anticipated inheritance
- Enforcement of your compulsory portion claims
- Execution of Wills
- Contesting wills
- Dispute within the framework of a community of heirs
- Settlement of the estate
- Creation of powers of attorney, care directives and living wills
The fees for legal work result from the Lawyers’ Fees Act and are calculated on the basis of the object value, which results from the value of the estate or the disputed claims. Alternatively, we can also conclude a remuneration agreement.