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Questions & answers about the compulsory portion
The compulsory portion ensures that the closest relatives receive a minimum financial share of the estate if they have been excluded from the succession by a will or inheritance contract.
First and foremost, your own children and spouses or registered partners are entitled to claim. If children are already deceased, grandchildren succeed them. Only if the deceased leaves no descendants are the parents also entitled to a compulsory portion. For all other persons such as siblings, non-adopted stepchildren or unmarried partners, the law generally does not provide for any entitlement.
The amount of the compulsory portion is calculated from the personal compulsory portion quota and the value of the estate. The quota is exactly half of the statutory inheritance share. In practical terms, this means that you receive exactly half of what you would have been entitled to as a regular heir without a will. The exact percentage share depends on the family constellation, in particular how many children there are and whether the deceased was married.
This calculated share is then applied to the pure estate value. This is the total assets at the time of death minus all existing debts and funeral costs. As calculating your own share is often the most confusing step, you can do this directly online with our free compulsory portion calculator determine.
In order to be able to calculate your claim, you have a statutory right to information from the heirs. They must provide you with a detailed inventory listing all assets and debts as at the date of death. If you have any doubts about the completeness of this list, you can request that it be drawn up by a notary. You can also request that the value of certain estate items, such as real estate, be determined by a neutral expert. The costs of the notary and valuer are borne by the estate. Although you do not have to pay these directly out of your own pocket, the expenses reduce the total value of the inheritance from which your compulsory portion is calculated.
Important: This right to information also applies if you were included in the will but the value of your inheritance share is less than your statutory compulsory portion. In such a constellation, you are entitled to the so-called additional compulsory portion. The heirs are then obliged to pay you the financial difference up to the amount of your full compulsory portion.
A complete withdrawal of the compulsory portion is extremely rare. Family quarrels or loss of contact are not enough. The law requires serious reasons, such as serious criminal offences against the testator, which must be documented in the will. The burden of proof lies entirely with the heirs.
It is far more common for people to try to reduce their inheritance in advance by making gifts. This is where the claim to a supplementary compulsory portion protects you: assets that have been given away in the last ten years are notionally added to the estate. The eligible value decreases by ten per cent each year. However, if a gift has been made to a spouse or a right of use (such as usufruct) has been reserved, there is no loss of value - these values are fully included in your calculation even after decades.
In practice, it is precisely these supplementary claims that heirs often block, making enforcement lengthy and expensive. To relieve you of this financial risk, we finance the legal enforcement of your claim or offer you as a quick alternative the direct purchase to.
The right to a compulsory portion generally expires after three years. This period does not begin immediately on the date of death, but only at the end of the year in which you learnt of the death, your disinheritance and the identity of the heirs. Irrespective of this knowledge, a statutory upper limit means that the claim lapses completely no later than 30 years after the death of the testator.
A simple letter of demand to the heirs is not sufficient to stop this limitation period. The period can only be legally paused if serious negotiations are conducted with the other party or legal action is taken.
In practice, heirs often refuse to disclose the true value of the estate or deliberately delay payment. In such cases, enforcing your rights usually requires lengthy proceedings, the involvement of specialised lawyers and costly expert opinions. We take this financial risk off your hands so that you do not have to forego your share out of concern about these costs.