Guide to the compulsory share
Here you will find all articles on the statutory share. Search by keyword or select a topic.
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Account emptied prior to death by a person acting under a power of attorney
A few years ago, there was still around 120,000 euros in the mother’s savings account. The estate inventory now shows 4,300 euros. In between lie the years during which the sister, with a…
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Taking legal action to claim a compulsory share if heirs fail to pay
The claim has been lodged, and often there isn’t even any dispute over the amount. Nevertheless, no money has been received yet. Enquiries are met with silence or a sentence that sounds like a concession…
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Notarised inventory of the estate in the case of a compulsory share
In response to your request for information, a single page was provided. It lists a current account containing a few thousand euros and a note stating that the household contents and car were of no significant value. What is missing is…
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Refusal to provide information on the compulsory share
Weeks ago, you claimed your statutory share and requested information about the estate. Since then, there’s been complete silence. Or perhaps you received a reply that’s of no use – just half a page…
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Claiming your statutory share without a solicitor
Do I really need to see a solicitor about this? This question often comes up early on when it comes to the statutory share, and it rarely has anything to do with being stingy. After the funeral and clearing out the house, the money is often…
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Statutory share in the case of businesses and company shares
One child carries on running the business, whilst another is not mentioned at all in the will or inherits less than they would be entitled to by law. It is also often the case that the…
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Statutory share in relation to life insurance and bank accounts
The inventory of the estate arrives, and it is surprisingly brief. A current account with a four-figure balance, a car, household effects. The securities portfolio, which had been the subject of family discussion for years, does not appear on the list…
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Statutory share in relation to works of art and valuables
For a house, there is the land register. For a bank account, there is a bank that can provide information. A car is registered, and a share in a company is listed in the commercial register. For a painting…
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Statutory share in relation to property forming part of an estate
In many estates, the actual assets are not held in a bank account but are tied up in a house or a flat. It is precisely this that regularly leads to disputes over the statutory share. Anyone who has been disinherited hopes…
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Residual inheritance or compulsory share?
When the probate court opens a will, all parties involved receive a copy of its contents together with what is known as the ‘minutes of the opening’. In many families, these contain two terms that will determine the course of events for decades to come. The…
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Calculate the statutory share for a spouse
A will in favour of the children, an inheritance agreement drawn up years ago, or a disposition in which one’s own name simply does not appear. For surviving spouses, this is not… following the opening of the will
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When grandchildren are entitled to a compulsory share
Her grandmother has died; the will names her aunt as sole heir; and her own father, who was her link to her grandmother, has been dead for years. In such situations…
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Statutory share following exclusion from the inheritance
An envelope from the probate court, containing a copy of a will, and as you read it, it becomes clear that you will not be inheriting anything. Sometimes it is stated quite clearly; often, it simply says that others…
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Children’s statutory share in a Berlin will
When the will is read out, many children learn for the first time what their parents agreed years ago. Their father and mother have named each other as sole heirs; the children are to…
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Frequently asked questions about the compulsory share and disinheritance
A will is opened, and your own name is missing. Instead, a sibling inherits everything, or the father’s second wife, or someone else entirely. For those who have been passed over, this is often…
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Claiming a compulsory share from abroad
The first question is almost always whether one can still make any claim at all from such a great distance. The answer is rather unremarkable. As far as the compulsory share is concerned, it does not depend on…
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How much is the statutory share for children?
Many disinherited children were never consciously disinherited. They are listed second in their parents’ Berlin will and are therefore excluded from the line of succession upon the first death. Others read in the…
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Claim to supplementary compulsory portion for gifts
The house has long since been transferred to another’s name, the investment portfolio has been wound up, and there is hardly anything left in the bank accounts. Anyone who has been disinherited and claims their statutory share following a death therefore often finds themselves facing a second…
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When a compulsory share is payable despite a renunciation of inheritance
Anyone considering renouncing an inheritance almost always does so for one of two reasons. Either there is a suspicion that the estate is heavily in debt and that they might end up having to pay for…
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Statutory share following a transfer of ownership during the owner’s lifetime
In many families, things tend to unfold in a similar way. Parents transfer ownership of the house to one of their children whilst they are still alive, usually with the aim of clarifying the situation and avoiding disputes.…
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Securing your statutory share and meeting deadlines
Nobody takes the initiative to sort out the compulsory share. No probate court calculates it, no authority pays it out, and the heirs do not even have to inform disinherited relatives that they are entitled to something…
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Statutory share for siblings under German inheritance law
Behind the question of the statutory share for siblings, there are almost always two very different situations. The first is easily explained. A brother or sister has died, and the will is being disregarded…
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Statutory share in Switzerland
In Switzerland, a letter to the heirs in which you specify the amount of your statutory share and set a payment deadline has less effect than most people expect. It does not oblige anyone to do anything, nor does it…
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Selling a compulsory share under Swiss law
Anyone in Switzerland who has been omitted from a will and is looking to sell their statutory share almost inevitably ends up dealing with German providers and subject to German rules. In Germany, the statutory share is a…
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Get your statutory share paid out quickly
The statutory share is payable from the date of death. Not after the will has been opened, not after the grant of probate, not once the house has been sold, but immediately. Anyone reading this sentence for the first time,…
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Statutory share without legal expenses insurance
The conversation with the legal expenses insurer is usually brief. They say that inheritance law isn’t covered, and even if it is, it’s limited to a consultation. Anyone who doesn’t have a policy at all will reach the same conclusion even more quickly…
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What costs are involved in the statutory share?
It is rare for less than half a year to elapse between the death and the payout. If a dispute arises, this period regularly extends to three or four years. The amount involved is hardly ever the deciding factor…
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Financing an inheritance dispute
A will may exclude you, but it can only deprive you of your statutory share in very rare, exceptional cases. Children, spouses and, in some cases, the parents of the deceased retain a legal right to…
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Selling your statutory share if payment is delayed
In most cases, someone who has been disinherited is not left empty-handed. The law guarantees close relatives a compulsory share, which is a financial claim against the heirs. However, this claim only pays off…
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How is the compulsory portion calculated?
The will has been opened, and your name does not appear in it. Or you have been left significantly less than you would have expected as a child or spouse. In this situation, the question arises…
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How much is my statutory share?
Almost everyone who has been left out of a will has done the maths in their head at some point. Their widowed mother’s house is likely to be worth around 500,000 euros, and there was… in the bank account
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Litigation funding in cases involving the statutory share
If a property forms part of an estate, those entitled to a compulsory share are often told: „There’s no money; it’s all tied up in the house.“ This explanation may be well-intentioned and, in the…
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When is a family trust worthwhile?
A will takes effect just once, at the moment of death. After that, it is up to the heirs to decide whether the business is sold, whether the property remains in the family, and who ends up in dispute with whom…
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What an executor may and must do
Anyone who inherits normally receives both the assets and the right to dispose of them. The execution of a will separates the two. The house, bank accounts and investment accounts belong to the heirs. Someone is authorised to sell, transfer funds and close accounts…
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How the Berlin Will works
Most married couples who draw up a joint will have the same aim. Whoever passes away first should leave the other partner financially secure. The house should stay where it is, and the children should…
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Claiming and asserting one’s statutory share
For many people, the issue of the compulsory share begins with a letter from the probate court. The will has been opened, and their own name does not appear in it, or only with a smaller share than…
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Inheritance contract and statutory share
Even in the first few weeks following a death, those entitled to a compulsory share often hear the phrase: „This is an inheritance agreement, notarised. Nothing can be done to change it now.“ Sometimes this comes from the heir,…
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A staged reminder regarding the compulsory share
You will not find the term ‘staged claim’ in any statute book. It originates from the practice of inheritance law and refers to something very specific, namely the way in which a compulsory share is claimed out of court when the…