Frequently asked questions about the compulsory portion
Through the compulsory share, the law guarantees the closest relatives a minimum share of the value of the estate. Here, we explain in clear terms – across four key areas – exactly who is eligible, how much the entitlement amounts to, and how it is enforced in practice.
Entitlement and authorisation
The compulsory share is the minimum portion of the value of the estate that the law guarantees to the closest relatives, even if a will or an inheritance contract excludes them from the succession (Section 2303 of the German Civil Code (BGB)). It amounts to half the value of the statutory share of the inheritance.
The key factor is its legal nature. The compulsory share is purely a monetary claim against the heirs. Anyone who claims it does not become a co-heir, receives no items from the estate and has no say in its distribution. They may claim only money from the heirs.
Only three groups of relatives are entitled to a compulsory share. The children of the deceased – with legitimate, illegitimate and adopted children being treated on an entirely equal footing. The spouse or registered partner. And the parents, though only if the deceased has left no children of their own.
Grandchildren only step in if the child through whom they are related to the testator is no longer alive – usually, therefore, following that child’s death. A further prerequisite is always that the person has been disinherited by will or inheritance contract, or is to receive less than their statutory share.
Everyone else. Siblings are never entitled to a compulsory share, even if they have cared for the deceased for many years. The same applies to nieces and nephews, grandparents, stepchildren who have not been adopted, and unmarried partners, regardless of how long the relationship lasted. A divorced spouse is also not entitled to a compulsory share.
Grandchildren receive nothing as long as their parent is alive and is themselves entitled to a compulsory share of the estate. Only when this link is severed do the grandchildren acquire a claim of their own.
In that case, you are generally disinherited, even if the word is not used anywhere. Disinheritance does not require an explicit statement. If, for example, a will names a sibling as the sole heir, the other children are thereby excluded from the line of succession. The compulsory share exists precisely for this situation.
Most people find out about their disinheritance through a letter from the probate court. The court opens the will and usually also notifies those who would have become statutory heirs had there been no will. Anyone who is not named as an heir in such a letter knows at that moment that the issue of their statutory share is now relevant to them.
The compulsory share does not only apply in cases of complete disinheritance. If you have been bequeathed a share of the estate whose value is less than your compulsory share, you may claim the difference up to the full amount of the compulsory share from the other heirs; this is known as the supplementary compulsory share (Section 2305 of the German Civil Code (BGB)). A symbolically small inheritance therefore does not preclude your entitlement.
The situation is similar if you have been bequeathed only a legacy, i.e. a single sum of money or item. In that case, you have the choice of keeping it and claiming the difference, or renouncing it and claiming the full statutory share (Section 2307 of the German Civil Code (BGB)). If a bequeathed share of the estate is subject to encumbrances, such as the appointment of an executor or a reversionary interest, renouncing the bequest within six weeks may pave the way for receiving the full statutory share (Section 2306 of the German Civil Code (BGB)). In such circumstances, a specialist solicitor will usually assess whether this opens up or precludes the right to the statutory share before any declaration is made.
No. No public authority or court pays out the statutory share of its own accord. The probate court merely opens the will; it has no role in the payment of the statutory share. Anyone wishing to claim their statutory share must demand it from the heirs themselves, and the limitation period continues to run even if they take no action.
This does not require any specific format, nor is it strictly necessary to engage a solicitor. A letter to the heirs requesting information and payment is sufficient, and as long as the heirs cooperate, everything can be settled directly with them. Legal representation usually becomes necessary if information is not provided or if there is a dispute over the value of the estate. At the very latest when the matter reaches court, there is little way round this, as cases involving sums in excess of 5,000 euros are decided by the Regional Court, where legal representation is mandatory.
Amount and calculation
The compulsory share amounts to half of the statutory share of the inheritance, i.e. the share to which you would have been entitled in the absence of a will. The size of this share depends on the family circumstances and, in the case of a spouse, also on the matrimonial property regime.
Two examples to illustrate this: If a married testator leaves behind her husband and two children, each child would have inherited a quarter under the statutory matrimonial property regime. The compulsory share for each child is then one-eighth of the value of the estate. If an unmarried testator leaves behind a single child, that child would have become the sole heir; their statutory share amounts to half.
The amount in euros is calculated by applying the rate to the adjusted value of the estate on the date of death. For an initial guide, the free Legal share calculator based on a few details about your family situation, whether you are eligible and which rate is likely to apply.
The value of the estate on the date of death is decisive (Section 2311 of the German Civil Code (BGB)). Everything left by the deceased is added together, such as bank balances, securities, property, vehicles and household effects. Their debts and the costs of the funeral are deducted.
Property is valued at its market value, i.e. the price that could be realised on the market on the date of death. Previous purchase prices or tax values are not taken into account. Encumbrances reduce the value, for example an outstanding mortgage or a right of usufruct held by a third party over the property. In practice, it is this valuation that is most often disputed. The right to information governs how you can obtain reliable figures.
Yes, and it is the most important tool available to a person entitled to a compulsory share. Someone who has been disinherited is rarely aware of the bank account balances or the value of the house. The heirs must therefore, upon request, provide a complete inventory of the estate (Section 2314 of the German Civil Code (BGB)). If the self-compiled inventory is insufficient, a notarised inventory of the estate may be requested, in which the notary independently determines the assets. For property, a valuation by an expert may also be requested.
The costs of the inventory and the valuation report are borne by the estate; they therefore reduce the value of the estate, but do not need to be paid out of pocket. If there are doubts as to the completeness of the information provided, the heir may be required to affirm its accuracy by statutory declaration. You should specifically enquire about any gifts made in recent years; experience shows that heirs rarely mention them of their own accord.
Yes, via the claim for a supplementary compulsory portion (Section 2325 of the German Civil Code (BGB)). If the testator gifted assets during the ten years prior to their death, these are fictitiously added back to the estate for the purposes of the calculation. A gift made in the year immediately preceding the opening of the succession counts in full; for each subsequent year prior to that, one-tenth less is taken into account. After ten years, it is disregarded.
There are two exceptions to this time limit which are of great practical significance. In the case of gifts to a spouse, the time limit only begins to run upon the dissolution of the marriage. And it does not commence at all as long as the deceased continued to make economic use of the gifted property. This applies in particular to property transferred subject to a reserved usufruct or a comprehensive right of residence. A house gifted fifteen years ago may therefore still be included in full in the calculation.
The heirs, not those entitled to a compulsory share, are liable for the deceased’s debts. Anyone who claims only their compulsory share does not assume any liabilities and does not need to renounce the inheritance in order to protect themselves.
However, the compulsory share is calculated only on the basis of a positive estate value. If the estate is in debt, the claim is void. In such cases, it must be examined whether the deceased gifted any assets during their lifetime, as in that event a claim for supplementary payment may arise directly against the recipients of the gifts (Section 2329 of the German Civil Code (BGB)).
Payments, deadlines and tax
The claim becomes due immediately upon the opening of the succession (Section 2317 of the German Civil Code (BGB)). The heirs cannot delay payment on the grounds that the estate has not yet been distributed or that the assets are tied up in the house. If necessary, they must raise the money, for example through a mortgage or a sale.
In practice, however, it usually takes several months before payment is made, as the estate first needs to be assessed and the assets valued. Once a reminder has been issued, the heirs are in default and owe additional interest on arrears. Payment can only be deferred by means of a deferral, which the heir may request in very limited exceptional cases, for example if they would otherwise have to give up the family home in which they live (Section 2331a of the German Civil Code (BGB)). Such deferrals are the rare exception, not the rule.
Money. The statutory share is purely a claim to payment. There is no entitlement to the family home, jewellery or other mementoes, nor to a share in the property.
At first glance, this may seem disheartening, but there is a silver lining for you. The heirs cannot, in fact, unilaterally settle the claim with assets that you do not even want. By mutual agreement, many options remain open. If both sides agree, the statutory share can be satisfied, in whole or in part, through the transfer of specific items.
The claim is generally subject to a limitation period of three years (Sections 195 and 199 of the German Civil Code (BGB)). The limitation period begins at the end of the year in which you became aware of the death and of the disposition that adversely affects you. If you become aware of both the death and the disposition affecting you in the year of death, your claim becomes time-barred at the end of 31 December of the third subsequent year. Irrespective of whether you are aware of these facts, the right to claim expires no later than thirty years after the opening of the succession.
Two aspects of this are often underestimated. A simple letter to the heirs does not stop the limitation period from running, nor does a request for information. The limitation period is only suspended whilst both parties are engaged in genuine negotiations, or by the filing of a claim. And if the recipient of a gift is to be held liable on account of that gift, this claim becomes time-barred exactly three years after the date of death, even if you were unaware of the gift.
Often not. Although the compulsory share is subject to inheritance tax, the tax only becomes payable when the claim is made, not at the time of death. The same tax-free allowances apply as for an inheritance. Children are exempt up to €400,000, spouses and registered partners up to €500,000, grandchildren generally up to €200,000 and parents up to €100,000. Many statutory shares therefore remain entirely tax-free.
Only the portion exceeding the tax-free allowance is subject to tax, with the specified dependants being placed in the most favourable tax bracket. No income tax is payable on the statutory share. The acquisition must be reported to the tax office within three months of the beneficiary becoming aware of it.
Disputes and special cases
Many people who have been disinherited fear that the testator may also have deprived them of their statutory share, for example by stating in the will that someone should receive nothing. This concern is usually unfounded. Such a clause merely results in disinheritance; the statutory share remains unaffected.
Even gifts made during the donor’s lifetime rarely achieve their full intended purpose, because the claim to a compulsory share adds the gifted assets back into the calculation. Essentially, the compulsory share can only be effectively excluded with the cooperation of the beneficiary themselves, namely by means of a waiver of the compulsory share. This is a contract that must be notarised and is usually concluded in return for a settlement payment (Section 2346 of the German Civil Code (BGB)). No one can be compelled to make such a waiver.
A complete disinheritance is possible only in a few cases, which are exhaustively set out in law (Section 2333 of the German Civil Code (BGB)), for example, if the beneficiary has attempted to take the life of the testator or their close relatives, committed serious criminal offences against them, or maliciously breached their duty of maintenance towards the testator. A final conviction to at least one year’s imprisonment without parole may also suffice if it was unreasonable for the testator to allow the beneficiary to share in the estate as a result. By contrast, a broken relationship, years of silence or a dispute over care are not sufficient grounds.
The disinheritance must be expressly provided for in the will itself, together with the grounds therefor, and the person invoking it – as a rule, the heir – must prove those grounds. If the testator had previously forgiven the heir, the disinheritance is invalid. Furthermore, the statutory share is forfeited in the event of a notarised waiver by the heir. Finally, caution is advised when renouncing an inheritance. Anyone who renounces an inheritance to which they are entitled will, as a rule, also forfeit their statutory share. Exceptions apply primarily to spouses and to encumbered shares of the estate; such cases should be reviewed by a specialist solicitor before any declaration is made.
Under a ‘Berlin will’, spouses appoint each other as sole heirs, with the children only inheriting after the death of the second parent. Very few parents intend to disadvantage their children in this way. Legally, however, the children are disinherited upon the death of the first parent and may claim their statutory share from the estate of the parent who died first.
This claim is subject to the normal limitation period. Anyone who waits until the second inheritance may therefore have already forfeited it. Many wills drawn up in Berlin also contain a penalty clause relating to the compulsory share. Depending on the wording, this means that a child who claims their statutory share upon the first inheritance will, upon the second, also receive only the statutory share. Whether it is financially worthwhile to make such a claim is a matter of calculation that is often clarified in consultation with a specialist solicitor.
The typical patterns are similar. Information is provided slowly or incompletely, property is valued too low, gifts are concealed, and time seems to be on the heirs’ side. No one should have to make do with a meagre, self-compiled inventory. The law provides a range of tools, from a notarial inventory of the estate and an expert’s report right through to an affidavit in cases of doubt as to the completeness of the inventory.
If none of this helps, the claim can be pursued through the courts, often as a multi-stage action, which first seeks disclosure of information and then payment. Specialist inheritance lawyers handle this step. And the limitation period continues to run whilst the matter is being delayed, provided that no serious negotiations or legal action is taken.
The steps involved in obtaining information do not usually incur any additional costs for the entitled party. A notarial inventory of the estate and a valuation report are paid for by the estate; however, they reduce the value of the estate and, to some extent, the statutory share as well. Your own legal fees are based on the value of the matter in dispute, i.e. the amount of the claim being pursued. If the case goes to court, the losing party usually also bears the other party’s costs.
Legal expenses insurance is rarely of any help in this situation. Disputes under inheritance law are often only covered up to the initial consultation, and it is not possible to take out retrospective cover for a dispute that has already arisen. Anyone who does not wish to bear the cost risk themselves can make use of litigation funding. Under this arrangement, a financier covers the costs of enforcing the claim and, if the case is successful, receives a pre-agreed share of the proceeds.
Yes. The right to a compulsory share is inheritable and transferable (Section 2317 of the German Civil Code (BGB)), so it can be assigned or sold. In the event of a sale, the purchaser pays an agreed sum and, in return, assumes responsibility for further settlement with the heirs, including the risk of costs. The purchase price is lower than the calculated value of the claim; this is the price for prompt payment without any risk to the buyer.
This approach is particularly worthwhile when a swift and definitive resolution is more important than the last euro, for example in the case of families in dispute or proceedings that are likely to be protracted. The page describes how such a sale works Sell your legal share in detail.
Are you waiting for your payout?
Normally, you would claim your statutory share directly from the heirs and receive payment. If, however, the heirs try to drag their feet or undervalue the property, we offer you two options, with no financial risk to you.
