{"id":375004,"date":"2026-04-13T13:55:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T11:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/erbfinanz.de\/?p=375004"},"modified":"2026-10-14T16:10:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T14:10:36","slug":"hamburger-testament-obligatory-portion-when-should-heirs-disclaim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erbfinanz.de\/en\/ratgeber\/hamburger-testament-pflichtteil-wann-sollten-nacherben-ausschlagen\/","title":{"rendered":"Residual inheritance or compulsory share?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the probate court opens a will, all parties involved receive a copy of its contents together with what is known as the \u2018minutes of opening\u2019. In many families, these contain two terms that will determine the course of events for decades to come. The surviving parent is the \u2018pre-heir\u2019, whilst the children are the \u2018subsequent heirs\u2019. This means you have been appointed as an heir; you have not been passed over or disinherited. However, you cannot yet take possession of the inheritance. It remains with the surviving parent, often for a very long time, and nobody knows today what will be left of it by the time it is your turn.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This arrangement is often referred to as a \u2018Hamburg will\u2019. The term does not appear in the law, but the underlying structure does: namely, the provision for preliminary and reversionary heirs set out in Sections 2100 et seq. of the German Civil Code (BGB). And it grants reversionary heirs entitled to a compulsory share \u2013 first and foremost the children \u2013 a right of choice in a little-known provision. They may renounce the reversionary inheritance and instead demand their statutory share in cash immediately. Whether this is worthwhile depends on figures that can be calculated, and on a number of factors that one needs to be aware of. Let\u2019s take them in turn.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n