{"id":380691,"date":"2026-07-30T15:52:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T13:52:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/erbfinanz.de\/?p=380691"},"modified":"2026-10-14T16:10:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T14:10:19","slug":"pflichtteil-bei-kunst-und-wertgegenstaenden-wert-auskunft-durchsetzung","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erbfinanz.de\/en\/ratgeber\/pflichtteil-bei-kunst-und-wertgegenstaenden-wert-auskunft-durchsetzung\/","title":{"rendered":"Statutory share in relation to works of art and valuables"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a house, there is the land register. For a bank account, there is a bank that can provide information. A car is registered; a share in a company is listed in the commercial register. For a painting, there is none of this. There is no register of ownership, no official valuation, and no authority that can definitively determine what a work of art is worth. Added to this is the fact that a painting can be carried out of a flat in a matter of minutes. Anyone who has been disinherited and knows or suspects that there were paintings or other valuables in the flat therefore finds themselves in a particular predicament. The compulsory share is a claim to money. However, its amount depends on items whose value is only determined when someone sells them. It is the heir who decides when that moment comes.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A publicly appointed art expert describes quite bluntly just how widely these figures can vary. When making a purchase, a dealer typically offers around ten per cent of the insured value. According to her, there is a whole order of magnitude\u2019s difference between the sum stated in the insurance policy and the amount that is actually paid out in the end.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A case reported in the trade press illustrates just how far things can go in extreme circumstances. A court-appointed expert valued two paintings from an estate at zero euros because their authenticity had not been established. Eleven years later, one of the two paintings was sold for four million euros. For the purposes of calculating the statutory share, the value on the date of death remained the decisive factor.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This article explains how the value of such items is determined for the purposes of the compulsory share and what information can be requested. It also explains how to establish what assets were actually present, and where the legal situation is unfavourable for those entitled to a compulsory share.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n