Inheritance Law

The most effective way to prevent inheritance disputes is to ensure they never arise. We provide comprehensive advice on how to distribute your estate, what factors you need to consider, and inform you about the limitations of your last will.

A will allows you to designate your intended heirs. Should the appointed heirs predecease you, substitute heirs can be named. Regarding specific assets, it is possible to establish legacies. Furthermore, conditions, division orders, or other stipulations can be incorporated into your will. Additionally, arrangements such as pre- and post-heir succession, appointment of an executor, or designation of a guardian for minor heirs may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The objective in drafting and formulating a will or inheritance contract is also to avoid inconsistencies from the outset—those which can, in individual cases, prevent the desired outcome as intended by the testator. This includes, in particular, unclear language in the last will, failure to account for inheritance tax obligations, or the emergence of compulsory share claims.

In Germany, spouses, registered partners, parents, and (adopted) children are entitled to a compulsory share of an estate. Additionally, other relatives, such as grandchildren, may assert their right to a compulsory share under certain circumstances. Have you been disinherited or do you believe you have received an unjustly inadequate inheritance? We are here to provide you with expert legal advice and assistance.

Within a community of heirs, it is essential to establish how co-heirs will manage and administer the estate. This involves comprehensive duties to participate and rights to engage among the co-heirs within the framework of necessary or ordinary estate administration. It is particularly important that no co-heir is authorized to dispose of estate assets to the exclusion of the other co-heirs. Instead, co-heirs are obliged to jointly manage the estate's administration and facilitate the dissolution of the community of heirs.

A decisive factor is that a community of heirs is, by law, intended to undergo partition. Accordingly, any co-heir may demand the dissolution of the community of heirs at any time. This implies that the majority of the estate's assets will be distributed among the members, and the community or association will be dissolved. In such instances, it must be determined how the estate assets will be divided among the co-heirs or converted into liquid assets as a prerequisite for dissolution (e.g., sale of land/property).

Should disagreements arise among the co-heirs in this process, it may result in the auctioning of estate assets. In the case of real estate, this is referred to as a partition auction (Teilungsversteigerung). While a partition auction can, in individual cases, lead to financial disadvantages, it can also be perceived as a strategic opportunity in relation to the other co-heirs.