Practice areas
Succession law: short deadlines, lasting consequences.
Few areas of law combine such short deadlines with such lasting effects. Missing the disclaimer period can leave an heir liable for debts they did not know existed. Leaving a community of heirs unresolved can cost years. We clarify the deadlines first, then the estate.
General information. The legal assessment depends on the circumstances of each case.
Circumstances
Clarify the context
Evidence
Preserve documents
Deadlines
Explain any urgency
Approach
Discuss the next steps
Overview
Deadlines first, then the substance
A succession raises two questions with different degrees of urgency. The immediate question is whether to accept the inheritance at all. Under German law, the usual period for disclaiming it is six weeks from knowledge of the inheritance and the grounds on which one inherits; it is extended only in certain circumstances. This is considerably shorter than the time needed to assess a complicated estate. The starting point is therefore a time-sensitive inventory: which assets are known, what liabilities can be expected, and can enough be clarified within the deadline to support a decision?
Once the inheritance has been accepted, attention turns to the estate itself. A community of heirs is a compulsory joint arrangement under German law: dispositions of individual assets generally require joint action, which can create deadlock when the parties disagree. We work towards an orderly division through an agreed distribution, the withdrawal of individual co-heirs or, if other approaches fail, proceedings for division. The objective determines the sequence, rather than escalation for its own sake.
A third area concerns compulsory-share claims. Under German law, close relatives excluded from succession generally have a monetary claim against the heir for half their statutory share. In practice, the decisive issue is often information rather than the legal rule: without reliable information about the estate, the claim cannot be calculated. Requests for disclosure and valuation therefore often come before a demand for payment.
Estates with an international element require particular attention: property in Spain, a Swiss bank account or a deceased person resident in France. Under the EU Succession Regulation, the applicable law generally follows the deceased’s last habitual residence rather than nationality. A German national whose centre of life was abroad may therefore be subject to foreign succession law, with significant consequences for compulsory shares and the validity of a will.
Typical matters
- Assessing acceptance or disclaimer within the deadline
- Division of jointly inherited estates
- Compulsory-share, disclosure and valuation claims
- Drafting wills and lifetime succession planning
- Estates involving property or bank accounts abroad
- Challenging wills and succession agreements
Frequently asked questions
Questions often asked by heirs and relatives
These answers set out the general framework. What applies to your case depends on the estate and the legal systems involved.
Risks
Where estates become costly
We regularly encounter the following issues. None is unusual; they almost always arise because deadlines are underestimated or information is not obtained.
Missing the disclaimer deadline
Once the period expires, the inheritance is deemed accepted. If the estate is insolvent, the heir is generally liable with personal assets as well, unless liability is effectively limited.
Possible measures: check when the period starts and its duration, and consider limiting liability through estate administration or estate insolvency.
Claiming a compulsory share without sufficient information
A claim is asserted without knowing the estate’s composition. The amount cannot then be quantified and is difficult to enforce in court.
Possible measures: first enforce disclosure and valuation rights and include gifts made during the previous ten years.
A deadlocked community of heirs
The estate remains undivided for years. Properties deteriorate, accounts remain blocked and administration costs eventually exceed the amount in dispute.
Possible measures: seek an agreed distribution, examine withdrawal arrangements and weigh proceedings for division as a means of resolving the impasse.
Assuming the wrong legal system applies
The estate is administered under German law even though the deceased’s centre of life was abroad. Compulsory shares and the validity of the will may then differ.
Possible measures: establish habitual residence, consider any choice of law in the will and examine whether to obtain a European Certificate of Succession.
An invalid handwritten will
Formal defects, unclear wording or contradictory provisions can cause intestate succession to apply, often producing precisely the result that was meant to be avoided.
Possible measures: review existing dispositions for formal validity and interpretation and, where necessary, replace them with notarised provisions.
International
Estates across borders
An international succession involves three distinct questions: which law applies to the estate, which court has jurisdiction, and how is heirship proved abroad? The answers often differ, and a German certificate of inheritance is not recognised everywhere.
The European Certificate of Succession helps by proving heirship and powers in participating Member States, often avoiding a sequence of national proceedings. Outside the Regulation, for example for assets in third countries, the respective national requirements remain applicable and are clarified with locally admitted professionals.
- Applicable law
- Generally the law of the deceased’s last habitual residence, with the possibility of choosing the law of nationality.
- European Certificate of Succession
- Proves heirship and powers of disposition in Member States and simplifies land-registration and banking procedures abroad.
- Property abroad
- Transfer and registration are generally governed by the law where the property is situated, even if succession is subject to another law.
- Double taxation
- Inheritance tax may arise in more than one country. We coordinate legal arrangements with tax advisers from the outset rather than addressing taxation afterwards.
Related information
Related information
- For individualsAsset protection, succession and family-law matters.
- Family lawSeparation, maintenance and division of marital gains, often linked to succession issues.
- InternationalApplicable law, jurisdiction and enforcement abroad.
- All practice areasAn overview of the areas in which we advise and represent clients.
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- General information. The legal assessment depends on the circumstances of each case.