Glossary of German inheritance law.

After a death

Erbe – heir

The person who succeeds to the deceased’s rights and duties on death. German law knows no gap between death and succession: heirs become owners, and debtors, immediately, without a court appointing an administrator.

Nachlass – estate

Everything the deceased owned and owed on the day of death: property, accounts, shares, furniture, but also debts, tax liabilities and ongoing contracts.

Nachlassgericht – probate court

The department of the local court (Amtsgericht) at the deceased’s last residence that deals with wills, certificates of inheritance and disclaimers. For Freiburg this is the Amtsgericht Freiburg.

Testamentseröffnung – opening of the will

After a death, the probate court opens all wills it holds or receives and sends copies with an opening record to the persons concerned. A will found at home must be handed to the court.

Annahme der Erbschaft – acceptance of the inheritance

Heirs do not have to accept formally. The inheritance is treated as accepted once the six-week period for disclaiming has passed or once the heir behaves like an owner, for example by selling estate assets.

Ausschlagung – disclaimer of the inheritance

The declaration that you do not want the inheritance, for instance because the estate is over-indebted. It must be declared before the probate court or certified by a notary within six weeks, or six months if the deceased lived abroad or the heir was abroad when the period began. A disclaimer cannot be withdrawn later.

Haftungsbeschränkung – limitation of liability

Heirs are liable for the deceased’s debts with their own assets. They can limit liability to the estate by applying for administration of the estate (Nachlassverwaltung) or estate insolvency (Nachlassinsolvenz) at the probate court.

Testamentsvollstrecker – executor

A person appointed in the will to administer and distribute the estate. German law does not appoint an executor by default; without one, the heirs act themselves.

Proving who the heirs are

Erbschein – certificate of inheritance

The official document in which the probate court confirms who the heirs are and in which shares. Banks, insurers and the land register usually require it unless there is a notarial will. It is applied for at the probate court with a sworn declaration.

Europäisches Nachlasszeugnis – European Certificate of Succession

A certificate issued under the EU Succession Regulation that proves the status of heirs, legatees and executors in all participating EU countries. Useful when the estate includes assets in several countries. Not applicable in Denmark and Ireland.

Grundbuch – land register

The public register of ownership of land and flats, kept by the local court. After a death the heirs are entered on application; within two years of the death this correction is free of court fees.

Zentrales Testamentsregister – Central Register of Wills

A register kept by the Federal Chamber of Notaries. Notarial wills and wills deposited with a court are recorded there, so the probate court learns of them after a death. A will kept at home is not registered.

Who inherits: law and will

EU-Erbrechtsverordnung – EU Succession Regulation

EU Regulation No 650/2012, applicable to deaths since 17 August 2015. It decides which country’s courts and law deal with an estate and created the European Certificate of Succession. The United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark do not take part, but German courts apply the regulation to estates with a link to those countries.

Gewöhnlicher Aufenthalt – habitual residence

The place where a person actually lived as the centre of their life. Under the EU Succession Regulation, the law of the deceased’s last habitual residence governs the estate unless a choice of law was made.

Rechtswahl – choice of law

Under the EU Succession Regulation, a person may state in a will that the law of their nationality, rather than the law of their last habitual residence, is to govern their estate. The choice must be made expressly or follow clearly from the will.

Gesetzliche Erbfolge – intestate succession

The order of inheritance under the German Civil Code where there is no valid will: first children and grandchildren, then parents and siblings, then grandparents, each alongside the spouse, whose share depends on the matrimonial property regime.

Gesetzlicher Erbteil – statutory share

The fraction of the estate a person receives under intestate succession. It is also the basis for calculating the compulsory share.

Eigenhändiges Testament – handwritten will

A will written entirely in the testator’s own hand and signed, ideally with place and date. A typed or printed text with a signature is invalid in Germany.

Notarielles Testament – notarial will

A will recorded by a notary and deposited with the court. It usually replaces the certificate of inheritance towards banks and the land register, which saves time and fees.

Gemeinschaftliches Testament – joint will

A will made by spouses or registered partners together, often appointing each other as sole heirs and the children as final heirs (the so-called Berlin will, Berliner Testament). After the first death, the survivor is usually bound by its terms.

Erbvertrag – contract of inheritance

A binding agreement on succession, recorded by a notary, usually between spouses or between parents and children. Unlike a will, it cannot be revoked unilaterally unless the contract itself allows it.

Vermächtnis – legacy

A gift of a specific item or sum in a will, for example a painting or 10,000 euros. The legatee does not become an heir but has a claim against the heirs to receive the item.

Compulsory share and co-heirs

Pflichtteil – compulsory share

The minimum share that children, spouses and in some cases parents can claim if they have been disinherited. It is a cash claim against the heirs worth half of the statutory share and becomes time-barred three years after the end of the year in which the person learned of the death and the will.

Erbengemeinschaft – community of heirs

Where several people inherit together, they own the estate jointly until it is divided. Decisions on the estate need the agreement of all heirs or, for ordinary administration, a majority by shares. Any heir can demand the division at any time.

Teilungsversteigerung – partition sale

A court-ordered auction of a property that belongs to a community of heirs, available to any heir who cannot reach agreement on the division. The proceeds are divided according to the shares.

Lifetime transfers and tax

Vorweggenommene Erbfolge – transfer during lifetime

Passing on property or other assets to the next generation before death, usually by notarial contract with a right of residence, a usufruct or rights of reclaim. Common in Germany to settle succession early and to use tax allowances more than once.

Wohnrecht und Nießbrauch – right of residence and usufruct

Rights that parents often keep when they transfer a house to their children during their lifetime. A right of residence allows them to live in the property; a usufruct additionally gives them the rental income. Both are entered in the land register.

Erbschaft- und Schenkungsteuer – inheritance and gift tax

Taxes on what a person receives by inheritance or gift, with allowances that depend on the relationship to the deceased or donor. The tax office must be notified of an inheritance within three months. We answer tax questions together with our partners in tax advisory and auditing.