Everyone has the right to freely decide who should inherit their assets after their death \u2013 and who should not. If a testator wishes to exclude a relative from inheritance, this is done through disinheritance. Here you can learn exactly what disinheritance means, how it works, and what options exist to defend against it.<\/p>\n\n
There are many reasons why a testator might not want to leave anything to a relative. When a legal heir is excluded from inheritance by a will or inheritance contract, this is called disinheritance.<\/p>\n\n
Only persons who would be entitled to inherit according to the legal order of succession can be disinherited. These include:<\/p>\n\n
\u2022 First-order heirs<\/strong> : children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Children exclude all other relatives from inheritance. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren only inherit if the testator’s children have already died.<\/p>\n\n \u2022 Second-order heirs<\/strong> : Parents and siblings of the deceased. They only inherit if no first-order heirs exist.<\/p>\n\n \u2022 Heirs of the 3rd and further orders<\/strong> : grandparents, cousins, great-grandparents and more distant relatives.<\/p>\n\n Disinheritance changes the rights of the affected person to the estate:<\/p>\n\n \u2022 Exclusion from inheritance<\/strong> : The disinherited person receives no right to possession or use of the estate.<\/p>\n\n \u2022 Offspring excluded<\/strong> : Unless otherwise stipulated, disinheritance also extends to the offspring of the disinherited person.<\/p>\n\n \u2022 Replacement by statutory succession<\/strong> : If no heirs are designated, the disinherited person is replaced by the statutory succession.<\/p>\n\n \u2022 Compulsory share<\/strong> : Despite disinheritance, certain relatives are entitled to a compulsory share \u2013 half of the statutory share of the inheritance.<\/p>\n\n Disinheritance can occur in various ways:<\/p>\n\n \u2022 Will<\/strong> : The testator can explicitly stipulate that a person should inherit nothing. Alternatively, only the desired heirs can be named in the will, thereby excluding all others.<\/p>\n\n \u2022 Negative will<\/strong> : This lists only persons who are to be excluded from inheritance. The statutory order of inheritance applies to the remaining relatives.<\/p>\n\n Even disinherited relatives are entitled to a compulsory share, which amounts to half of the statutory share of the inheritance. This entitlement applies regardless of whether the disinherited person is mentioned in the will. Those entitled to a compulsory share are:<\/p>\n\n \u2022 Children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren (including adopted or illegitimate children)<\/p>\n\n \u2022 Spouse or life Partner<\/p>\n\n \u2022 Parents of the deceased<\/p>\n\n Disinherited individuals can claim their compulsory share within three years of the will being opened. The usual procedure is as follows:<\/p>\n\n 1. Request information<\/strong> : According to \u00a7 2314 of the German Civil Code (BGB), the heir must disclose the extent of the estate.<\/p>\n\n 2. Calculating the compulsory share<\/strong> : Once the value of the estate is known, the compulsory share is calculated.<\/p>\n\n 3. Claiming a compulsory share<\/strong> : The claim can be made orally or in writing.<\/p>\n\n 4. Legal recourse<\/strong> : If the heirs refuse, the compulsory share can be claimed in court.<\/p>\n\n In rare cases, the compulsory share of the inheritance can be revoked. This requires serious reasons such as:<\/p>\n\n \u2022 Serious crimes or attempted murder against the testator<\/p>\n\n \u2022 Prison sentences or court-ordered placement in clinics<\/p>\n\n \u201c The disinheritance must be individually and comprehensibly justified in the will<\/em> ,\u201d explains lawyer Istv\u00e1n Cocron.<\/p>\n\n An alternative to disinheritance is waiving the compulsory share. This is regulated by a notarized contract and offers the following advantages:<\/p>\n\n \u2022 Relief for the heirs<\/strong> : The waiver prevents financial bottlenecks when paying out the compulsory share.<\/p>\n\n \u2022 Severance pay<\/strong> : The person waiving their rights may receive severance pay in return, e.g. a sum of money or assets.<\/p>\n\n Disinherited persons can examine the legality of their disinheritance and contest the will if:<\/p>\n\n \u2022 The will is invalid (e.g., due to formal errors)<\/p>\n\n \u2022 The testator was not of sound mind<\/p>\n\n \u2022 The will was created under duress or error<\/p>\n\n If the disinheritance is lawful, the only remaining option is often to claim the compulsory share.<\/p>\n\n ” These regulations and legal options allow testators to structure the distribution of their estate and enable disinherited individuals to review their claims. Professional legal advice is always recommended,<\/em> ” says attorney Cocron.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Everyone has the right to freely decide who should inherit their assets after their death \u2013 and who should not. If a testator wishes to exclude a relative from inheritance, this is done through disinheritance. Here you can learn exactly what disinheritance means, how it works, and what options exist to defend against it. 1. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","news-kategorie":[30],"class_list":["post-3875","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","news-kategorie-erbrecht"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ra-cocron.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/3875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ra-cocron.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ra-cocron.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ra-cocron.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-kategorie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ra-cocron.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-kategorie?post=3875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}3. What are the consequences of disinheritance?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
4. What forms of disinheritance exist?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
5. The compulsory share: Minimum participation despite disinheritance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
6. Deadlines and enforcement of the compulsory share<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
7. Complete disinheritance without a compulsory share<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
8. Waiver of compulsory share<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
9. Legal options against disinheritance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n