Austrian Probate: How to Access Assets in Austria?

British Testator owned a Bank Account in Austria: Will an English Grant be accepted in Austria?

No, unfortunately, it will not. If a British person who owns assets in Austria dies, the personal representative needs to obtain a separate Austrian grant of probate. The English grant is rather worthless in Austria, just as an Austrian (or German or French etc) grant of probate is not being accepted within the United Kingdom, because the UK has opted out of the EU Succession Regulation (even before Brexit).

What kind of Austrian grant needs to be obtained depends on the circumstances of the case:

• If the decedent was an Austrian national –OR– if the decedent was habiltually resident in Austria –OR– if he/she did own property (immoveables) there, then the comprehensive Austrian Probate Procedure is unavoidable, the so called “Verlassenschaftsverfahren”. This involves significant paperwork and the executor(s) / beneficiaries must go through an Austrian notary public (Notar).
• If the decedent did not live in Austria and owned exclusively moveable assets there (e.g. an Austrian bank account), then a simpler and quicker probate procedure is possible under Austrian law, the so called “Ausfolgungsverfahren” (delivery procedure). This is similar to “re-sealing” a foreign grant. It still requires an Austrian court order, the submission of original documents and certified translations, but the overall procedure is much quicker and simpler. More on this Ausfolgungsverfahren and what the Austrian grant of probate looks like here.

If, for instance, a deceased British citizen owned a bank account in Austria but his/her main estate was located within the UK, then the executor or administrator of the UK estate can use the English grant (i.e. grant of probate or letter of administration) and apply to the competent Austrian probate court to be accepted by court order (Gerichtsbeschluss) as the “entitled person” (berechtigte Person) with regard to the moveable assets in Austria; see section 150 Austrian Ausserstreitgesetz and sec. 10 EU Succession Regulation.

This means, however, that the probate application in Austria cannot be made until the English grant has been issued. In practice, these Austrian bank accounts or other moveable assets cannot be accessed quickly. And even after the English grant has been issued, there are quite some formal requirements which need to be dealt with. Because even for this simplified venue of an Austrian probate application, the court needs to be provided with the following documents:

• An original copy of the English Grant (ideally the “yellow” copy so the Austrian court definitely believes that it is an original; otherwise an apostille would be necessary)
• An original copy of the death certificate (or a legalised, i.e. apostilled copy of the same)
• Official proof of the decendents nationality.
• All executors mentioned in the English grant will have to sign the application
• The English Grant and the death certificate will need to be officially translated by an Austrian, court admitted, translator. Whether the English will (if such a will exists) must also be translated depends on the court.

The Austrian probate court fees and the fees of the Austrian civil law notary (who will be instructed by the Austrian probate court to contact the bank) will depend on the value of the bank account. As in Germany, there are statutory fee tables in Austria which determine the legal costs of a probate case.

We saved the best news for last: As complicated as the Austrian probate procedure may be, there is no inheritance tax in Austria. None whatsoever.

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For more information on German-British and Austrian-British probate matters and international will preparation see the below posts by the international succession law experts of Graf & Partners LLP:

• Most Germans die without a Will (German Intestacy Rules)
• Formal Requirements to set up a valid Will in England, Scotland and Germany: What are the Differences?
• The Perils of German IHT and Gift Tax
• Careful with Deed of Variation if Estate comprises Foreign Assets
• Basics of German Inheritance and Succession Law
• Executors and Trustees in German Inheritance Law
• How to apply for a German Grant of Probate
• The Infamous German Community of Heirs – And how to avoid it
• Germans Heirs are Personally Liable for Debts of the Deceased
• International Wills and Estate Planning for British-German Families
• Prove German Wills for English Probate
• Disputed Wills and Contentious Probate in Germany
• Disinherit your no-good children? Not so easy in Germany
• Don’t be afraid of Clients with Foreign Assets!
• Can foreign Taxes be set off against UK Inheritance Tax?

The law firm Graf & Partners and its German-English litigation department GP Chambers was established in 2003 and has many years of experience with British-German and US-German probate matters, including the representation of clients in contentious probate matters. We are experts ininternational succession matters, probate and inheritance law. If you wish us to advise or represent you in a German or cross border inheritance case please contact German solicitor Bernhard Schmeilzl, LL.M. (Leicester) at +49 941 463 7070.