Uncategorized

German Testators cannot fully disinherit their Children and their Spouse. Not even their Parents for that matter! It has always been a principle of German inheritance law that close relatives are entitled to a portion of the deceased's estate, even if the deceased had expressly disinherited those close relatives in his or her Last Will and Testament. This is called "Pflichtteil" (section 2303 German Civil Code), which can be translated forced share or compulsory portion…

Procedure under the Recast Brussels Regulation The enforcement provisions in the Recast Brussels Regulation will apply to the enforcement in England and Wales of judgments from other EU member states in proceedings instituted on or after 10 January 2015. One of the most important changes made on that date by the Recast Brussels Regulation was the abolition of exequatur, or the declaration of enforceability, which had to be obtained in the enforcing state under the…

Compared to English Wills a German style Will is shockingly short (see here) and it is either hand written by the testator him-/herself or recorded before a German notary (details see here). We are often asked whether the writing needs to be in capitals or whether it can be joined up.The answer is: The German will should be in the natural handwriting of the testator. The whole point of the holographic will is to prove…