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britisch german inheritance issues

Conveyancing GermanyEstate PanningGerman ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance LawWills and Succession Planning

How to mitigate German Gift and Inheritance Tax by way of Niessbrauch (usufruct, life interest, reservation of benefit)

Why German estate planners and tax lawyers love the tool "lifetime gift with a reserved life interest" Any German testator who has offspring and who owns a significant estate and therefore asks their German tax lawyer about estate planning advice on how to transfer the family wealth onto the next generation without paying unneccessary German gift tax or inheritance tax, will, inter alia, be proposed to make use of the standard German estate planning tool…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
October 4, 2024
Conveyancing GermanyEuropean ProbateGerman ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance LawInternational ProbateProperty in Germany

Can an inheritance in Germany become time-barred?

How long do I have to claim a German inheritance? In international succession and probate cases, it is not unusual that one or more beneficiaries cannot be found for quite some time, either because they have left Germany many years ago and have not stayed in touch with their family, so nobody knows where they now live. Or because the heirs (especially if intestacy rules apply) are very distant relatives, for example third degree cousins,…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
July 3, 2024
German ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance LawGerman Tax LawInternational ProbateWills and Succession Planning

Is there a Residential Nil Rate Band in Germany?

Yes, but only if the decedent was resident in Germany or a EU-member state Under German inheritance tax law (Erbschaftsteuer), the beneficiaries may claim an additional German tax relief for property of the deceased used as the family home (Familienheim), if the deceased gives said property to offspring (children or grandchildren), see section 13 para. 1 nr. 4 German Inheritance and Gift Tax Act (link). However, this additional German inheritance tax relief is only available,…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
December 4, 2023
German ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance LawGerman Tax Law

UK Citizens with Property in Germany: Do I need a separate Will?

The Basics of British-German Inheritance Cases When a British expat lives in Germany for some time, he or she will most probably have a German bank account and other German assets, maybe even have bought property over here. The majority of these British expats have never thought about the inheritance law implications of such foreign assets. They simply assume that UK law applies. This is, however, not always the case. Especially if German probate law…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
July 1, 2013
German ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance LawGerman Tax Law

German Inheritance Tax Rates and Personal Tax Exempt Amounts

What is the German IHT Nil-Rate Band? German inheritance law, including inheritance tax law, works very differently from the UK system (for German probate see here and here). While in the UK the estate as such is taxed (with one single nil-rate band of currently 325k GBP being available as tax relief) you find a completely different inheritance tax concept in Germany: German tax authorities do not look at the estate but at the individual…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
July 1, 2013
German ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance Law

Executors and Trustees in German Inheritance Law

How estates are administered in Germany There exist, as we have explained here, fundamental differences between the inheritance law concepts of the UK and Germany. Since UK probate law requires a personal representative, many testators in the UK appoint an executor in their will. In Germany, however, where a "personal representative" is unknown due to the principle of universal succession, the inheritors come into ownership as well as into possession of the estate automatically and…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
May 8, 2013
German ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance Law

When a deceased UK Citizen owned Assets in Germany

How to get access to an Estate under German Inheritance Law When a UK citizen dies while having possessions in Germany (bank accounts, deposits, shares, insurance claims or property), one must first determine whether the estate is governed by German hereditary law and thus falls into the competence of German probate courts: Basically, both from a UK and a German legal perspective this depends on where the deceased was domiciled, i.e. the place where a…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
May 7, 2013
German ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance Law

Disinherit your no-good children? Not so easy in Germany

Close relatives are always entitled to a portion of the estate. Period! Really? According to German inheritance law, close relatives have a right to claim a portion of the estate, even if the testator did not want to leave them anything and has consequently disinherited them. This so called "Pflichtteil" is mostly translated with "statutory share", "forced share" or "compulsory share". However, it is difficult to find the correct English word, because this concept does…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
March 22, 2013
Austrian Inheritance LawAustrian ProbateEuropean ProbateGerman LawGerman ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance Law

Basics of German Inheritance Law (German Probate)

German Succession Rules and Probate Proceedings explained German inheritance law as well as German probate rules differ very much both from UK law as well as USA probate. Under German statutory law, there are many formal requirements which must be followed. A good source for initial informationis about the law of succession in Germany (or any other European country for that matter) is the official EU website "Successions in Europe". It answers a few basic questions…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
October 10, 2012