Inheritance after care
October 27, 2010 | 40,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
In November 2005, I took over the care of my father who was suffering from dementia. In May 2006, I then moved with my underage daughter into his apartment to take care of him. I sublet my own apartment. Initially, he was classified as needing care level I, in February 2007 he was classified as needing care level II, and in February 2008 he was classified as needing care level III. In October 2007, I sold my taxi, which I had been operating as a business. In November 2007, a legal representative was appointed to manage the finances. I and my daughter received free room and board the whole time. The legal representative provided a monthly household allowance of €1350 for groceries, co-payments, and care-related expenses, which was deducted based on receipts. In addition, I received a portion of the care allowance, €424, directly into my account. I had to use this money to cover my health insurance and other insurance payments, as well as clothing for myself and my daughter.
Now, my father passed away in August 2010 and there is an inheritance issue to address, which I am supposed to share with my sister. My sister lives 500 km away and did not participate in the care. She now claims that since I lived rent-free with our father the entire time, I am not entitled to a care compensation. Is this correct? If not, what would be the appropriate amount for care compensation?
Dear inquirer,
Thank you for your inquiry, which I would like to answer as follows:
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere condolences to you. The problem you described unfortunately occurs quite frequently in practice.
Next, I would like to explain the basics to you and answer your questions as follows:
According to the law, you definitely have a legal entitlement to this care compensation. The basis for such compensation is § 2057a paragraph 1 sentence 1, sentence 2 of the German Civil Code (BGB).
The amount of care compensation is determined according to the duration and intensity of the care, as well as the resulting waiver of personal income, based on equitable considerations on a case-by-case basis, as outlined in § 2057a paragraph 3 and paragraph 4 BGB.
In these equitable considerations, the fact that you received free room and board will certainly be taken into account and result in a certain reasonable deduction. According to your description, however, the costs of care were higher, so in my estimation, there should still be an amount remaining for care compensation.
The exact amount of this compensation would need to be determined within the context of a specific mandate with a colleague experienced in inheritance law. Unfortunately, a conclusive resolution of this issue through remote consultation without considering all circumstances of the individual case is not possible.
I would like to point out the following to you:
The legal advice I have provided is based solely on the information you have provided. My response is only an initial legal assessment of the situation and cannot replace a comprehensive evaluation of the facts. Adding or omitting relevant information can lead to a completely different legal assessment.
I hope that my explanations have been helpful to you. Feel free to contact me via my email address or the follow-up option.
I wish you a pleasant Wednesday afternoon!
Best regards from the North Sea coast,
Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney at Law
Stresemannstr. 46
27570 Bremerhaven
kanzlei.newerla@web.de
Phone: 0471/140240
Fax: 0471/140244
