Ask a lawyer on the topic of Inheritance law

Inheritance Law Fuhrmann

January 7, 2010 | 30,00 EUR | answered by Steffan Schwerin

Dear Sir or Madam,

My wife's grandmother passed away in 2001. The heirs were her father Hermann and Hans-Jürgen (brother of the father). Hermann's taxi company went bankrupt in mid-2008 and he passed away in early 2009. The heirs all renounced the inheritance of Hermann.

Recently, we discovered (after Hermann's death) that there is still an account in the name of the grandmother.

Now our question is:
Does my wife, Nicole, have a right to half of the money (the other half belonging to Hans-Jürgen) or does the money go into the bankruptcy estate?

As we have learned, the bank in question has referred the matter to the local court. We have not yet made a claim...

Thank you in advance and
Kind regards,

Dirk Fuhrmann

Steffan Schwerin

Dear questioner,

I will answer the questions you have asked, taking into account the circumstances described and your contribution as follows:

If the inheritance was rejected at that time, no heir has a claim to the estate. This also includes the account.

However, the subsequent heirs can step into the shoes of the original heirs.

However, the original heirs can also contest the rejection afterwards if assets still emerge.

If the original heirs contest the rejection and are successful, the account will become part of their estate and therefore at least half of it will also be part of the insolvency estate.

In that case, your wife will not have a right to the inheritance.

If the rejection was not contested, your wife is entitled to the inheritance as the successor of the other heirs who renounced their inheritance through rejection.

You should contact the bank and the local court to clarify the inheritance related to the account. First, you should find out whether the other heirs have contested the rejection.

Finally, I would like to point out that this platform cannot replace a detailed and personal legal consultation. The aim is solely to provide an initial rough assessment of your legal issue based on the information you have provided to an attorney. The legal advice I have provided is based solely on the facts provided by you. Adding or omitting relevant information in the context of describing your situation may lead to a completely different legal assessment.

I hope I have been able to give you an initial overview and that my explanations have been helpful. Please feel free to contact me through the follow-up option on this platform.

Furthermore, I am available for legal representation. The initial consultation fee would be fully credited towards your case.

A greater distance between lawyer and client is generally not a problem. With the help of modern communication tools such as email, mail, fax, and telephone, legal representation is also possible.

Best regards,

Steffan Schwerin
Attorney at Law

Law Office of Steffan Schwerin
Golmsdorfer Straße 11
07749 Jena

Tel.: 03641 801257
Fax: 032121128582

Email: raschwerin@raschwerin.de

Website: www.raschwerin.de