Ownership of a house after marriage
November 6, 2009 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Andreas Scholz
Dear Sir or Madam, I recently got married and am the owner of a house. Question: Will my wife inherit the house even if her name is not on the property deed, and can she make decisions about the house if I am unable to do so due to illness?
Dear questioner,
If you do not create a will, the legal succession applies, which means the following:
If you die, your wife is entitled to the statutory inheritance rights according to § 1931 BGB in the amount of 1/4 of the estate plus another 1/4 according to § 1371 para. 1 BGB, but only if you have not revoked the marital property regime of community of accrued gains notarially. Therefore, in the event of your death, your wife will inherit at least 1/4. If you have not revoked the community of accrued gains, she will inherit half of your estate. If you have children, your wife forms an inheritance community with them. In the end, your wife is involved in the value of your property in case of inheritance. However, registration as the owner in the land register only takes place if your wife has agreed with the other heirs on the fate of the property. It is also possible that your wife cannot reach an agreement with the other co-heirs, in which case a partition auction would take place, and your wife would receive a share of the auction proceeds of the property.
However, deviation from the legal succession can be made through a will. You can then distribute your estate as you wish, but any compulsory portion claims that may arise must be taken into account.
Also, in the event of illness, your wife cannot make dispositions regarding the property as long as you are the owner. In this case, dispositions can only be made by a person authorized by you or a legal guardian. Therefore, decisions about the fate of the property by your wife cannot be made over your head as long as you are the owner of the property.
I hope I have been able to help you. If you have any uncertainties, feel free to ask.
Kind regards,
Andreas Scholz, attorney
