Pre-inheritance
May 2, 2011 | 40,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
Dear Sir or Madam,
We have the following situation:
My husband has two adult daughters from his first marriage. We have a 17-year-old disabled son together. Our joint assets (real estate and cash assets) amount to approximately TEU 500. We intend to appoint each other as pre-inheritors and our son as post-inheritor.
Now the question is: if I were to pass away first, and my husband therefore inherits the pre-inheritance, is there a way to prevent his children from his first marriage from increasing their compulsory share through my inherited share after his death? Or is there a better way to preferentially benefit our son (since the two girls are already secured from another side of the family)? Do we need a notary or specialist lawyer, and can you tell us what is more cost-effective (we live in North Rhine-Westphalia)?
Thank you in advance and best regards.
Dear Seeker,
Thank you for your inquiry. I would like to answer it as follows:
If it is only about drafting a will, you do not necessarily need a specialized lawyer in inheritance law or a notary.
If interested, you can also contact my law firm so that I can provide you with a non-binding offer. In case of further engagement, I would credit the amount paid here in full.
If I understand you correctly, the common son should be favored for the benefit of the daughters.
Since they are not related to their husband's daughters, in the event of your passing, they have no statutory share against the heir(s).
However, it is different if your husband passes away. In that case, the two daughters would have a compulsory share claim as legal heirs due to disinheritance in the will according to § 2303 of the German Civil Code.
If you were to pass away before your husband, your share of the inheritance would transfer to your husband's estate. If your husband were to pass away afterwards, this inheritance would be taken into account in the calculation of the compulsory share (if still available at the time of inheritance).
Unfortunately, you cannot prevent this unilaterally through design measures in the will. A waiver of the compulsory share would be necessary, which would need to be concluded before a notary, and to which the two daughters would need to agree.
The desired result could potentially be achieved through gifts during your lifetime. In this regard, you should seek extensive advice from a colleague specializing in inheritance law. I would be happy to assist you in this matter as well.
I hope I have provided you with an initial legal orientation and wish you success and all the best!
I would like to finally point out the following:
The legal advice I have provided is based solely on the facts 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 my explanations have been helpful. Feel free to reach out to me through the follow-up option if you have any further questions.
Have a pleasant Monday afternoon!
Kind regards from the North Sea coast,
Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney
Stresemannstr. 46
27570 Bremerhaven
kanzlei.newerla@web.de
Fax: 0471/140244
