Will; last will and testament
February 8, 2010 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
Dear Sir or Madam,
We would like to draw up a spousal will. The surviving spouse shall be the initial heir and full heir.
As contingent beneficiaries, we want to name our 2 children and our 4-year-old granddaughter (the child of our unfortunately deceased son, our 3rd child).
The mother is the legal guardian of our granddaughter.
Our daughter will inherit our townhouse, and she will buy out our 2nd daughter and granddaughter. Each shall inherit 1/3. We want to appoint our daughter as executor of the will, who shall support our granddaughter, for example with her studies, from the granddaughter's inheritance when needed.
Question: How can we prevent our daughter-in-law from receiving the inheritance, including the statutory share, before our granddaughter? We want our granddaughter to receive the entire inheritance only when she reaches adulthood.
Yours sincerely.
Dear Seeker,
Thank you for your inquiry!
There are basically two options for this. Firstly, your daughter-in-law could sign a waiver of inheritance or compulsory portion. She would have to do this voluntarily and it would have to be done before a notary.
Alternatively, you could include a clause in the will you are creating. Regarding the inheritance, nothing would need to be regulated as the succession is already determined by the will. Only something regarding the compulsory portion claim would need to be regulated. A clause would need to be included in the will stating that in the event that she asserts her compulsory portion claim prematurely, she would be limited to her compulsory portion later on (i.e. when she would actually inherit). This would put her at a financial disadvantage, which would incentivize her not to assert the compulsory portion prematurely.
This is a very common and customary clause in a will like yours (known as a Berlin will).
I hope that my explanations have helped you, even though I regret not being able to give you a more positive message. You are welcome to contact me within the scope of the follow-up option on this platform or via my email address.
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, which cannot replace a comprehensive evaluation of the facts. Adding or omitting relevant information can lead to a completely different legal assessment.
I wish you a pleasant Monday afternoon and a good start to the week!
Best regards,
Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney at Law
Heilsbergerstr. 16
27580 Bremerhaven
kanzlei.newerla@web.de
Tel. 0471/3088132
Fax.0471/57774
