{"id":7409,"date":"2023-10-17T08:22:22","date_gmt":"2023-10-17T06:22:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kanzlei-steinwachs.de\/construction-law-3\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T09:37:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T07:37:10","slug":"construction-law-3","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.kanzlei-steinwachs.de\/en\/construction-law-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Inheritance law \u2013 basic principles"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row content_width=&#8221;grid&#8221; content_aligment=&#8221;left&#8221; triangle_shape=&#8221;no&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<section class=\"sw-content-overview\">\n<h2>Who inherits an estate?<\/h2>\n<p>German inheritance law determines who receives a person\u2019s estate after death. A will or inheritance contract can influence succession; if no effective disposition governs the matter, statutory succession applies. Family relationships, a spouse\u2019s rights and the existence of valid documents must be considered together.<\/p>\n<h2>Wills and their form<\/h2>\n<p>A handwritten will is one possible ordinary form, but it is not the only one. Section 2231 BGB also provides for a will recorded by a notary. The requirements for a personally written will are governed by section 2247 BGB. The appropriate form and wording depend on the intended arrangements and circumstances.<\/p>\n<h2>Typical points of dispute<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Wills, joint wills and inheritance contracts<\/li>\n<li>Challenging a disposition or a declaration<\/li>\n<li>Acceptance or renunciation of an inheritance<\/li>\n<li>The effects of divorce on succession<\/li>\n<li>Compulsory share claims<\/li>\n<li>Unworthiness to inherit<\/li>\n<li>Certificates of inheritance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These subjects do not have a single outcome for every estate. Bring the documents, family details, estate information and known dates to an individual review. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kanzlei-steinwachs.de\/en\/\">office overview<\/a> provides contact details.<\/p>\n<h2>Statutory sources<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gesetze-im-internet.de\/bgb\/__2231.html\">Section2231 BGB \u2013 ordinary wills<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gesetze-im-internet.de\/bgb\/__2247.html\">section2247 BGB \u2013 handwritten wills<\/a> are official sources in German.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row content_width=&#8221;grid&#8221; content_aligment=&#8221;left&#8221; triangle_shape=&#8221;no&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text] Who inherits an estate? German inheritance law determines who receives a person\u2019s estate after death. A will or inheritance contract can influence succession; if no effective disposition governs the matter, statutory succession applies. Family relationships, a spouse\u2019s rights and the existence of valid documents must be considered together. Wills and their form A handwritten will is one possible ordinary form, but it is not the only one. Section 2231 BGB also provides for a will recorded by a notary. The requirements for a personally written will are governed by section 2247 BGB. The appropriate form and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7409","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.6 (Yoast SEO v28.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Inheritance law: wills and legal succession | STEINWACHS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Basic principles of German inheritance law: wills, inheritance contracts, statutory succession, compulsory shares and issues requiring individual review.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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