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Inheritance; submission of the declaration

The waiver of an inheritance is made by declaration to the local probate court.

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Procedure details

If you find out that you have been appointed as an heir or co-heir on the basis of intestate succession or a disposition of property upon death (will, contract of inheritance), you must decide as soon as possible whether you want to be the final heir. If you do not wish to accept the inheritance, you must declare the renunciation of the inheritance within a short period of time.

The renunciation of an inheritance is primarily considered if there is a fear that the estate is over-indebted, because otherwise - at least initially - the heir would be liable for the estate liabilities. After acceptance of the inheritance or the expiry of the deadline for the waiver, you can only limit liability for estate liabilities to the estate by applying for estate administration or estate insolvency proceedings. Only if the estate does not even cover the costs of such proceedings can you refuse to meet the liabilities of the estate to the extent that the estate is insufficient. In this case, however, you must hand over the estate to the creditors.

The waiver must be declared to the competent probate court. The probate court in whose district the testator last had his or her habitual residence and the probate court in whose district the disclaimant has his or her habitual residence are both responsible for receiving and recording the declaration of disclaimer. The latter then forwards the declaration to the probate court responsible for the entire probate proceedings.

Strict formal requirements apply to the declaration of waiver. The declaration must be made either for the record of the probate court or in officially notarized form. A simple letter to the probate court is therefore not sufficient. If you do not want to or cannot go to the probate court yourself, you must have the declaration of waiver notarized by a notary and ensure that it is received by the probate court in the correct form within the deadline.

A fee in accordance with the German Court and Notary Fees Act (GNotKG) is charged for the acceptance of the declaration of waiver.

The regular period for exercising the inheritance is 6 weeks and begins when you become aware of the inheritance and the reason for exercising it. If you have been appointed by a testamentary disposition, the period does not begin until the disposition has been announced by the court. If the testator's last place of residence was only abroad or if the heir was abroad at the start of the time limit, the time limit is 6 months.

Status: 05.03.2025
Editorial responsibility Bayerisches Staatsministerium der Justiz
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