Probate - disclaimer of an inheritance

The probate court shall inform an heir of the accrual of an inheritance only in the following cases:

(a) In the context of the opening of one or more wills/ inheritance contracts (in these cases, the rash period also begins only upon receipt of mail from the probate court).

b) After the disclaimer of an heir appointed with priority, provided that the address of the heir appointed by the previous disclaimer is/will be known to the court.

Provided that there was no contact with the decedent, a civil registry information may be obtained to confirm the death. An inquiry at the probate court is also possible.

The death certificate is not required for the declaration of a declaration of inheritance.

The first-appointed heir is only informed by the probate court if there is testamentary/inheritance-contractual succession. In cases where intestate succession forms the basis, the first-appointed heir is not notified. In many cases, the probate court does not know the person of the first appointed heir. In these cases, the time limit also only begins with
knowledge of the accrual of the inheritance. This can be done, for example, by notification from another relative or a creditor of the estate.

There are no formal or deadline requirements for the acceptance of the inheritance.

If applicable, you declare by your conduct alone that you have accepted the inheritance. Therefore, if necessary, seek legal advice on what actions you may take if you have not yet decided whether to accept the inheritance. The probate court cannot give you any information on this.

However, the inheritance is automatically deemed to have been accepted if it is not disclaimed in due time and form.

As a rule, the probate court does not have any conclusive information on this. In particular, the probate court does not receive any notifications from the tax offices regarding existing assets.

If necessary, seek legal advice to find out where you can obtain the relevant information.

Burial is a matter for the relatives.

If no relatives are known, the burial is carried out by the Institute of Forensic Medicine. The probate court has no influence on the burial and does not commission it. The probate court is also not notified of a burial that has taken place.

If relatives need access to the apartment in order to settle the estate and if the apartment keys are kept with the probate court, the keys can (only) be handed over to the potential heirs.

If there are several heirs, all of them must agree to the keys being handed over to one of the heirs. For this purpose, it is sufficient to submit a written declaration of consent.

An appointment must be made in advance to hand over the keys. This will clarify what further evidence must be submitted for the handover in the individual case.

You may notify the appropriate probate court in writing of your tenant's passing and inquire if there are any known heirs.

For this purpose, please be sure to submit a copy of the lease agreement as proof of your legitimate interest. Otherwise, no information can be provided to you.

If no heirs are known to the probate court, it will check whether special estate protection measures need to be taken. For this purpose, information on any existing assets of the deceased is also required. It therefore helps to speed up the proceedings if the inquiry is accompanied by information about the bank at which the deceased held the account from which the rent payments were made.

With regard to questions about what rights and obligations you now have as a landlord, please contact a member of the legal advisory professions. The probate court cannot give you any information on this.

Information on the proceedings can only be provided to persons who have a legitimate interest. As a prospective buyer, you unfortunately do not belong to this group of persons, so that no information about possible heirs can be provided to you.

If you can prove your legitimate interest, you can obtain information about possible heirs of the deceased. Please make your request in writing only, providing proof (copy of invoice, statement of claim, contract documents).

If you want to know how to assert your claim against the heirs or the estate, you must seek legal advice. The local court is not authorized to provide legal advice.