July 10, 2020 /
On 13.05.2020, the Higher Regional Court of Braunschweig ruled that the probate court must also issue a certificate of inheritance if there is no note of succession, but the prior and subsequent heirs have effectively agreed on the succession.
In this case, the testator had appointed his wife as the prior heir and his son from a previous relationship as the subsequent heir to the assets and the condominium. If the wife sells the inherited apartment, she must pay half of the proceeds to the son.
Certificate of inheritance not granted at first instance
After the death of the testator, the wife and son came to an agreement about the inheritance: the son would transfer the rights of succession to the wife in return for a one-off payment of €10,000. However, the probate court did not want to issue the certificate of inheritance that was subsequently applied for.
The Braunschweig Higher Regional Court upheld the applicant’s appeal.
In the opinion of the OLG, the son effectively assigned his right to subsequent inheritance to the wife. The testator had not excluded such a transfer in his last will and testament. On the contrary, by allowing the wife to sell the condominium, he had indicated that she could dispose of the assets.
The probate court must then issue the certificate of inheritance without a note of succession.