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Apply for a joint certificate of inheritance according to intestate succession

Service Description

When a testator dies, he or she usually leaves not just one heir, but several. These heirs become part of the so-called community of heirs at the time of inheritance. The estate is only divided among the individual heirs in accordance with the agreements made after the inheritance has been divided.

In principle, each individual co-heir can apply for a certificate of inheritance, with which he or she can prove to third parties that he or she is the rightful heir. If, however, the community of heirs wishes to act jointly and to act vis-à-vis banks, insurers and the land registry, a joint certificate of inheritance is often required.

Process flow

After you have applied for the certificate of inheritance, the local court checks the eligibility and issues the certificate of inheritance.

Who should I contact?

The locally competent district court

Competent authority

The district court with local jurisdiction.

This is either the district court in whose district the deceased had his/her last habitual residence or the district court in whose district the renegade has his/her habitual residence.

Requirements

There are co-heirs and they would like to apply for a joint certificate of inheritance.

Which documents are required?

  • Your identity card or passport,
  • the death certificate of the deceased person (testator),
  • the family register to document the relationship,
  • information on whether there is a lawsuit concerning your right to inherit,
  • names and addresses of co-heirs,
  • evidence of the reason why certain persons who would actually inherit are no longer heirs, for example, their death certificates, letters of testament or declarations of renunciation of inheritance,
  • if applicable, wills or inheritance contracts,
  • the marital property status (in the case of married couples) or the asset status (in the case of registered civil partnerships).

What are the fees?

  • The fees for a certificate of inheritance are governed by the German Law on Court and Notary Fees (Gerichts- und Notarkostengesetz, GNotKG) and are based on the value of the estate after deduction of debts.
  • In addition to the fee for issuing a certificate of inheritance, costs for affidavits and notary fees may be incurred - plus statutory value-added tax.

What deadlines do I have to pay attention to?

none

Processing duration

The processing time depends on the complexity of the inheritance case.

Legal basis

Applications / forms

Complaint

If there are conflicting interests in the inheritance certificate proceedings before the probate court, the probate court may not issue the inheritance certificate immediately. The Local Court issues an order in which it states that it considers the facts required to substantiate the application for a certificate of inheritance to have been established.

Pursuant to Sections 58, 63 FamFG, the parties then have the opportunity to appeal against this decision within a period of one month.

The certificate of inheritance is only issued if, after the expiry of the one-month period, no one has lodged an appeal against the decision of the probate court and the decision has thus become final.

In addition, in accordance with Section 59 FamFG, an appeal may be lodged by a person who was unable to convince the probate court with his or her arguments in the inheritance certificate proceedings and whose rights are thereby impaired.

Contest

By applying for the certificate of inheritance, the inheritance is automatically deemed to have been accepted - it is then no longer possible to contest the inheritance.

Heirs can then only avert the inheritance by contesting the certificate of inheritance. To do this, however, a reason for contesting the inheritance must be proven. In principle, only the person who would benefit from a challenge may challenge a certificate of inheritance. It is recommended that legal advice be sought from a lawyer in this regard.

Sole Inheritance Certificates: These can only be contested by sole heirs.

Partial and joint certificates of inheritance: Every heir within the community of heirs is entitled to challenge them.

Appeal

Forms are not required.

Author

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.

Technically approved by

Ministry of Justice of Lower Saxony

Professionally released on

20.07.2023

Source: Zuständigkeitsfinder Thüringen (Linie6Plus)

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