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Compulsory portion: your claim if you have been disinherited
Even those passed over in a will do not go away empty-handed. Close relatives have a compulsory portion (Pflichtteil), which the heirs must pay out in money.
Who has a compulsory portion
- Children (and, if a child has predeceased, that child's children),
- spouses and registered civil partners,
- parents, but only if the deceased leaves no descendants.
Siblings have no compulsory portion. The compulsory portion amounts to half of the statutory share of the inheritance (§ 2303 BGB) and is a claim for money against the heirs. Our compulsory portion calculator shows how high your share is.
Information: what is in the estate?
Persons entitled to a compulsory portion often do not know what assets exist. The heirs must therefore provide information about the composition of the estate, on request by means of a notarial inventory of the estate (notarielles Nachlassverzeichnis), and have its value determined, for example that of a property (§ 2314 BGB). The estate bears the costs of this.
Gifts in the last ten years
If the deceased gave away assets during their lifetime, for example the house to a sibling, you may be entitled to a supplementary compulsory portion claim (Pflichtteilsergänzungsanspruch, § 2325 BGB). For each year since the gift, it is taken into account one tenth less. If the donor reserved a right of usufruct (Nießbrauch) or the recipient is the spouse, the period often does not begin to run at all.
Watch out for the limitation period. The compulsory portion claim becomes time-barred after three years, counted from the end of the year in which you learned of the death and of your disinheritance. Our deadline calculator gives you a first orientation.
You were included, but received too little?
If your share of the inheritance or your legacy is less than the compulsory portion, you can demand the difference (residual compulsory portion claim, Pflichtteilsrestanspruch, § 2305 BGB). If your share of the inheritance is encumbered with restrictions, for example the administration of the estate by an executor (Testamentsvollstreckung), disclaiming may make sense. Short deadlines apply to this, so seek advice beforehand.
How we proceed
We call on the heirs to provide information, check the inventory of the estate and the valuation, calculate the compulsory portion and the supplement, and enforce the claim, first out of court and, if necessary, with a staged action (Stufenklage). If you yourself represent the heirs' side, we check conversely whether the claim is justified.