Wills and inheritance planning

A will lets you say who should inherit, within the limits of the applicable law. Start by listing your family, assets and wishes. Then choose a legally valid form and a safe place to keep it; a list on your phone is not a reliable substitute.

Start with the decision you need

If someone has already died, see When someone dies for the separate deadlines for inheritance decisions. This guide is about planning your own will.

List the people you want to provide for, your family relationships, assets and debts, and any earlier wills, joint wills or inheritance contracts. Include assets and relatives abroad. Establish who would inherit without a will before deciding what needs to change. An heir takes on an estate that can include debts; receiving a particular item and being appointed heir are different legal arrangements. Ask a notary or succession lawyer to express your actual intention clearly.

Choose a valid form under German law

An ordinary handwritten will under section 2247 must be written entirely by your own hand and signed. A typed or printed document with only a handwritten signature does not meet that route. Include your full name, date and place so authorship and the order of documents can be established. Minors and people unable to read writing cannot use this handwritten route; obtain advice on the available form and capacity rules.

A notarial will under section 2232 is another route: you declare your wishes to the notary or hand over a document as your will. That document need not be handwritten. Ask about costs, language/interpretation needs and the legal effect of the chosen wording. Merely certifying a signature on a printed template is not the same as making a notarial will.

Check family and financial consequences

Ask specifically about family members’ rights to a Pflichtteil, or compulsory share. Under German law, excluding someone from the inheritance does not necessarily remove the monetary claim of descendants, a spouse or eligible parents. The calculation and the effect of gifts, marital property and existing agreements depend on your family’s circumstances.

Discuss provision for minor children, an unmarried partner, children from different relationships, a business or a property that cannot easily be divided. Clarify substitute beneficiaries and what should happen if a named person dies first. Keep an asset/contact inventory, but avoid putting passwords or a complete list of changing account balances into the legal wording. A will is also not a substitute for arrangements governing decisions while you are still alive.

Cross-border estates: establish the law first

Under the EU succession rules used in Germany, the law of the deceased’s last habitual residence generally governs succession, rather than nationality automatically deciding it. A valid choice of the law of a country of your nationality can be possible, including a non-EU country; with several nationalities, ask about each permitted option. State the intended choice clearly in the required testamentary form with professional advice.

Denmark and Ireland do not participate in that Regulation. Foreign authorities, assets outside participating states, public-policy limits, tax and matrimonial-property questions can require separate checks. Do not assume one German will or choice of law will settle every foreign registration or tax issue. Take the countries, nationalities, residence history and foreign deeds to a specialist before signing competing wills in different countries.

Store, tell and review

1. Ask the Nachlassgericht about special official custody for a handwritten will; section 2248 allows this on request. Clarify deposit and registration fees directly. Keep the custody receipt.
2. Tell a trusted person where to find the original or its custody details, so it can be found when needed.
3. Review the plan after marriage, separation/divorce, a birth, a death, relocation or a major asset change. Ask how to amend or revoke it without conflicting originals.
4. Tell the person holding a private original that section 2259 requires prompt delivery to the probate court once they learn of your death. They should not decide privately whether the will is useful or valid.

Prepare the advice appointment

Bring identity and family-status documents, previous instruments, the asset/debt and country list, and your questions about beneficiaries and costs. Request a written explanation of the proposed arrangement in language you understand. Use Documents and translations for foreign evidence; avoid buying authentication before the adviser specifies what is needed.