Service

Public summons and state inheritance law
 

If no heirs can be determined by the competent local court and/or the administrator of the estate, the instrument of public summons is usually used, whereby the heirs are required to report to the competent probate court within a certain period of time. Otherwise, state inheritance law applies. The estate then accrues to the state treasury.
If, in the course of time, heirs come forward or are identified by an heir finding company and can then identify themselves by means of a certificate of inheritance, the treasury must return the inheritance received.
As of the determination of the state succession / fiscal inheritance law, the eligible heirs have 30 years to assert their claims to the inheritance. On expiry of this period, the estate is definitively transferred to the state.

Information

After the death of a testator in cases where no heirs are known, the competent local court / probate court generally appoints an administrator of the estate, usually a lawyer, who is appointed to secure and administer the estate and to identify the heirs. Within the scope of their possibilities and knowledge, administrator of the estate will attempt to determine the legal heirs. If it has not been possible to locate a relative, a professional heir finder may be called in to look into the matter at their own expense and risk. They will only operate in cases where assets exist. This estate is not burdened with liabilities.
The state's obligation to investigate has since been revoked in most German federal states.
The treasury has no particular interest in identifying heirs, but rather that these assets accrue to the state.
In the cases we deal with, legal regulations require publishing in relevant newspapers such as the Bundes/Staatsanzeiger (Official Gazettes) and on the Internet due to legal regulations.
The identification of heirs is very time-consuming and, above all, requires experience, reading of old documents and extensive knowledge in various fields, including genealogy.
Difficult and lengthy investigations are not uncommon until heirs can actually be designated.

Services

What steps are necessary to obtain a certificate of inheritance? First of all, the identification of all relatives of the testator with their personal details, taking into account the respective succession, such as the parents, grandparents, great-grandparents if applicable, their siblings and children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Following this research, documentary evidence of birth, marriage and death required to apply for a certificate of inheritance must be obtained for each individual family member, including those already deceased, for the certificate of inheritance to be issued.
In the former German Eastern territories and not only there, often due to political events but also within a family, documents may have been lost. We find solutions here too.
Over the course of time, state and church authorities have usually had war-related gaps in registers of births, marriages and deaths and church records and other archival documents, which requires additional investigative work.
In conclusion: The manifold events in the life of a family, often over several generations, often make research difficult before it is possible to clarify the whereabouts of the sought-after circle of persons.
If we contact you, this is on the basis of verified family connections to the testator.
So, the most difficult part of our investigation is behind us.
If all heirs who have become known are onboard, there is no longer anything standing in the way of submitting an application for a certificate of inheritance.

Application for a certificate of inheritance
 

After investigations have been completed and all the necessary certified documents have been obtained, an application for a certificate of inheritance can be submitted.
It is necessary to draw up a family tree of the testator's family, include an application for a certificate of inheritance, make declaration under oath about one's person and knowledge of the family relationships. This is done either before a notary public or the local court at your place of residence.
We pay in advance for the fees and legal costs incurred in the probate proceedings.

Certificate of inheritance and disbursement
 

After submitting the application for a certificate of inheritance, including the family tree, the declaration under oath and the certified documents to the probate court, it is examined by the competent court registrar and the certificate of inheritance is issued according to their decision.
With the certificate of inheritance now available, you are entitled to claim the value of the estate collected by the treasury (tax authority, district governments and other authorities depending on the federal state) and to demand settlement.

Inheritance tax

Estate planning costs related to the death of the testator have already been paid out of the assets bequeathed. The fee of the heir finder also has a tax-reducing effect.
Inheritance tax depends on the tax class to which you belong, as well as the corresponding personal allowances and the legal succession.

Fees

We work on these cases against a fee to be agreed upon from the available inheritance.
The amount of the fee is limited by current jurisdiction. Our remuneration is performance-related, i.e. if you receive money from the estate, we are entitled to the agreed remuneration for the service rendered. Our fee will only be invoiced after disbursement of the estate credit balance accruing to the heir. There are no advance payments to be made whatsoever.
Given this regulation of the payment due, signing a fee agreement poses no risk.
Of course, you have the right of waiving succession. Obtain information from your local court / probate court, if necessary, as certain deadlines must be observed.
We can always provide you with references concerning our company.