As of: January 28, 2024, 8:02 a.m
By: Marco Blanco Ucles
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If a spouse of a childless couple dies, the surviving partner will not automatically inherit without a will.
A misconception that is widespread.
Drawing up a will is important because it can prevent serious conflicts after a person's death.
This by no means only applies to married couples with children.
Couples without children should also consider going to the notary if they want their spouse to be the sole heir in the event of the death of one of the two people.
The
Celle Chamber of Notaries
clarifies this: “In childless marriages, the spouse does not inherit alone in accordance with legal succession, but rather together with the parents of the deceased.” Often the parents have also already died at the time of the spouse’s death.
In this case, however, the parents' other children, if any, inherit.
If they have already died, the inheritance goes to their children, i.e. the nephews and nieces of the deceased spouse.
System of statutory inheritance law
First-order heirs:
children and grandchildren of the testator.
Second-order heirs:
parents, siblings, nieces and nephews of the testator.
Divorced parents of the deceased person also belong to this group.
Third order heirs:
grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins of the testator
But what does the distribution without a will actually look like?
Spousal inheritance law comes into force.
If a married, childless person dies without first drawing up a will, the surviving spouse inherits half and an additional quarter for the compensation of gains, as
ERGO insurance
explains.
The rest goes to the so-called “second-order heirs” – parents, siblings, nieces and nephews of the testator.
Without a will, unexpected distributions of inheritance can occur.
© Bihlmayerfotografie/IMAGO
Without a will, it's not just monetary amounts that need to be divided.
For example, if the house that the couple lived in together belonged to the testator alone, after the testator's death, co-owners are added who have a say in how the property is used.
Of course, different ideas on this topic have the potential for conflict.
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Name your spouse as the sole heir through a will
If you insist on your spouse being listed as the sole heir after your death, you will need to draw up a will with a notary.
The spouses can appoint each other as sole heirs and protect each other from access by third parties in the event of the other person's death.
However, parents still have a claim to a compulsory share.
In order to avoid this in advance, you can draw up a contract with your parents to waive your compulsory share.
This must of course be notarized.
Also interesting: With a clever method you can avoid having to pay high taxes.