Declining German Inheritance

[Alexis]

I am born German, have been living in the US for 17 years, and took on US citizenship in 2008.

4 days ago I found out via letter from the Bezirksamt Neukolln in Berlin, that my father(German Citizen)has passed away in December 2011 and per the Amtgericht I am the heir(I am the only child, father divorced in 80's, father has one sister, and there is no other family). They are also informing me that they want me to pay for the funeral cost which where incurred by them by no later than Sep 24, 2012. I understand that I have 6 months to accept or refuse the inheritance. Am I correct in the assumption that if I do not accept the inheritance, I will not be responsible for this or any other debt?

Could you tell me what I need to write in the letter of refusal? Can the letter be in English? Does the letter have to be notarized? If the letter has to be notarized, can it be notarized by an American notary or do I have to go to a German Consulate? My last question is, what could happen if I don't do anything at all?

I would like to thank you in advance for taking the time to assist me in matter.

Tina O.

ANSWER: Hello Tina,

I am sorry to read about your father's death.

You are correct that you have 6 months to make the decision, from the day on on which you heard about being the heir(§ 1944 III BGB; see also no. 8 of my FAQ on inheritance in Germany: http://www.moser-law.com/faq.htm#inheritance).

However, you are not correct about the consequences: Under German law, you automatically are the heir. By law. You do not need to accept it in order for the statutory consequences to kick in. Your declaration to not accept the inheritance is thus the exception. The declaration to refuse the inheritance has to be notarized(§§ 1945 I, 129 I 1 BGB). In order to avoid problems and because there are around 9 German General Consulates all over the US, I would highly recommend having this done at a German Consulate in German and English.

If you do not declare your refusal and you opt no to do anything, you are the sole heir. That would mean that you are liable for the debts. The creditors could attempt to get these debts enforced against you in the US, although they would first need to get their title recognized in the US. Because of this lengthy procedure, probably nothing much would happen to you. But you have to keep in mind that you would still be the debtor and this could lead to problems should you pass away. The creditors may then want to argue that you - involuntarily - passed the debts on to your children or other heirs.

Because of the capacity of this situation to cause problems 20, 30 or 50 years down the line, I would recommend to address it now once and for all.

Andreas Moser

www.moser-law.com

www.andreasmoser.wordpress.com ---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

Mr. Moser,

I have one more follow up question. I am in the process of getting a "Declaration of Renouncement of Succession", a form provided by the German Consulate, notarized.

I just received additional information, including a letter my fathers sister had received and in that it states the following:

"Das Bestattungsgesetz sieht keinerlei Freistellung von der Bestattungspflich aufgrund mangelndem sozialen Kontakt / Verhaltnis zur verstorbenen Person vor. Weiterhin konnen sich bestattungspflichtige Personen auch nicht durch Erbausschlagung ihrer offentlich-rechtlichen Pflicht aus §16 Bestattungsgesetz entziehen. Eine Erstattung der Bestattungskosten aus Nachlassmitteln war nicht moglich."

Do I understand correctly, that regardless of the "Declaration of Renouncement of Succession" I will be still responsible for the funural cost of 821,55 Euro or is there anything else that I can/need to do?

Thank you once again for all your assistance, it is very much appreciated.

Tina Ognibene

ANSWER: Hello Tina,

you are right: the funeral costs are not legally part of the estate or the inheritance. § 16 BestG is a public law statute, not a private law one, so that the state has a direct claim against you(and other relatives).

However, it will be very hard for the German authorities to actually enforce this against you as long as you don't have assets in Germany. Realistically, they will give up on this sooner or later.

If you have a relatively low income, you may want to point this out to the authorities in Germany, so that they won't even initiate any enforcement proceedings. Andreas Moser

www.moser-law.com

www.andreasmoser.wordpress.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

Besten Dank für die Bestätigung, daraus ergibt sich jetzt aber noch eine letzte Frage. Mein Vater hat eine Schwester. Wenn ich die Kosten nicht übernehme, würde das Bezirksamt die Kostenerstattung von meiner 70 jährigen Tante verlangen?

Nochmals besten Dank und das ist wirklich die letzte Frage.

Tina Ognibene

[Bart]

Hallo Tina,

ja, das Bezirksamt könnte auch an die Schwester des Verstorbenen herantreten(§ 16 I Nr. 4 BestG).

Ob diese Möglichkeit greift, hängt dann wiederum davon ab, ob Ihre Tante über ausreichende finanzielle Mittel sowohl hinsichtlich Vermögen als auch Einkommen verfügt.

Andreas Moser

www.moser-law.com

www.mosereien.wordpress.com