Probate - will opening after the occurrence of the succession

The parties involved include the statutory heirs and the heirs and beneficiaries (e.g. legatees) named in the disposition upon death.

Legal heirs are those persons who would have become heirs if there had been no disposition of property upon death.

In addition to the spouse, the legal heirs include the following

1. the descendants of the deceased. If there are no descendants

2. the parents of the deceased. If these or one parent are deceased:

3. the siblings or, of predeceased siblings, their descendants.

If these are also not present:

4. the grandparents of the testator.

Notification of the death of a testator is made via the Central Register of Wills maintained by the Federal Chamber of Notaries in cases where a disposition of property upon death is in special official custody.

In other cases, the notification is made via the registry office recording the death. No other institutions are involved in informing the probate court.

You will also receive instructions with the notification of the reading of the will.
Please read these carefully. If you have any further questions, please contact
a member of the legal profession, as the
local court is not permitted to provide legal advice.

Burial is a matter for the relatives.

If no relatives are known, the burial is carried out by the Institute of Forensic Medicine. The probate court has no influence on the burial and does not commission it. The probate court is also not notified of a burial that has taken place.

If relatives need access to the apartment in order to settle the estate and if the apartment keys are kept with the probate court, the keys can (only) be handed over to the potential heirs.

If there are several heirs, all of them must agree to the keys being handed over to one of the heirs. For this purpose, it is sufficient to submit a written declaration of consent.

An appointment must be made in advance to hand over the keys. This will clarify which further evidence must be submitted for the handover in the individual case.

You may notify the appropriate probate court in writing of your tenant's passing and inquire if there are any known heirs.

For this purpose, please be sure to submit a copy of the lease agreement as proof of your legitimate interest. Otherwise, no information can be provided to you.

If no heirs are known to the probate court, it will check whether special estate protection measures need to be taken. For this purpose, information on any existing assets of the deceased is also required. It therefore helps to speed up the proceedings if the request is accompanied by information on the bank at which the deceased maintained the account from which the rent payments were made.

With regard to questions about what rights and obligations you now have as a landlord, please contact a member of the legal advisory professions. The probate court cannot give you any information on this.

Information on the proceedings can only be provided to persons who have a legitimate interest. As a prospective buyer, you unfortunately do not belong to this group of persons, so that no information about possible heirs can be provided to you.

If you can prove your legitimate interest, you can obtain information about possible heirs of the deceased. Please make your request in writing only, providing proof (copy of invoice, statement of claim, contract documents).

If you want to know how to assert your claim against the heirs or the estate, you must seek legal advice. The local court is not authorized to provide legal advice.

If there was no contact with the deceased, information from the civil register can be obtained to confirm the death. An inquiry at the probate court is also possible.