AboutHenning Haarhaus Expertise I am a Certified German Lawyer and a Certfied Tax Expert. I practice in German business, tax & commercial law; e.g. business organisations, contracts; debt collections and international law. I also offer my legal services in the fields of German inheritance and inheritance tax law.
Experience I have been working as a German lawyer since 1999 in the forenamed fields.
Organizations Berlin Bar Association, German Association of Estate Succession and Inheritance Law, German-Korean Lawyers Association - Secretary General
Publications Please find a guide about the basics of German inheritance and real estate law in my online resource:
http://www.kanzlei-haarhaus.de
Education/Credentials - graduated as certified banker in 1989 - passed First State Exam (JD-equivalent) in 1994 - passed exam on expertise in the field of inheritance law in 2005 - Certified Tax Expert since 2007
Question QUESTION: My mother in law recently died and left behind her husband and their three sons. My father in law and his deceased wife own 3 properties + some savings. My father in law is under the impression that he is now the sole owner of the properties (I think they were bought under his name). Is that indeed the case, and if not how would the sons have to proceed next to ensure that whatever share they own cannot be taken away.
I look forward to your reply
ANSWER: Note that the including total estate (asse ereditario) includes not only the assets owned by the deceased at the time of death, but all of the major donations made during his or her life. So if a substantial part of the estate has been donated by the deceased during his or her life to people or institutions that are not ‘necessary heirs’, and the total amount of these donations exceeds the amount of the disposable portion on death, the ‘necessary heirs’ have the right to claim back their rightful portion, if they want. This is known as an azione di riduzione. In order to protect your interests you should be aware of the belongings of the parents.
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QUESTION: Thank you very much for your reply. Please note that I have now in the meantime found out that they the estates were registered under "joint tenancy". I have read somewhere that if one spouse remains (my father in Law), he would be entitled to 1/3rd of the estate and his sons to 2/3. Is that correct, and what would his sons have to do to protect their inheritance share.
Answer What you say about the shares is correct. However, Italian law does not know any form of join tenancy. Every inheritor who accepts his/ her succession must also consider donations which he received from the deceased as part of the estate. As a result, if both spouses owned real estate with a share of one half each but if the decedent had paid it all the whole real estate belongs to the estate. You can secure your rights by claiming for partition of the estate and have your co-ownership registered in the land registry. In Italy, there is no probate. You must be proactive.
