Higher Regional Court of Schleswig-Holstein, Order of 20 June 2016 – 3 Wx 96 / 15
Generally speaking, the six-week period for renouncing an inheritance, as set out in Section 1944(1) of the German Civil Code (BGB), begins only once the heir is aware of both the opening of the succession and the grounds for the appointment.
6-week period for rejecting the offer: When does the time limit begin in the case of intestate succession? Keyword: family relationship that no longer exists
The basis for the appointment may be either statutory succession or a discretionary appointment of an heir by will or inheritance contract.
In its ruling of 20 June 2016 – 3 Wx 96 / 15 is considering the question of when the time limit for renouncing an inheritance under statutory succession begins to run, where there was ultimately no longer any family relationship between the potential statutory heirs (children) and the testator, and the heir had reason to believe that there was a will disinheriting them.
It is generally accepted that, for the purposes of calculating the time limit for renouncing an inheritance, knowledge of the specific grounds for appeal is relevant to the inheritance.
According to case law, the following principles apply to the grounds for succession based on statutory succession: Knowledge of the grounds for succession is generally presumed if the statutory heir is aware of the family circumstances and, in the light of the overall circumstances, cannot have or does not have any reasonable grounds to suspect that a disposition exists which excludes him or her.
Ultimately, each case must be assessed on its own merits, however, the heir may be unaware of their appointment if ties within the family had already been severed for a considerable period prior to the testator’s death and the heir is therefore reliant on mere conjecture, without any real background knowledge, as to whether the testator had excluded them from the statutory order of succession. In such cases, it is often the case that the estrangement within the family generally makes it seem, from the heir’s perspective, not unlikely that the testator intended to exclude them and, by means of a will, disinherited them and confined them to the statutory share.
In the present case, the Higher Regional Court concluded that the time limit for renouncing the inheritance did not begin to run until the two other heirs became aware of the letter from the probate court notifying them of the application for a certificate of inheritance based on statutory succession. It was only upon receipt of this letter that the two other heirs became aware of the grounds for appeal based on the statutory order of succession. The renunciation, which took place more than half a year after the testator’s death, was not late.
There are many different reasons for refusing. Before taking any spontaneous action, you should be aware of your rights. We’d be happy to advise you on this.