The probate court does not administer the estate. In contrast to other countries, there is no administration of the estate.
The sprightly Senior E, whose spouse has prematurely passed away and who has only very loose contact with his children, who live in the USA, Colombia and the United Arab Emirates, dies in a motorbike accident. He is the owner of a villa he used himself, a rented apartment building, and a medium-sized business with 70 employees.
The probate court does not take care of the vacant villa, the business, the pets, etc. etc.
Only in very few exceptional cases does the probate court deal with the estate of the deceased if there is a need for security and heirs do not come forward.
This means that after the death of the deceased it is quite possible that estate objects „disappeared“ from the house/flat.
Therefore, not too much time should be missed to secure the estate.
The heir must take care of the estate himself/herself as a matter of urgency, regardless of the inheritance certificate procedure.
We can perform this task for you.
We secure the estate for you and take care of houses and businesses.
When an application for a certificate of inheritance has been made, persons are informed of it, namely the legal heirs and the testamentary heirs.
In Bavaria, the principle of official investigation applies, which means that the Bavarian Probate Court is responsible for identifying the legal heirs, i.e. parents, spouse and children, and informing them of the death. Other federal states in Germany do not have such a good system. However, this takes time.
The probate court examines which of the wills is valid and what the succession is like. However, in order for this examination to take place at all, an application for a certificate of inheritance must be filed. Many heirs are surprised that the probate court has still not issued a certificate of inheritance even two years after the inheritance. When asked whether they have applied for a certificate of inheritance, most of them say that they thought the certificate of inheritance would come automatically.
An application for a certificate of inheritance can also be made through a consulate abroad, we will prepare the application for a certificate of inheritance for you.
However, the foreign heir must be aware that only the certificate of inheritance procedure is initiated here, but not the securing of the estate.
This must be arranged by the local heir himself.
If there is a majority of heirs, i.e. a community of heirs, this must be arranged jointly by several heirs.
Management measures are an exception to this rule.
The inheritance law firm Eulberg and Ott-Eulberg takes over the initiation of probate court proceedings, the screening of the estate and the securing of the estate for heirs living abroad.
The Eulberg and Ott-Eulberg inheritance law firm will clarify whether and to what extent bank accounts exist here and whether powers of attorney have been set up for these bank accounts. Persons who have a power of attorney over an account may also withdraw funds after death.
At the same time, security measures should also be taken, such as hiring a security guard in an emergency, this is not done by the probate court.
Likewise, safeguarding measures should be taken for real estate, such as commissioning market gardens in the middle of summer and winter services in winter for the purpose of clearing snow, etc. This is not done by the probate court.
For an heir who is abroad to be allowed to have bank accounts, a certificate from the inheritance tax office stating that all taxes have been paid is required.
The relevant tax returns must be submitted. We can file the inheritance tax returns for you.
If the testator had made a will, this will must be submitted to the probate court if it was at the testator’s home or elsewhere.
The transfer can either be made in person at the competent probate court or by letter, in which case delivery is guaranteed. The transfer made by the law firm of Eulberg and Ott-Eulberg.
If there are several wills, it is necessary to check which of them is valid. The probate court will first check whether the relevant form has been respected. For German testators or foreign testators who have chosen German inheritance law, the complete text of a private will must be handwritten and signed from top to bottom.
In addition, the executor must have been able to make a will, which in practice is equivalent to legal capacity.