Consciously design your succession today and thus prevent disputes between your loved ones. This is how you arrange your inheritance according to your wishes.
The will
A will is a disposition of property upon death. You unilaterally determine what should happen to your inheritance after your death.
There are different types of wills and there is a lot to consider. The biggest mistake, however, is not writing a will at all. If you do not put your last will and testament on paper, you deprive yourself of the opportunity to distribute your assets according to your own wishes.
Without a will, the rules laid down in the German Civil Code apply in the event of inheritance.
First and foremost, family members and spouses benefit.
If you want to deviate from the legal succession, you must take action. This is particularly important for unmarried people, childless married couples, single people and patchwork families.
In general, drawing up a will ensures clarity and transparency in the family and prevents disputes later on. We want to prevent heirs from not getting along with each other due to inheritance disputes for life.
The inheritance contract
The contract of inheritance is a testamentary disposition made in the form of a contract. In difference to a will, the parties are bound by the contract once it has been concluded and can only revoke it by mutual consent.
The contract of inheritance makes sense in various constellations. The «Berlin Testament» – in which couples want to appoint each other as heirs with binding effect – is reserved for spouses only. If unmarried couples wish to make reciprocal dispositions, the only instrument available to them is the contract of inheritance.
Especially in business succession, however, a waiver of the compulsory portion is often agreed upon in order to ensure the transition without a disastrous outflow of liquidity due to compensation payments. In addition to a life settlement, a further share in the estate can also be granted.
The contract of inheritance also offers the possibility of securing an inheritance in return for a service rendered during the testator’s lifetime. If, for example, someone pays money in return for the testator bequeathing him or her his or her real estate in the event of death, only the contract of inheritance provides him or her with the security that the testator will not change his or her testamentary disposition after all.
Inheritance tax
When assets are passed on or given away, the transfer of assets is subject to inheritance tax or gift tax.
Tax burdens can cause the assets to decrease enormously. It is therefore important to make the best possible use of the statutory tax allowances.
Drawing up a will or inheritance contract?
Precaution with Kutter Law
We would be happy to work with you to draft a will or inheritance contract that precisely reflects your wishes and goals while keeping inheritance tax to a minimum. In doing so, we rely on personal and open correspondence with our clients.
You should prepare is a list of your assets. In this way, tax problems will immediately come to our attention. An overview of family relationships is also useful, especially for families in which there have been several marriages. It is important for us to know what your personal wishes and goals are, so that we can advise you in the best possible way. We work hand in hand with notaries who will notarise your will or contract of inheritance.
