Certificate of inheritance: procedure & legal certainty

 

You are registered in the will as the sole heir of the parental home. If the will is notarised and legally valid, your inheritance will not be challenged. Nevertheless, without an additional certificate of inheritance, you will face a problem at the latest if you become the owner of the property as a result of the correction in the land register and wish to sell it on, for example. You should have a certificate of inheritance issued independently of the will and thus protect yourself when inheriting houses or apartments.

When is a certificate of inheritance necessary, what documents are needed?

You will be asked for a certificate of inheritance at the latest at the land registry. You will only become the legally recognised owner if you present the certificate of inheritance and have the changes made in the land register. A notarial will will not help you here either, as the certificate of inheritance is regarded as a mandatory document by the land registry.

To obtain a certificate of inheritance or, in the case of a community of heirs , a partial certificate of inheritance, go to the probate court with your identity card and the death certificate. The family record book or similar documents, the will or a contract of inheritance and an affidavit on all the information provided are also necessary. As a rule, the certificate of inheritance does not lose its validity. Only in the event of a will appearing later or false information being given when applying for a certificate of inheritance can the probate court withdraw the certificate of inheritance and thus invalidate it. Do you need a certificate of inheritance and do not know how best to proceed?

Our advice: As the fees for a certificate of inheritance depend on the value of the inheritance, please commission us in advance to determine the market value of the property. From a property value of 260,000 euros, a certificate of inheritance can cost as little as 1,000 euros without additional expenses and incidental costs.

Inheritance settlement

Properties inherited in community pose a particular difficulty when selling. Within the framework of a community of heirs, there are several owners in the land register. This circumstance has a detrimental effect on the interest of potential buyers and makes the sale process more difficult. There is a solution to simplify the settlement and at the same time provide for a clear guideline of all heirs with equal rights. The settlement of an estate refers to the dissolution of a community of heirs, which is carried out on the basis of clear contractual regulations and is not bound by any particular form. Everything you need to know about inheritance settlement.

Community of heirs

From practice it is known that a community of heirs rather rarely agree. But from the disagreement and open disputes in relation to a real estate inheritance arise losses that you can avoid with prudence. Avoid conflicts about the estate by consulting an estate agent and finding the best way with support. If the will does not provide otherwise, all co-heirs are equally entitled and obliged. This means that a sale is often the best solution and gives you the opportunity to divide the proceeds of the estate between all the co-heirs, thus avoiding the problem of an inheritance dispute. Learn more about the community of heirs.

Inheritance tax

For many heirs, grief, joy and sorrow are closely linked. When you inherit a house, this process is always linked to a painful, emotional loss. After some time, a slight joy spreads and you realize that you are a homeowner. At the same time comes the worry that the tax office will claim inheritance tax from you and you will only be able to pay this amount if you sell the house. You have an exemption amount, below which there is generally no inheritance tax. The amount of this allowance is based on your degree of relationship to the deceased. Spouses can inherit real estate tax-free up to 500,000 euros, children up to 400,000 euros. To ensure that you do not pay speculation tax, you should consider whether you would like to live in the inherited house yourself if it was acquired less than 10 years ago. Everything about inheritance tax.