Insolvency of estates – When you deal with the topic of real estate, you always come across words that are not immediately meaningful. You suddenly find yourself in a situation you have never been in before and for this reason you often need advice quickly. In this article, you will learn everything you need to know about estate insolvency. Don’t worry about exploring unknown words, but rather devote yourself to topics that are really important to you.
The death of a person who was close to us is always a heavy burden. No matter whether it was already foreseeable that a person would not have long to live or whether it was a surprising stroke of fate, the situation is never easy for the relatives. The death of a person is usually not only connected with incriminating grief, but the topic of inheritance must also be dealt with. There are the most different situations: Some people have already thought about who should inherit which shares before their death and other people have not thought about it or have had no more time to deal with the topic because they were surprised by a stroke of fate.
First of all, you should know what the difference is between a legal and a voluntary succession. Basically, it is important to know that the arbitrary succession always takes precedence over the legal succession. We speak of an arbitrary succession when the deceased has left a will by determining which heirs are to inherit what. In this context, heirs can be all natural persons. The heirs therefore do not have to be related to the deceased.
The legal succession always comes into effect if the deceased person has not left a will or a testamentary disposition. The legal succession is defined in the Civil Code and refers to three grounds of appeal: kinship, marriage and citizenship.
Voluntary succession: the deceased person has left a will that specifies who inherits what
Legal succession: Deceased person has not left a will. The grounds of appeal: kinship, marriage and citizenship are included.
Inherited debts – the Negative Side
But it is not always the case that heirs inherit great wealth. If the deceased had open debts to creditors and was liable with his inheritance, then the creditors can claim them from the heirs. Even the heirs’ own property is not protected in such a situation. You must expect to have to pay the debts of your relative or spouse. But what can you do if such an inheritance would drive you to ruin? If you are unable to settle the debts of your relative or partner under any circumstances, there is a way out of this situation.
This is where the word estate insolvency comes into play. But what is that actually? How does something like this work exactly? What are the prerequisites for an estate insolvency?
Insolvency of Estates: Requirements, Procedure & Proceedings
The aim of a petition for bankruptcy is to protect one’s own assets from being accessed by the creditors of the deceased person. So far, so good, but how exactly does the procedure work now? An application for composition insolvency must always be filed with the competent insolvency court. If the proceedings are initiated, the insolvency debtor still has to stand in for the inheritance, but he no longer runs the risk of being liable for the debts of the deceased with his own assets. In this situation, the insolvency debtor only has to use his estate to pay outstanding debts.
The application must be submitted to the competent insolvency administrator
There are two possible conditions for the opening of an estate insolvency:
Overindebtedness of the estate
Insolvency of the estate
Now you will learn how it all works. Once you have successfully filed the petition for composition insolvency, the work of the insolvency administrator begins. The task of the insolvency administrator is to list the outstanding debts and to contact the creditors in order to develop repayment proposals. It is often the case that the outstanding debts cannot be paid with the estate. If this is the case, it is the task of the insolvency administrator to make arrangements with the creditors. The aim of this administration is to ensure that as many debts as possible can be settled.
If you find yourself in such a situation, it is important that you file the petition as soon as you know that you are not able to pay the debts of the deceased. As soon as you know this, you are obliged to file a petition with the bankruptcy court. Inform yourself in time and you will be saved many costs.
