Statutory and voluntary succession

If a testator dies without leaving a will , the statutory order of succession applies in this case. The same applies if the testator has made a will, but the appointed heirs (and substitute heirs) have either predeceased the testator or have renounced the inheritance.

The legislator divides the relatives into order of precedence. Living relatives of a higher order exclude those of a subsequent order. The same applies within the order itself.

All children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. of the testator belong to the first order. Children inherit in equal shares.

Legal heirs of the second order are the parents of the deceased and their descendants (i.e. siblings, nephews, nieces and so on). They only become legal heirs if there are no legal heirs of the first order. The parents each inherit ½ of the estate. If a parent has predeceased the deceased, the siblings of the deceased receive their share of the inheritance.

Heirs of the third order are the deceased's grandparents (and their descendants), heirs of the fourth order are the great-grandparents and their descendants.

The deceased's spouse has a special role and inherits alongside the heirs of the first order as well as the subsequent orders. In determining the spouse's share of the inheritance, it is not only the order to which the heirs appointed alongside the deceased belong, but also the matrimonial property regime between the deceased and the spouse.

If a testator does not wish to follow the order of succession described above, they must draw up a last will and testament(will or contract of inheritance) and arrange the order of succession according to their wishes. This is referred to as "intended succession". In principle, the testator is not subject to any restrictions here, but pitfalls under the law of intestate succession and tax law in particular should be taken into account. However, even if the statutory succession is exactly what the testator wants, a will may be useful or even mandatory in connection with minor heirs, execution of the will, legacies and foreign assets.