Inheritance law: Right to information of the beneficiary of the compulsory portion (content, form, etc.)

Inheritance law provides for a wide variety of claims to information, which are regulated by law but also recognised by judges.

A.) General information on claims to information under inheritance law

I.) Statutory rights to information

- According to § 2057 BGB, for example, the co-heirs are entitled to information regarding
of the advance receipts received from individual co-heirs.

- Pursuant to §§ 1934b, 2314 BGB, the person entitled to the inheritance is entitled to information,
illegitimate child against the heirs pursuant to §§ 1934b, 2314 BGB.

- Pursuant to § 2027 BGB, the heir is entitled to information from the
Inheritance owner.

- Pursuant to § 2127 BGB, the subsequent heir is entitled to information from
the previous heir.

- Pursuant to § 2314 BGB, the beneficiary of the compulsory portion is entitled to information from the heir
on the existence and value of the estate.

II.) Claims for information recognised by judicial law

- Right to information of the illegitimate child against the father due to the assessment
of the claim to early inheritance equalisation (OLG Nuremberg NJW-RR 1986, 83).

- Right to information of the subsequent heir against the previous heir or the donee due to gifts made by the previous heir to third parties (BGH NJW 1972, 907 = BGHZ 58, 239).

- Right to information of the original beneficiary of a life insurance contract against the heir of the policyholder due to any change in the subscription right.

- Right to information of the executor of the will who is in charge of the settlement of the estate
has, on the basis of § 2057 BGB against all co-heirs (see
Palandt/Edenhofer, § 2057, marginal no. 1)

III.) Content of the right to information

Claims for information in inheritance law can be orientated in various ways. It is often aimed at the quantification of a monetary claim or the designation of objects to be surrendered.

Within the framework of Section 2314 (1) sentence 2 BGB, there is an exceptional right to a valuation.

Further contents of the right to information are

- The place of performance is generally the place of the main claim.

- The place of fulfilment is the debtor's place of residence, Section 269 (1) BGB

- The information must be provided immediately within the meaning of Section 121 (1) sentence 1 BGB, i.e. without culpable delay. This applies regardless of the scope and difficulty of the requested information.

- In the context of Section 242 BGB, the unauthorised exercise of rights determines the limits of the information requested.
- Customary practice and reasonableness are also decisive in the context of Section 242 BGB, taking into account the individual case.

IV) Form of the information

In principle, the information must be provided in writing (§§ 259-261 BGB) so that its accuracy can be verified.

In addition, the information must be provided in an organised compilation, i.e.
The company's assets and liabilities must be clearly summarised in an orderly inventory.

V.) Defences against the right to information

1) Limitation period

According to § 195 BGB, the right to information is time-barred after 30 years.

However, if the main claim is already time-barred, the need for legal protection for the request for information must be denied.

Pursuant to Section 209 (1) BGB, a step action brought in accordance with Section 254 ZPO not only interrupts the
limitation period for the right to information, but also the limitation period for the main claim
itself.

2) Right of retention and forfeiture

There is no right of retention in the context of the legal proceedings, as the mutual claims for information would otherwise be opposed and none would be enforceable.

In the event of a possible forfeiture, not only the moment of time, but also the behaviour
of the person entitled to information.

B.) The right to information of the beneficiary of the compulsory portion in particular.

I.) Eligibility requirements

The right to a compulsory portion is a prerequisite for the right to information of the person entitled to a compulsory portion. This is to be distinguished from the right to a compulsory portion, which is only to be determined by the information.

However, if it is clear from the outset that the beneficiary will not be able to realise his or her claim
can assert, there is also no right to information.

II.) Person authorised and obliged to provide information

Every non-heir entitled to a compulsory portion is entitled to information. In the case of an assignment, this also includes the new creditor and the social welfare provider after the transfer of the compulsory portion claim to them (§ 93 SGB XII).

The heir or a co-heir as joint and several debtor is obliged to provide information. The deceased's donee may be obliged to provide information regarding the fictitious estate if the heir is not in a position to do so.

III.) Scope of the right to information

The purpose of the right to information is to calculate the compulsory portion claim. The scope of the right to information therefore consists of the disclosure of the calculation factors.
There is no legal obligation to submit supporting documents.

However, it is generally accepted that evidence may be requested to verify the information provided by the heir.

In addition, the beneficiary of the compulsory portion can demand the submission of an affidavit on the list in accordance with § 260 II BGB.

In addition to the right to information, there is also a right to a valuation.

If, for example, a condominium is part of the inheritance, the heirs must obtain a valuation report on this condominium at the estate's expense.

IV) Procedural matters

The beneficiary of the compulsory portion can assert the claim to information and the claim to the compulsory portion in separate actions.

In principle, however, the step-by-step action pursuant to Section 254 ZPO is the correct form for
assertion.

The step action is an objective accumulation of actions and, as an exception to Section 253 (2) No. 2 ZPO, allows an initially indeterminate application in the last step.

- 1st stage is the request for information (possibly the first stage can be
also be the determination of heirs)

- Stage 2 is the application for an affidavit.

- Stage 3 is then the application for payment or surrender.

The following suggested wording is suitable for the step-by-step action in the context of the
request for information from the beneficiary of the compulsory portion:

In the name of and on behalf of the plaintiff, I hereby lodge a complaint and will request the following
judgement:

1. the defendant is sentenced by way of a step-by-step action,
a. Information about the estate of the deceased at .....
grant, namely

aa. with regard to the value of the property registered in the land register of [...] volume [...], sheet [...] by submitting an expert opinion and

bb. otherwise by submitting a list of the objects of the estate 2314 BGB);

b. in the event that the list is not drawn up with the necessary care
to affirm on oath for the record that, to the best of his knowledge
the existence of the estate when he is able to do so.

c. to pay an amount to be determined after the information has been provided, plus 4% interest since the pendency of the action.

2. orders the defendant to pay the costs.

Important Note: The content of this article has been prepared to the best of our knowledge and belief. However, due to the complexity and constant evolution of the subject matter, we must exclude liability and warranty. Important Notice: The content of this article has been created to the best of our knowledge and understanding. However, due to the complexity and constant changes in the subject matter, we must exclude any liability and warranty.

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