Pflichtteile

Pflichtteile are the legally guaranteed minimum shares of a deceased person’s estate that certain close relatives cannot be completely disinherited from. The aim is to protect surviving spouses and children (and, in certain cases, parents) by ensuring they receive a portion of the inheritance despite arrangements in a will or other dispositions.

Eligible heirs for Pflichtteil rights are the spouse or registered partner, and the children (including adopted children). If there are no descendants, the parents may be entitled to a Pflichtteil. Grandchildren do not have a direct Pflichtteil unless their parent is an heir. The rights arise against the estate and persist even if a will excludes or significantly reduces the heir’s portion.

The Pflichtteil typically corresponds to half of the portion the heir would have received under the statutory succession (gesetzliche Erbfolge). The exact amount depends on the number and relationship of the heirs, because the statutory shares are divided among the heirs in specific ways. The Pflichtteil is a claim against the estate; it cannot be wiped out by a testamentary dispositive, though the overall distribution may still allow other dispositions.

There are limitations and mechanisms to protect against reductions of the Pflichtteil. Gift transfers made in the period before death can reduce the value available to Pflichtteilsberechtigte; to compensate, the law provides for a Pflichtteilsergänzungsanspruch (top-up claim), typically for gifts made within the last ten years prior to death.

Enforcement of the Pflichtteil occurs through a claim against the estate, potentially pursued in civil proceedings. The right can also be settled in negotiations or addressed in probate procedures, with payments commonly in cash or, by agreement, in kind.