What’s the mandatory part?

With a will one can exclude legal succession. However, the children, the spouse and the registered partner of the deceased are entitled to the statutory part. Since 1 January 2017, parents and other ancestors are no longer entitled to compulsory share.

The obligatory part is half of what the obligatory part would have received after the legal succession. The complete exclusion and reduction of the mandatory portion are only permitted by law to a limited extent (see also chapter “Waiver of inheritance and mandatory portion”).

Can the compulsory part already be performed during your lifetime?

The deceased can determine in advance how the compulsory part is to be left. For example, the obligated part may also be covered by the donation of assets to the obligated parties. If the gift is in accordance with the obligatory part, the entitled party may no longer claim his obligatory part from the heirs of the deceased.

Deferment of the compulsory part

Due to the 2015 Income Law Amendment Act, the obligatory portion may be deferred for a period of up to five years under certain circumstances or ordered payment of the obligatory portion in instalments over this period. The postponement or payment by instalments is to be ordered in the final disposition. In the absence of such a last-intentional order, the court may, on application, also order deferment or payment of instalments in certain cases worthy of consideration.