Succession: Don’t leave anything to chance

Hardly any other form of taxation offers as much leeway as inheritance tax or gift tax. Ideally, succession matters will already have been handled while the testator is still alive, for example as part of a pre-empted succession plan. Inheritance law offers testators as well as spouses, with or without a Berlin will, with or without children, numerous possibilities of adeptly managing their succession planning and thus their inheritance through a tax-optimised will or an agreement as to succession. By doing so, inheritance tax as well as reserved portion claims can be structured during your lifetime in such a way that inheritance disputes can largely be avoided and the largest inheritance tax reduction achieved.

Should the intestacy rules not meet your expectations, it is possible to deviate from them by creating a will or agreement as to succession that is more conducive. This allows anyone to determine who should receive their property after death. Only the so-called forced heirship for the next of kin can restrict how someone bequeaths their estate as part of their succession planning. Regulations also exist after accrual of the inheritance, for example through a waiver of succession or the assertion of reserved portion claims based on tax considerations. Poor succession planning can trigger a double inheritance and income tax burden that could pose an existential threat. By ordering the execution of a will, the testator can, through a suitably qualified person of trust, ensure that the final wishes documented in their last will and testament are actually executed. When filing inheritance tax declarations for communities of heirs, special provisions need to be observed.