Drafting of wills and estate planning

A will is the unilateral disposition of the testator upon death. The legal consequences stipulated therein only come into effect with the death of the testator. The law provides for various forms of drawing up a will, the rule is drawing up a will before a notary at estate financial planning. After that, in order to be effective, the will must be handwritten and signed. It should also be stated at what time and in which place it was erected.

In the will, the testator can determine his heir, exclude persons from the succession, but also, for example, pass legacies to certain persons or impose conditions on them. While the inheritance is a universal succession, i.e. the heir receives everything, credit and debts, the legacy is the donation of a specific object. Unfortunately, handwritten wills often contain unclear formulations that then have to be interpreted. Problems arise, for example, when the legacy is by far the most valuable item in the estate, such as the only property that the spouse is supposed to get. A frequent case of estate planning is the reduction of compulsory portion claims, such as those of premarital children.

But there are also other options for estate planning, such as anticipated succession. This means the transfer of assets to people who would otherwise have become heirs during their lifetime. A multitude of advantages and disadvantages have to be weighed against each other. Inheritance tax aspects speak in favor of this, as does the possibility of avoiding a dispute among the heirs through lifetime distribution. On the other hand, the recipient can be in a better position due to excessive indebtedness or receipt of social assistance, especially in the case of a disability, by means of a corresponding will that is tailored to the situation than a lifelong gift. Furthermore, the testator only retains control with the will until his death.

In connection with the anticipated succession, it is also important in practice to reserve the rights of use of the transferor, such as right of residence in a transferred property or the agreement of pension benefits.

For the analysis of your individual situation, the planning of a suitable estate arrangement and the creation of a draft of the same, and some amount of business fee is generally charged according to the estate value. If the value of the testator’s property is above certain amount of limit, an individual agreement is necessary.