Inheritance guide
What really happens in Germany if one of you dies — and how to route the maximum to the one who stays. Answer six questions; the law does the rest.
Without a will, the law decides
Inheritance tax for the survivor
Under the allowance — €0 inheritance tax.
Spouses get up to €256,000 extra provision allowance (reduced by survivor-pension value) — often pushing the tax to zero.
Route the maximum to the survivor — in this order
1. Berlin will (Berliner Testament)
You appoint each other sole heir; children inherit only after both died. Caveat: children can still claim their Pflichtteil in cash on the first death — a penalty clause (Pflichtteilsstrafklausel) deters that. The survivor is bound after the first death.
2. Use the family-home exemption
The self-occupied home passes to the spouse 100% tax-free — independent of the €500k allowance — if the survivor keeps living in it for 10 years.
3. Cross-owned life insurance
If each partner owns the policy on the OTHER's life and pays the premium, the payout is not part of the estate — for unmarried couples often the only big tax-free channel.
4. Choose your home country's law (EU rule)
As a foreign citizen, German law applies by default (habitual residence, EU 650/2012). One sentence in the will can choose your nationality's inheritance law instead — sometimes better for the survivor. Cross-border cases deserve a professional.
5. Survivor pension (Witwenrente)
Spouses get 55% of the deceased's pension (plus 3 full months first — Sterbevierteljahr). Caution: the marriage must have lasted at least 1 year. Unmarried partners get nothing.
The after-death folder — have it ready
- • Handwritten will, signed, dated
- • Vorsorgevollmacht (power of attorney)
- • Patientenverfügung (living will)
- • Life-insurance beneficiary forms
- • Deposit the will at the probate court (small fee)
Educational orientation with 2025/26 figures (BGB succession, ErbStG allowances) — not legal or tax advice. Cross-border estates and big sums belong with a notary or specialist lawyer.