Right to information of the beneficiary of the compulsory portion towards the heirs

According to § 2314 BGB the person entitled to the compulsory portion has a right to information from the heirs about the existence of the estate. The obligation to provide information according to § 2314 Abs. 1 S. 1 BGB does not only extend to the actually existing estate, but also to the so-called fictitious estate upon request of the person entitled to the compulsory portion (BGHZ 89, 24 = NJW 1984, 487). The fictitious estate includes all gifts subject to imputation (§ 2315 BGB) and compensation (§ 2316 BGB), whereby the duty to provide information with regard to § 2325 BGB also includes gifts made by the testator in the last 10 years, including those to the spouse. Not only gifts expressly designated as gifts must be disclosed, but also other gifts suspected of being mixed gifts (OLG Frankfurt am Main, judgment of 24 July 2012 - Az. 11 U 117/10).

For this purpose, the heir must submit a written list of the estate of the deceased, showing the existence and value of the estate. The list must in particular include the actual assets of the deceased (real estate, bank, securities and custody account balances, company shareholdings, motor vehicles, jewelry, household effects), all liabilities of the estate, all gifts, also compulsory and decent gifts of the deceased and furthermore also all marriage-related benefits of the deceased to his spouse, which are to be paid in accordance with §§ 2325, 2329 BGB (German Civil Code), all benefits which could be subject to compensation under §§ 2050 ff, 2316, the matrimonial property regime in which the testator lived, all contracts in favor of third parties in the event of death and their beneficiaries, all life insurance contracts of the testator, even if you or third parties are appointed as beneficiaries, the matrimonial property regime in which the testator lived. If applicable, gifts made more than 10 years prior to the death of the deceased must also be listed, for example, gifts to the spouse or gifts of objects in which the deceased has reserved usufruct.

In addition to the right to information, the person entitled to the compulsory portion also has a right to a valuation. In particular with regard to real estate or possible company investments of the deceased, the person entitled to the compulsory portion can demand that the heir obtains expert opinions on the value.