Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) - The so-called compulsory portion penalty clause in a will can only be asserted if funds from the inheritance have also flowed out. This was decided by the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Frankfurt in a judgment published on Monday about an inheritance dispute. The decision cannot be appealed. (21 W 104/22).
The case concerned a dispute between three sisters or stepsisters. In the will, the parents had mutually agreed to be the sole heirs and stipulated that the woman's daughter from the first marriage and the two daughters of the man from the first marriage should only receive the inheritance in equal shares after the death of the surviving partner. The child who applied for and received a compulsory share after the death of the first spouse should be excluded.
The woman's daughter had applied for a certificate of inheritance, which was to identify her and one of the man's daughters as heirs in equal shares, since the third daughter had claimed the compulsory portion after the death of her father. However, she had not received any of the estate's assets at the time, the court said. If the daughter has not received anything from the estate, the estate is not reduced and there is no reason for sanctions according to the will of the spouses.
The aim of the so-called compulsory portion penalty clauses is to preserve the estate as undiminished as possible for the surviving spouse in the case of joint wills.
