Declaration of Acceptance of Inheritance
The declaration of acceptance of inheritance is the formal decision of an heir as to whether they accept or reject the inheritance.
Declaration of Acceptance of Inheritance
A declaration of acceptance of inheritance is the official notification from an heir as to whether they wish to accept or reject the inheritance. It can be submitted in various forms, which leads to different legal consequences.
With the declaration of acceptance of inheritance, one says:
“I want to accept the inheritance.”
One declares before a court or a notary that one wants to accept the inheritance.
Types of Declaration of Acceptance of Inheritance
An inheritance is not always a good thing. Often, as a relative, one does not know exactly whether the deceased person left money or incurred debts.
Therefore, there are three types of declaration of acceptance of inheritance in Austria:
Conditional
The conditional declaration of acceptance of inheritance is a special option to accept an inheritance in Austria without incurring a personal liability risk for unknown debts. It is regulated in § 802 ABGB.
Anyone who accepts an inheritance conditionally declares: “I only accept the inheritance if it is precisely determined beforehand what all belongs to it.” This condition refers to the so-called inventory. The inventory is a comprehensive list of all estate assets, including all debts, which must be drawn up by the court as soon as a conditional declaration of acceptance of inheritance has been issued.
Sebastian RiedlmairHarlander & Partner Attorneys „Eine bedingte Erbantrittserklärung ist empfehlenswert, wenn man nicht abschätzen kann, in welchem Rahmen eine Erbschaft verschuldet ist.“
Unconditional
The term and effect of the unconditional declaration of acceptance of inheritance is regulated in § 801 ABGB. Thereafter, the heir is personally liable to all creditors of the deceased for claims and to legatees for legacies. If the estate assets are not sufficient to cover these, the heir is liable with
When someone dies, close relatives or other persons can inherit the estate. One possibility is the unconditional declaration of acceptance of inheritance.
With this declaration, the heir says: “I accept the entire inheritance without restriction.” However, this also means: The heir takes over not only the assets, but also all the debts of the deceased person in full.
Negative (Renunciation of Inheritance)
Not every inheritance is a gain. Sometimes the estate also involves debts or unclear assets. Anyone who wants to be sure not to have anything to do with the estate at all can reject the inheritance. In Austria, this is called the negative declaration of acceptance of inheritance or simply renunciation of inheritance.
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Conditional
Anyone who submits a conditional declaration of acceptance of inheritance is generally personally liable, but only up to the amount of the inherited assets. This regulation protects heirs from having to pay debts of the deceased person with their own assets.
Unconditional
Anyone who unconditionally accepts the inheritance is liable not only with the inherited assets, but also with their own private assets. This means:
If the inheritance is not sufficient to pay all outstanding bills, debts or legacies, the heir must pay these out of their own pocket.
This concerns, for example:
- Creditors of the deceased (e.g. banks, contractual partners, tax office)
- Persons who are to receive a legacy from the will
This personal liability can lead to a considerable financial burden, especially if one does not know the exact financial situation of the deceased.
Negative (Renunciation of Inheritance)
With the renunciation of inheritance, one declares officially to the inheritance court or the court commissioner (notary) that one does not want to accept the inheritance.
One waives:
- all assets (e.g. money, real estate, objects),
- but also all debts and obligations,
- as well as the position as legal or testamentary heir.
Anyone who rejects is legally not considered an heir, one has nothing more to do with the estate.
Deadlines
In Austria, there are no rigid deadlines as in Germany (there it is 6 weeks).
The inheritance court itself sets a deadline within which the declaration of acceptance of inheritance must be submitted. If a deadline is set, it must be at least 4 weeks.
Comparison of the Costs of the Respective Declarations
Conditional
Since one is only liable up to the assets of the inheritance with the conditional one, it is often the most cost-effective in the event of indebtedness of the inheritance, if one considers that one often still receives assets from the inheritance. However, it should be noted that this incurs extra costs for the inventory.
Unconditional
An unconditional declaration is advisable if one can estimate the debts and these are not too high. If one submits an unconditional declaration of acceptance of inheritance, there are no costs for the inventory.
Sebastian RiedlmairHarlander & Partner Attorneys „Eine unbedingte Erbantrittserklärung führt auch zur Haftung mit Ihrem Privatvermögen, sie sollten sich daher über mögliche Verschuldung der Erbschaft bewusst sein.“
Negative
With the negative or the renunciation of inheritance, one has the least costs that one has to spend, but one also waives a possibly high estate asset from the inheritance.
Conclusion:
Which type of declaration of acceptance of inheritance is best for the beneficiary depends strongly on the individual case and the indebtedness.
However, it should be noted that if one has no personal connection to inherited assets and the inheritance is heavily indebted, one should consider whether to submit a conditional or negative declaration of acceptance of inheritance in order to limit one’s liability as much as possible.
Your Benefits with Legal Assistance
As an experienced law firm for inheritance law, we offer you:
- Legal certainty in an often emotionally stressful situation
- Clarification of your legal situation
- Help with the selection of the correct declaration of acceptance of inheritance
- Contact and communication with the court commissioner (inheritance notary)
- Support throughout the entire process
