Estate guardianship
You are reading the plain-language version.
What is estate guardianship?
A person has died. Their property now belongs to the heirs. This happens automatically.
Sometimes nobody knows who the heirs are. Or the heirs have not yet decided if they want the inheritance.
Then someone must look after the property. The court chooses an estate guardian for this.
What does the estate guardian do?
- They look after the property and manage it.
- They search for the heirs if they are unknown.
On the death of the deceased, their assets pass automatically to the heirs under section 1922 of the German Civil Code (BGB).
The heirs become owners and possessors of the estate (section 857 BGB), even if they know nothing about it and have not applied for a certificate of inheritance. If the heirs are therefore unaware of the inheritance, or are still considering whether to accept or disclaim it, the estate may require judicial care, i.e. securing.
In this case the probate court appoints an estate guardian (sections 1960, 1961, 1962 BGB).
As a rule, the estate guardian’s tasks are “securing and administering the estate” and, where the heirs are unknown, “tracing the heirs”.