Claim to a supplementary compulsory portion

In addition to the so-called compulsory portion claim, the descendants, the spouse and - if there are no descendants - the parents of the deceased are also entitled to the so-called supplementary compulsory portionclaim under certain circumstances.

The prerequisite for the right to a supplementary compulsory portion is that the deceased made gifts to family members or third parties during his or her lifetime. Pure gifts of decency (small gifts for birthdays, Christmas, etc.) are not to be taken into account.

The claim to a supplementary compulsory portion is intended to prevent the testator from minimizing his assets during his lifetime through gifts and thus reducing or completely thwarting the minimum participation of close relatives (claim to a compulsory portion) stipulated by law. In other words, the right to a compulsory portion would be zero if the testator gave away all his assets before his death and left no valuable estate. The law therefore provides that the disadvantage for the person entitled to a compulsory portion (lower compulsory portion claim due to reduced estate value) resulting from a gift is compensated.

The claim to a supplementary compulsory portion is a purely monetary claim and is directed against the heirs. As with the compulsory portion claim, the compulsory portion share corresponds to half of the statutory inheritance share.

In principle, only gifts made by the testator within the last 10 years of his or her life are taken into account. Within the 10-year period, the value of the gift is reduced by 10% each year. This means that if the gift was made in the last year before the deceased's death, the full value of the gift is taken into account. If more than one year has passed since the gift and the deceased's death, the value of the gift is only taken into account at 90%, after more than two years at 80% and so on. If it has been more than 10 years since the gift was made, the value to be taken into account is effectively 0. It then no longer plays a role in calculating the claim to a supplementary compulsory portion.

There are a number of exceptions where the time limit of 10 years does not apply, i.e. gifts made beyond the last 10 years of life are also to be taken into account without being reduced. These include, for example

  • Gifts to the spouse during the marriage,

  • Gifts subject to reservation of usufruct.

How to proceed during one's lifetime in order to exclude the assertion of claims to a supplementary compulsory portion or to reduce the claims is a question of the individual case and requires appropriate advice. The respective options for enforcing or defending against a specific claim to a supplementary compulsory portion (usually in conjunction with other claims to a compulsory portion) can only be clarified and subsequently implemented in an individual consultation.

The above explanation is intended to provide an initial insight into the topic of supplementing a compulsory portion. It is not a substitute for advice in individual cases.

If you have specific questions or would like an assessment of your case, we will be happy to arrange an initial consultation at any time. The costs of such a consultation amount to a maximum of EUR 190.00 plus VAT. The length of the consultation and the size of your assets are irrelevant.

Status: 22.06.2023