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Wills and Testaments

This page intends to serve as a reminder to make sure your paperwork is in order. 
It is important to know what laws will apply to you and your heirs or estate when you are deceased, and you were a South African citizen with permanent residence in Germany.
Do you need a will or testament in Germany, or will your South African will suffice?
Since we are not legal professionals, we cannot answer these questions for you. The best advice we can give you is to speak to a qualified lawyer or professional.

The Rechtsdienstleistungsgesetz (RDG) makes it very clear: only qualified professionals (lawyers, notaries, etc.) can give legal advice, even informally in online communities

⚖️ Disclaimer

The information provided on this page is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

While we strive to share accurate, up-to-date insights — especially for South Africans living in Germany — inheritance laws are complex and can vary significantly between countries and even individual cases.
We strongly recommend that you consult with a qualified attorney or notary who specialises in cross-border estate planning before making any decisions about your will, testament, or the handling of property in more than one country.
Your personal situation — including your marital regime, residency status, and where your assets are located — may impact how your estate is handled, regardless of what your will states.

Using this page or relying on its contents does not create a legal relationship or substitute proper legal counsel.

 Possible considerations:

  • Is your South African testament valid in Germany?
  • Is your living will valid in Germany?
  • Guardianship for children
  • What will happen to your assets and debt in South Africa
  • What will happen to your assets, pension, bank accounts, and debt in Germany
  • Your funeral arrangements
  • Children/heirs living in South Africa
  • Spouse continuing to stay in Germany or moving back to South Africa
  • How does the law differ between SA and Germany, for example, Pflichtteil (§2303 BGB)

Validity of South African Testament in Germany

There is no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to wills and inheritance. The legal framework that applies to your estate will depend on various factors, such as where your habitual residence is, and whether your will includes the Article 22 clause of the EU Succession Regulation.

Just Temporarily Working in Germany 
If you are a South African citizen temporarily working in Germany, your South African testament can be valid and recognised in Germany, provided it meets certain legal requirements. 
South African citizens are generally subject to South African inheritance lawparticularly if South Africa remains their domicile (permanent or intended final residence). 
Germany is a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Conflict of Laws Relating to the Form of Testamentary Dispositions (1961)
This means that a will is recognised in Germany if it is valid in the country where it was created
So, if your will is legally valid under South African law, it may also be recognised in Germany
However, this should always be confirmed with a qualified legal professional in South Africa familiar with international estate planning. 
Habitual Residence in Germany 

Under the EU Succession Regulation (Regulation No. 650/2012, also known as Brussels IV), the law of your last habitual residence will generally govern the succession of your entire estate — including both movable and immovable assets — regardless of your nationality. This means that German succession law would typically apply to your estate if you were considered habitually resident in Germany at the time of your death.

However, the regulation allows you to make a choice of law under Article 22, stating that the law of your nationality — for example, South African law — should apply to the succession of your estate. This election must be made explicitly in your will.

⚠️ Important Note on Immovable Property:
Although Brussels IV aims to create uniformity, some EU countries (including Germany) may still apply mandatory local rules to immovable property located within their borders, especially regarding forced heirship, land registration, and tax implications. A foreign law election does not always override these.
You should therefore consult with a qualified notary or estate lawyer to understand how German real estate will be treated under your chosen succession law, and whether there may still be local limitations or procedures.

Our Advice 
We strongly recommend that you seek qualified legal advice from professionals who understand cross-border inheritance law
Make sure your will is up to date, valid, and appropriate for your personal situation — especially if you own assets in more than one country.

German law

Sections 1924 et seq. of the German Civil Code (BGB) contain precise provisions on how the estate of a deceased person should be distributed among the surviving dependents if the person has not provided for an arbitrary succession by means of a will or contract of inheritance.
 A distinction is made between two groups of people – relatives and spouses or life partners.
They are subject to the provisions of the relative inheritance law and spouse inheritance law. 
Inheritance law provides for a division of relatives into groups. For more information in German, visit the Deutsches Erbezentrum

Pflichtteil - Germany

The Pflichtteil is the minimum share of an inheritance that certain close family members are legally entitled to claim, even if you leave them out of your will. It’s not automatic — they must actively claim it — but if they do, the law is on their side.

The Hague Convention

The Hague Convention on the Conflict of Laws Relating to the Form of Testamentary Dispositions, adopted on October 5, 1961, aims to standardise the formal validity of wills across different countries by providing a set of rules for determining which law applies.  More info

The Convention of 5 October 1961 on the Conflicts of Laws Relating to the Form of Testamentary Dispositions (HCCH 1961 Form of Wills Convention) improves the legal certainty of a will by designating, among a set of laws, the law of a State that governs the form of testamentary disposition.
Under the Convention, a testamentary disposition shall be valid if its form complies with the internal law of either:

  • The place where the testator made it.
  • a nationality possessed by the testator; 
  • a place in which the testator had their domicile;
  • the place in which the testator had their habitual residence;
  • concerning immovable property, the place where the property is situated

As a result, a foreign will made in compliance with one of these laws cannot be void because a form required by the law of another Contracting Party where the will is to be executed has not been followed.
In practice, the Convention assists testators to dispose of all their heritage within a single will, including when the heritage is in different States.

What is a Berliner Testament

According to The Deutsches Erbezentrum, “The Berliner Testament is a joint will that married couples and registered civil partners can draw up. Unmarried couples, on the other hand, do not have this option. The special feature of this spouses’ will lies in the fact that the partners appoint each other as sole heirs, thus initially disinheriting their children.
The succession laid down in the Berlin Testament differs from the statutory succession, which provides for a share of the inheritance for the common descendants and thus leads to the formation of a community of heirs with the surviving parent.
The amount of the inheritance per child according to the statutory succession depends on the number of siblings and the marital property regime of the parents. As a rule, the marital property regime applies, in which the inheritance is divided equally between the partners and the children. For example, if a spouse leaves behind a wife and two daughters, they each inherit a quarter and their mother half of the inheritance.” – roughly translated and not to be taken as legal advice!

Practical Tips

  • Have your will drafted by a South African legal professional – preferably one with experience in international estate planning.
  • Consider also speaking to a German Notary (Notar) if you have assets in Germany (e.g., a home, investments, life insurance).
  • It helps to have your will translated by a sworn translator if it needs to be submitted in Germany.
  • Consider adding a domicile clause to your will to clarify where you intend your estate to be handled from. – Speak to a Notary (Notar) about this
  •  If your will for Germany is not handwritten or notarised, it’s not valid in Germany.

Immovable Property

Immovable property refers to assets that are permanently attached to land, such as houses, farms, and buildings. These cannot be moved without fundamentally changing their nature or value.

In most legal systems — including South Africa and Germany — immovable property is governed by the principle of lex rei sitae, meaning “the law of the place where the property is situated.”

⚖️ What This Means

Even if your will is valid in South Africa and you’ve named a universal heir, this does not guarantee that another country, like Germany, will apply South African law to immovable property located on its soil.

Germany, for instance, may:

  • ✅ Require a local probate process (Erbschein or Grundbuch update)
  • ✅ Apply German succession law, especially if no Article 22 election under Brussels IV was made
  • ✅ Enforce forced heirship-like principles (though not as strictly as some other EU countries)
  • ✅ Charge inheritance taxes based on German tax rates and heir classifications

💬 Why Does This Matter?

Because your beautifully drafted South African will might not be enough to protect your wishes if it’s not aligned with local legal realities in the country where your property sits. 
For immovable property abroad, it’s crucial to:

  1. Understand the local laws.
  2. Possibly create a separate will for each jurisdiction, and
  3. Get professional advice on estate planning in a cross-border context.

Vollmacht (Power of attorney)

In Germany, a Vollmacht is a power of attorney — a written authorisation allowing someone to act on your behalf.
Most powers of attorney automatically expire upon death. That includes general bank account Vollmachten, unless specifically stated otherwise. To make sure that the Vollmacht continues after the death of the person, the phrase “Die Vollmacht gilt über den Tod hinaus” must be explicitly included in the document.

With a “Vollmacht über den Tod hinaus”: The authorised person (e.g. spouse, adult child) can still access the account after your death
It allows them to pay urgent bills, Handle funeral costs and maintain cash flow while the estate is being sorted

Banks usually have special forms for this, often called Kontovollmacht über den Tod hinaus or Transmortale Vollmacht. 
Ask your bank for their version — each has its own format.

Resources on the web

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