Certificate of inheritance

The purpose of a certificate of inheritance is to legitimize the heir. The certificate of inheritance creates the assumption that its contents are correct and complete and therefore is meant to produce full faith and credit. German authorities (for instance the German land registry) as well as some banks etc. require reliable proof with regard to the inheritance and the identity of the heir.

The Certificate of Inheritance is issued on application by the competent probate court (Nachlassgericht) in Germany. You can lodge your application only with the German Embassy in Wellington.

In order to prepare your application for a certificate of inheritance you have to submit a questionnaire, which you are requested to fill in completely, sign it and send it back to the relevant German mission. Furthermore you have to provide documents which prove the applicant’s kinship or relationship to the deceased and establish his/her right to the inheritance. Therefore we would like to especially draw your attention to section 3 and sections 5 - 8 of the questionnaire and would kindly ask you to submit the necessary proof as completely as possible. This way you can avoid delays and speed up the processing of your application.

Required Documents

The following documents are required:

• Documents of the deceased: Death, marriage and birth certificate, last passport or certificate of naturalization; Last will (testament) as well as letter of probate (if the will was probated)
• Documents of the spouse of the deceased: birth certificate and, if applicable, death certificate (of all spouses)
• Documents of the descendants of the deceased: Birth, marriage and death certificates, if applicable (descendants include children born within marriage as well as out of wedlock, adopted and legitimized children)
• Documents of all persons mentioned in the last will: Identification papers or, if applicable, death certificate
• Documents of children of deceased descendants of the deceased: Birth, marriage and death certificates, if applicable
• Documents of parents and other relevant relatives (only if there are no living descendants): Birth, marriage and death certificates, if applicable
• Passport of the applicant

If the estate in Germany consists of real estate, the following documents have to be presented as well:

• Title of the German land registry or detailed description of the real estate
• Proof of market value of the real estate (if not known please contact the relevant German mission for further assistance)

If the estate in Germany consists of movables (money, valuables, savings, etc.), the following documents have to be presented:

• Precise description of kind and value of the movables (for instance the name of the bank, account number, last bank statement)

Please send your questionnaire and photocopies of all the relevant documents to the Embassy in Wellington via email or post. We will then prepare a draft for the notarization of your application for a certificate of inheritance and contact you in due time in order to make an appointment for the notarization of your application for which you will have to appear in person. On the day of the notarization, please bring your valid passport and the originals of all the copies you provided as well as the fee for the notarization.

The fee for notarizing the application is € 139.01
This can be paid in cash, at the current exchange rate, in NZ $ or by credit card in euros (Visa or Mastercard).

Finally, you will have to send the notarized application together with the certified copies of the submitted documents to the competent surrogate’s court in Germany which is to issue the certificate of inheritance.

Questionnaire certificate of inheritance here