Taboo topics on money and death: Succession litigation increases



[ad_1]

advisor


Often disputes arise over the estate.

Often disputes arise over the estate.

Thursday, November 29, 2018

According to estimates, the Germans transmit 200 to 300 billion euros of private wealth each year. The estate is not always regulated in advance. This is why there are a lot of quarrels between heirs.

Money, houses, securities – every year in Germany, a fortune is inherited. Most Germans want to avoid disputes over inheritance, as revealed by a representative survey of Allensbach conducted on behalf of Deutsche Bank. But in practice, it does not work often – with an upward trend.

One of the reasons: the inhibitions to talk about the subject during his life are great. After all, according to the study, the proportion of those who regulate their estate in a will increases. Anyone who has inherited reports has stated primarily that wealth distribution is clearly regulated (73%). In more than half of the cases, all necessary documents were available (59%), such as proxies. However, only a good third of respondents said they had already spoken openly (35%) or early (34%) of the estate with all concerned.

"This could explain why there are more disputes today about heritage than in the past," concluded the study's authors. In the first survey of this type conducted for Deutsche Bank 2015, 17% of the disputes were reported, but already 19% in the current survey. In comparable studies from previous years – still under the responsibility of Postbank, now part of Deutsche Bank – interviewees reported even more rare cases of inheritance disputes.

Wills increase

This trend goes against the interests of the future heirs, because the majority wants above all that there is no conflict over inheritance and that its distribution is clearly regulated (78% each). Even those who have something to inherit, these two aspects are the most important.

Four out of ten people (39%), who should inherit something, have already made their last will known. The proportion of potential testators who have made a will has steadily increased in recent years. In 2012, it would have been 31%, against 36% in 2015.

However, most Germans are reluctant to handle inheritance (60%). At the same time, however, many people recommend that the sensitive subject be treated at least when a will is written (36%) or when an individual is seriously ill (21%). This led to a further survey on behalf of Deutsche Bank among the 16 to 69 years, including the theme "Conversation on the heirs". A good one-fifth of the 1,000 survey respondents feel that family reunions are available for such a conversation (22%). However, just 5% of the 1,000 people surveyed believe that Christmas is a good opportunity to debate the regulation of the estate.

How much private wealth is inherited year after year exactly in Germany, there are only estimates. Because the official statistics on the inheritance and donation rights of the Federal Statistical Office show only cases of taxation. About the majority of inheritance cases are due to unknown high indemnities – this is the conclusion of the researchers of the DIW Berlin in an essay published in 2017. However, the authors of the DIW have dared a declaration on the volume of inheritances in Germany: "Calculations for volume of future transfers suggest that 200 to 300 billion euros will be inherited or donated during the current decade or between 2015 and 2024, or about 3.1 billion euros. . in general ".

Source: n-tv.de

[ad_2]
Source link