Sorting out a will across France and Germany

hello,can anybody help me?
I am English,and live in France,my oncle was english,but lived and worked and was registred in Germany.
He died 2 months ago,leaving a will,in Germany leaving all he had to myself and my daughter.as he has no wife or children.
He has a flat,a garage both which i must sell,and money in bank accounts,could anyone tell me what is going to happen now,who do I have to pay taxes to,
Germany or France ,or both?
What documents will we need to establish our identity,must we go in person to sign forms ect.. and is it possible by German law to leave to anybody you choose,as he has sisters,but who both
agree with the will.
I am afraid that I do not have any knowlege of Geraman laws,or speak German,having only been there a few times!
thank you very much for any help
beebee

If your uncle left a will, he has probably named a "Testamentsvollstrecker" (administrator of a will). He should be able to help you - contact him. You will need a tax advisor. Wouldnt be a bad idea to choose the one, your uncle was consulting for his tax related problems.

On the other hand, in your case taxation might turn out to be a rather complicated matter. In this case, make sure your tax advisor has some experience with that kind of cases (or seems to be exceptionally competent).

A few remarks on german tax law ("Erbschaftsteuergesetz"):
(1) There is going to be a change of law in 2008. The new law will probably be coming into effect retroactively at the 1.1.2007. This means you will be able to choose if you want to be taxed according to the old or the new law. (Old law will probably be better in your case.)
(2) I dont know about French or UK tax law, but if they are like the german one, you are liable for taxation in germany, france and maybe even UK. The german law says:
In case of a inheritance, it will be taxed in germany, if the deceased lived in germany OR the heir lives in germany OR any of them is a german citizen who lives abroad for less than 5 years.
But dont worry, there are Agreements to avoid double taxation (DTA) - you wont have to pay twice. Problem is, at least the German-French DTA seems to me, to be a little bit complicated in the case of death tax. I guess your tax advisor will be looking forward to quite a bit of legal research.

Are you sure of this?

Estate duty/tax is as you say different from country to country. For example in UK the estate is taxed before distribution regardless to whom it goes whilst in Germany those receiving the lolly get taxed - and their tax-free amount & rate of tax payable on rest depends on their "closeness" to the deceased. Spouses are best treated, then children etc. As the deceased was your uncle (you are the niece) you would be treated in the category of !anyone" ie worst case.

HOWEVER if the recipient is resident outside Germany you dont pay tax in Germany so I BELIEVE thats it. What the status on someone resident in France who receives part of an estate is I have no idea. I guess in case of someone resident in UK I BELIEVE they can just pocket it. So idea case is deceased lived in Germany, recipient in UK.

I currently have the opposite case - my mother (lived in UK) passed away & lolly gets shared between my brother & myself. First of all Her Majesty's Inland Revenue takes a massive slice & then remainder gets shared out. Amount of inheritance tax deducted in UK is FAR more than would have been case if she had lived in Germany.

Base line to OP: Assuming that the inheritance you expect is more than a pittance (& hopefully not just debts!) you should engage professional help...

It would take a lot more time for research, before I would be 100% sure about this. I leave that to someone who gets payed for his effort. But I witnessed a case recently, where a german died and left his stuff to a sister who lived in UK. They had to do a tax declaration in germany.


I agree with that. I think the category "anyone" will get treated even worse according to the reformed "Erbschaftsteuergesetz" in 2008. Thats why I said the old law would be probably better for the OP.


German law says otherwise. Although there are still the DTAs to take into account. At the moment I am too lazy to look into them. But I think they might differentiate between movable and unmovable property.


agree 100%

Here is the relevant text of the german law:
ErbStG

Thank you very much for your answers.
I do indeed know that my oncle had no debts,I think that in all,he leaves about two hundred thousand euros,so i think that you must be right,I must get legal advice.
I know that in france,I would be taxed on 55%, I only being a niece.If I am taxed in Germany,I cannot see the french not getting their part,if I know them at all!
Am realy quiet lost,I am going to Germany in febuary,I do not even know who I have to contact,or what documents I must take with me,I.D I suppose,
birth certificats maybe?I know that he did leave a friend of his as an executor,but I have had no knews yet (he died in november)
Also,I suppose that I must wait for the flat and garage to be on my name before putting them up for sale?
thank you again
Beebee

Thats your starting point - but don't wait until you arrive in Germany before contacting him. Start now & do as much spade work as possible up front. And there will be debts - the funeral has to be paid for, telephone bills etc. at the very least.

First question is if it is a privately written last will or if it was done in front of a notary. If it's the former you'll need a certificate of inheritance, if it's the latter you don't. According to british and german law, german inheritance law is applicable in this case (lex rei sitae; domicil) which means that the Amtsgericht at the place of his last residence has to isue the certificate according to german law. To get that certificate you have to personally apply at a german court, a german notary or a german embassy.

No, you don't, but the sale can only be finalized once you have a certificate of inheritance or or a notarized will plus a document by the court that it was opened and read. Depending on the power given to the executer in the will only he can sell the property.