Posted 13 March I would like to ask this the below - I wonder if anyone can advise 1- Is there citizen advice bureau I can ask about money matters/dept in English, and it's free and its in Germany 2- do you know what happens to a person on sole name took a personal consumer loan, then dies, then he dies... does the wife inherits this loan? Is there way not to pay it as it was not the wife who took it. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 13 March Does he have any assets? Are they worth less than the loan? You can turn down an inheritance. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 13 March This happened to someone I know. She was advised to refuse the inheritance. There is a 6 week time limit to do this. After that, she replied to any bank or inkasso that came after her by sending them a copy of the documents of refusal so they'd stop bothering her. The only thing she was on the hook for was a loan at a bank where she had a joint account with her husband at. I am not sure whether she had co-signed on it or what but it turned out that he had insurance on that loan so the insurance ended up paying it off. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 13 March I am very sorry for your loss. These are stressful, painful times - I don't envy you. I lost my father (not unexpectedly) ten months ago. before you refuse the inheritance (which you have only 6 weeks to decide) consider a few details: are there any assets (car, real estate, stocks, savings, life insurance....) that are potentially worth more than the dept? Turning down the inheritance means you're turning down everything, not just the debt. did the deceased make out a will? (if so, the six weeks start to count from the day you were officially made aware of the will) does the deceased have (minor) children? was there a prenup, or is it just Zugewinngemeinschaft? where did everybody live at the time of husband's death? (you have six months to accept/refuse if the deceased or the heir wasn't living in Germany) Depending on the size of the estate and the number of potential heirs the process can become tricky. Unless the whole case is very simple and clear cut, I doubt there will be any good advice for free. If you want to turn the inheritance down, make sure you do it "right" (within the deadline, and in proper form). Good luck. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 13 March Hi, not an expert but here I go: what usually happens is that the government lists all the debt of the deceased person and all the assets. Then instructs to pay with the assets the debt. Sometimes, for consume loans, there is insurance in place. So, if the person who passed away has nothing, then you inherit nothing. You will never have to pay with your money for the deceased person debts. You should go to a lawyer probably. As somebody said, if you refuse you refuse ALL. Be carefull. Good luck 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 13 March 14 hours ago, travelerworker said: You will never have to pay with your money for the deceased person debts. That is not true in Germany unless you take certain steps. Edit: @i-jalapeno Apologies, I read you post as a hypothetical situation. Sorry for your loss, if otherwise. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 13 March Thank you for the all the replies. In fact this is a real situation which has happened. I don't speak German so myself (wife) just carried on paying his loans after his death. But, now after 3 years of paying his loans, I find it not all that easy with other living costs on the rise, and more... The person who has died (my husband) was not a German citizen, he worked for an international organisation paying only EU taxes, was not binded to Germany tax, he also took a loan on his name only. He had a job. He had a share of the house we bought together and we have a son age 9 at the time. Right after the death, I sold the house, paid the mortgage off, took the rest and moved to UK and bought a house for me and my son. Plus, I still kept paying the loans. ( there are 2 in fact) I am really wondering is it a legal requirement that I must keep paying? He did not have a will. When he dies his share of the house which had a mortgage, passed on to us in a away. I appreciate all ideas at this stage.. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 14 March 14 hours ago, snowingagain said: That is not true in Germany unless you take certain steps. Edit: @i-jalapeno Apologies, I read you post as a hypothetical situation. Sorry for your loss, if otherwise. I find this interesting, can you please refer to any source where I can read more about that? thanks! 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 14 March 16 minutes ago, travelerworker said: I find this interesting, can you please refer to any source where I can read more about that? thanks! You´ll find the section of the German civil code dealing with inheritance law in §§1922 and the following: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/__1922.html 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 14 March 11 hours ago, i-jalapeno said: Thank you for the all the replies. In fact this is a real situation which has happened. I don't speak German so myself (wife) just carried on paying his loans after his death. But, now after 3 years of paying his loans, I find it not all that easy with other living costs on the rise, and more... The person who has died (my husband) was not a German citizen, he worked for an international organisation paying only EU taxes, was not binded to Germany tax, he also took a loan on his name only. He had a job. He had a share of the house we bought together and we have a son age 9 at the time. Right after the death, I sold the house, paid the mortgage off, took the rest and moved to UK and bought a house for me and my son. Plus, I still kept paying the loans. ( there are 2 in fact) I am really wondering is it a legal requirement that I must keep paying? He did not have a will. When he dies his share of the house which had a mortgage, passed on to us in a away. I appreciate all ideas at this stage.. The first thing I´d check is whether German inheritance law even applies. It may not, given that you said that at the time of his death he wasn´t resident in Germany (were you?). IANAL, and my guess is that if German law applies you´re liable for the debt as it came as part of the inheritance. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 14 March My guess is they were in Germany, husband working at the EPO or similar so exempt from German income tax. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 14 March 47 minutes ago, snowingagain said: My guess is they were in Germany, husband working at the EPO or similar so exempt from German income tax. Good point. The rules for income tax may be different from those for inheritance tax. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 14 March 21 hours ago, i-jalapeno said: 1- Is there citizen advice bureau I can ask about money matters/dept in English, and it's free and its in Germany I doubt it as in Germany only lawyers are allowed to give legal advice. What you could try though is asking the creditors as to why they think you're liable. It may lead to nowhere, but what do you have to lose? 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 14 March 13 hours ago, jeba said: Good point. The rules for income tax may be different from those for inheritance tax. Probably not even inheritance tax rules. Just inheritance rules. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 14 March 2 hours ago, jeba said: The first thing I´d check is whether German inheritance law even applies. It may not, given that you said that at the time of his death he wasn´t resident in Germany (were you?). IANAL, and my guess is that if German law applies you´re liable for the debt as it came as part of the inheritance. yes we were both lawfully residing in Germany at that time 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 14 March 33 minutes ago, jeba said: Good point. The rules for income tax may be different from those for inheritance tax. yes but i don't understand how income tax related to me paying his loans or not? 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 14 March 13 hours ago, i-jalapeno said: yes but i don't understand how income tax related to me paying his loans or not? It is not. But you mentioned it which sounds to many people that you were not residents of Germany. I cannot see how if your husband died with a debt in his name, how that debt could be written off if he had assets (half the house, etc). This is not a just a German thing. I really hope that the debt was less than the value of his house half and any other assets he had, like life insurance. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 14 March 5 minutes ago, i-jalapeno said: yes but i don't understand how income tax related to me paying his loans or not? I think it is related to your status. If you don't have to pay German income tax, you are also probably not considered as resident. But I am assuming this does not apply to you. This is only applicable to people working at certain organizations. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 14 March 2 hours ago, jeba said: You´ll find the section of the German civil code dealing with inheritance law in §§1922 and the following: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/__1922.html thanks! coudn't find anything about what you mention (that heirs must pay the debt with their own capital)...anyways not my business, just curious 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 14 March 13 hours ago, travelerworker said: thanks! coudn't find anything about what you mention (that heirs must pay the debt with their own capital)...anyways not my business, just curious If they choose to inherit, they inherit everything. Assets and obligations. So if you are not timely with refusing the inheritance, you inherit the debt. Refusing an Inheritance: German Inheritance Lawyers - Schlun & Elseven (se-legal.de) 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
