Rights to information
After a death, those involved in the succession may be entitled to information under specific statutory provisions. Examples include duties owed by someone possessing estate assets, a member of the deceased’s household or an apparent heir; rights of a reversionary heir against a prior heir; information needed to calculate a compulsory share or supplementary claim; and disclosures between co-heirs about lifetime benefits.
Heirs may also have rights to information from an executor or court-appointed estate administrator. An estate administrator may request information from a bank. A creditor who has attached an inheritance share may have rights to information about the estate against the heir or executor. The precise entitlement depends on the parties’ legal positions. References in older guidance to a substitute inheritance claim for children born outside marriage concern historical rules.
Distribution of an estate among co-heirs
Where there is more than one heir, they form a community of heirs. This is generally intended to be wound up by distributing the estate in accordance with the deceased’s wishes or the statutory rules.
Under section 2043 BGB, distribution cannot proceed while inheritance shares remain uncertain, for example because a co-heir has been conceived but not yet born. If only an heir’s identity is uncertain, rather than the size of the shares, distribution may still be possible. The same can apply where the number of heirs within one family branch remains uncertain but the shares of other branches are established.
The co-heirs can unanimously agree to exclude distribution for a period or indefinitely, generally without a prescribed form. A will may also exclude distribution, normally for up to 30 years, subject to statutory exceptions.
Education costs and equalisation between heirs
Sections 2050 onwards BGB contain rules intended to equalise certain lifetime benefits between descendants who inherit together. Education costs may have to be brought into account to the extent that they exceeded what was appropriate to the deceased’s financial circumstances.
Consider a father leaving €100,000 to four children after paying €25,000 towards one child’s studies, while the others received no comparable support. That payment does not automatically exclude the child from the inheritance. If the full €25,000 is subject to equalisation, section 2055 BGB requires it to be added to the estate for the calculation and then credited against that child’s share: €125,000 divided by four gives €31,250 each, leaving €6,250 from the estate for the child who received the advance and €31,250 for each of the others. Whether equalisation applies must first be established.
Challenging a will or contract of inheritance
A joint spousal will may contain reciprocal provisions that can no longer be freely changed after the first spouse dies. During both spouses’ lifetimes, revocation of such provisions has its own formal requirements. Revocation and avoidance on a statutory ground are different legal mechanisms.
After the first death, an opening clause may permit the survivor to make specified changes, for example to the shares of the joint children. Without such a clause, binding provisions cannot simply be rewritten.
A contract of inheritance can also create binding dispositions during the parties’ lifetimes. Withdrawal rights and statutory grounds for avoidance may nevertheless apply. Remarriage, which introduces a new person entitled to a compulsory share, can be relevant; an applicable one-year avoidance period and any valid waiver must be examined. A legally relevant mistake about the declaration may also matter. Individual advice is needed to distinguish these possibilities.
Challenging acceptance or disclaimer of an inheritance
An inheritance can normally be disclaimed within six weeks after the heir learns of the inheritance and the basis of their entitlement; special rules can give a longer period. Missing the deadline generally amounts to acceptance.
In certain circumstances, acceptance, a disclaimer or the expiry of the disclaimer period may be challenged on a legally recognised ground. An example may be a relevant mistake about estate liabilities discovered later. Conversely, someone who disclaimed what they believed to be an over-indebted estate may discover unexpected assets. Not every mistaken assessment is sufficient. The applicable challenge period generally begins when the relevant ground becomes known, so prompt advice is essential.
Retirement benefits reserved on a property transfer (Altenteil)
An Altenteil arrangement is used to secure support for someone who transfers property to another person. Although often associated with farms, it can also be used in other settings. The benefits are to be provided from the transferred property. Their economic burden should not endanger the substance of that property or the viability of the transferred farm.
Berlin will (Berliner Testament)
A Berlin will is a joint spousal will in which the spouses appoint each other to inherit on the first death and specify who is to inherit after the survivor dies. Reciprocal provisions may become binding, preventing the survivor from freely changing the ultimate beneficiaries. If flexibility is wanted, an appropriate opening clause should be considered when drafting the will.
Wills for beneficiaries with disabilities
Parents of a child with a disability may need carefully structured testamentary arrangements where the child receives means-tested support. The concern is that inheritance or compulsory share entitlements could be taken into account or pursued by a social assistance authority, leaving the child without the intended additional benefit and potentially creating liquidity problems for other heirs.
Such wills often combine prior and reversionary inheritance with continuing execution of the will in relation to the child’s share. References to the former Federal Social Assistance Act in older guidance need to be read in their historical context. Current social benefits rules and the individual circumstances must be checked.
Defence based on an insufficient estate
Where an estate is too small to fund court-appointed estate administration or estate insolvency proceedings, section 1990 BGB may allow the heir to refuse payment insofar as the estate is insufficient. The heir must make the remaining estate available for creditors’ enforcement. This is a specific defence, not an automatic cancellation of debts, and must be raised in time in any proceedings. A court order opening insolvency is not a prerequisite for this defence.
Three-month defence
For the first three months after accepting an inheritance, an heir may have a statutory right to defer payment of estate debts while establishing what the estate contains. Special rules apply where creditors had already begun enforcement during the deceased’s lifetime.
Dating a will
An undated handwritten will may be valid if the necessary facts about when and where it was made can be established by other means. If wills conflict and the date of an undated document cannot be established, the uncertainty can affect which disposition can be relied on. Dating a will helps avoid these evidential problems.
Formal requirements for wills and inheritance contracts
A contract of inheritance must be notarised. German law also imposes formal requirements on wills. The two ordinary forms are a public, notarised will and a handwritten will.
A notarised will can be made by declaring your wishes to a notary or handing over a written document with a declaration that it contains your last will. A handwritten will must be written entirely by the testator and signed by them. Merely signing a typed document is insufficient. The handwriting helps establish its author.
The date and place should also be stated. A will may take a conventional form or, for example, be written as a letter, provided the testamentary intention and other requirements are met. The signature belongs at the end to show that the document is complete. Signing with both first name and surname is strongly recommended.
The state as statutory heir
If there is no relative, spouse or registered civil partner entitled to inherit, section 1936 BGB provides for the German state to inherit. The relevant Land is generally the one in which the deceased had their last residence or, if this cannot be established, habitual residence. Otherwise, the Federation inherits.
The state is the ultimate statutory heir; a will cannot simply prevent this fallback without making an effective alternative disposition. Special rules protect the state from unlimited liability for estate debts.
Directions concerning a child’s inherited property
Under section 1639 BGB, a testator can exclude a parent from managing property left to a child. This can be relevant, for example, where a divorced parent should not manage the joint child’s inheritance. Suitable arrangements for management of the assets then need to be considered.
Formal requirements for wills and inheritance contracts
A contract of inheritance must be notarised. German law also imposes formal requirements on wills. The two ordinary forms are a public, notarised will and a handwritten will.
A notarised will can be made by declaring your wishes to a notary or handing over a written document with a declaration that it contains your last will. A handwritten will must be written entirely by the testator and signed by them. Merely signing a typed document is insufficient. The handwriting helps establish its author.
The date and place should also be stated. A will may take a conventional form or, for example, be written as a letter, provided the testamentary intention and other requirements are met. The signature belongs at the end to show that the document is complete. Signing with both first name and surname is strongly recommended.
The state as statutory heir
If there is no relative, spouse or registered civil partner entitled to inherit, section 1936 BGB provides for the German state to inherit. The relevant Land is generally the one in which the deceased had their last residence or, if this cannot be established, habitual residence. Otherwise, the Federation inherits.
The state is the ultimate statutory heir; a will cannot simply prevent this fallback without making an effective alternative disposition. Special rules protect the state from unlimited liability for estate debts.
Directions concerning a child’s inherited property
Under section 1639 BGB, a testator can exclude a parent from managing property left to a child. This can be relevant, for example, where a divorced parent should not manage the joint child’s inheritance. Suitable arrangements for management of the assets then need to be considered.
Matrimonial property regimes
Without a marriage contract providing otherwise, spouses are generally subject to the German community of accrued gains regime (Zugewinngemeinschaft). Where the surviving spouse inherits alongside children, the statutory quarter share is normally increased by a further quarter as a flat-rate equalisation of accrued gains, giving a half share overall.
Under separation of property (Gütertrennung), a spouse and one or two children inherit in equal shares. If there are three or more children, the spouse’s statutory share is one quarter. The applicable matrimonial regime therefore has an important effect on inheritance shares.
Intestate succession
Intestate succession determines who inherits when there is no effective will or contract of inheritance. It also helps determine compulsory shares, normally half the value of the relevant statutory inheritance share for those entitled to them.
Relatives are grouped into orders:
• First order: descendants, including children, adopted children, grandchildren and further descendants.
• Second order: parents and their descendants, including siblings, nieces and nephews.
• Third order: grandparents and their descendants, including aunts, uncles and cousins.
• Fourth order: great-grandparents and their descendants.
• Fifth and subsequent orders: more remote ancestors and their descendants.
A relative in a preceding order excludes relatives in later orders. A living child therefore excludes more remote orders and, within that child’s branch, their own descendants. If both a son and his child survive, the son normally excludes that grandchild. Distribution within the different orders follows specific rules.
Someone conceived but not yet born at the time of death may also inherit. A representative can be appointed to protect the unborn child’s interests. Adoption can create inheritance rights; older adoptions, particularly those predating 1 January 1977, may require examination of historical rules and agreements.
Joint wills
A will must be made personally. Spouses and registered civil partners may make a joint will; engaged couples and unmarried cohabitants cannot use this form solely on that basis. For a joint handwritten will, it is sufficient for one spouse or partner to write and sign the entire document and the other to add their signature.
Reciprocal provisions may become binding after the first death. These are provisions made by one spouse in reliance on the other making a corresponding disposition. The survivor cannot then freely revoke them.
The survivor generally remains able to use and dispose of their own property during life. However, gifts that prejudice a binding ultimate heir can give rise to a recovery claim after the survivor’s death. A key issue is whether the gift served a legitimate interest of the donor during their lifetime. For example, giving substantial assets to a third party solely to defeat the ultimate heir may be treated differently from a gift supported by such an interest.
Agricultural inheritance law
Special agricultural succession rules aim to preserve viable farms and prevent their fragmentation. Where the Höfeordnung applies, the farm passes to one eligible farm heir, while other heirs receive monetary compensation under special valuation rules.
The Höfeordnung applies in Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein. A farm within its scope includes an agricultural or forestry operation with suitable farm premises, generally owned by one person or jointly by spouses. Whether a particular holding qualifies must be checked.
Legacy of household effects
When drafting a joint spousal will, consider whether the survivor should receive household contents, personal belongings and, where appropriate, the deceased’s car as an additional legacy. The need for such a provision depends on whether the survivor is a full heir, a prior heir or otherwise restricted. It should not be assumed that every Berlin will restricts the survivor’s ownership in the same way.
Estate insolvency
If an estate is insolvent or over-indebted, the heir may have to apply promptly for estate insolvency proceedings. Failure to comply can result in liability to creditors for the resulting loss. The insolvency court examines the requirements and whether the estate can cover the costs.
If proceedings cannot be opened for lack of assets, other protections, including the defence based on an insufficient estate, may be available. Protection of the heir’s personal assets is not something to assume without taking the necessary steps.
Mistake about the meaning of a testamentary declaration
A will may not express what the testator actually intended. A legally relevant mistake about the meaning or legal effect of the declaration can provide a ground for avoidance. Deception or an incorrect assumption may raise other issues, depending on the facts.
Such mistakes are often difficult to prove. Interpreting the will to establish the testator’s true intention is therefore an important first step.
Legal entities as heirs
Private-law legal entities, including GmbHs, stock corporations, cooperatives, registered associations and legally recognised foundations, can inherit. Public-law legal entities, including the Federation, Länder and municipalities, can also inherit.
An OHG or KG can likewise acquire rights and obligations and be appointed to inherit, although it is not a private-law legal entity in the same technical sense.
Conflict of laws
Where an estate involves more than one country, it is necessary to determine which country’s law governs succession and which rules govern the form and content of a will. Private international law supplies the connecting rules.
Depending on the applicable instrument and issue, relevant factors may include habitual residence, a permitted choice of law, nationality, the location of an asset or where an act took place. Cross-border cases require more than simply assuming that the deceased’s nationality determines everything.
Children born outside marriage
Children born outside marriage have equal inheritance rights under the modern German rules. Historical estates can require closer examination because the date of death and transitional provisions matter.
Earlier law made distinctions: before 1 July 1970, paternal inheritance and compulsory share rights were generally excluded under the former rules; from 1 July 1970 to 31 March 1998, a substitute inheritance claim could apply instead. The reform taking effect on 1 April 1998 removed that general distinction. These dates are historical context, not a complete account of every transitional case.
Life insurance
A life insurance contract provides for an agreed payment on death. Term life insurance pays if the insured event occurs during the policy term; an endowment policy may also pay on maturity.
A policy can name one or more third-party beneficiaries. A valid beneficiary designation can give them a direct claim to the proceeds outside the estate. The precise contract and designation matter. Although proceeds may pass outside the estate, inheritance-related or compulsory share issues can still arise.
Registered civil partnerships
The German Registered Civil Partnership Act came into force on 1 August 2001. Existing registered civil partners have inheritance rights alongside the deceased partner’s relatives and may have a compulsory share claim if excluded from the inheritance. They can also make a joint will, including a Berlin will.
The inheritance rules broadly correspond to those for spouses. Under the relevant accrued-gains regime, the statutory share may be increased by one quarter. For example, a registered partner may inherit three quarters alongside siblings, whereas an unregistered cohabitant has no automatic inheritance right merely from living together. This historical account of the institution’s introduction does not mean that new registered civil partnerships can still be formed under the original rules.
Liability of co-heirs
Co-heirs are generally jointly and severally liable for estate debts, potentially with their own assets. Statutory mechanisms can limit that liability if their requirements are met.
Community of heirs
Where several people inherit under a will or intestacy, they acquire the estate jointly by universal succession. Estate assets form jointly held property. An individual co-heir cannot independently dispose of a particular estate asset or a share in that individual asset. Disposing of an inheritance share as a whole is a different matter with its own formal requirements.
A co-heir may individually enforce certain claims belonging to the estate, including claims for payment, delivery or protection against interference. They sue in their own name but must normally seek performance for the community of heirs, rather than payment to themselves alone.
Court-appointed estate administration
Court-appointed estate administration (Nachlassverwaltung) separates the estate from an heir’s personal assets and can limit liability for estate debts. Once it is ordered, the heir loses the right to administer and dispose of estate assets.
An heir may apply, for example, where the estate is complex and its liabilities need to be dealt with separately. A creditor may also apply if the statutory conditions are met, including concerns about the creditor’s prospects of recovery. This is a formal procedure, distinct from simply instructing someone to help administer an estate privately.
Estate custodianship
The probate court can appoint an estate custodian (Nachlasspfleger) to safeguard the estate, particularly before an inheritance is accepted or while the heirs are unknown. The custodian represents the unknown heirs, investigates their identity and deals with estate matters within the scope of the appointment. This may include communicating with creditors and paying funeral expenses.
Organ donation
Organs must not be removed for donation against the deceased’s expressed wishes. A valid consent can allow donation without requiring a fresh decision by relatives. Consent can be limited to particular organs.
Documenting your wishes, including their relationship with an advance healthcare directive, helps avoid uncertainty about treatment and donation. A young person can independently consent to organ donation from the age of 16. The medical and legal requirements must be considered together.
Public or notarised will
A public will is a will made before a notary. Official safekeeping helps protect it against loss, concealment or alteration by someone hoping to benefit.
It can be made by declaring the last wishes to the notary, who records them, or by handing over a written document with a declaration that it contains the testator’s last will.
Compulsory share claims
German law protects certain close family members who are excluded from an inheritance or receive less than their protected entitlement. Eligible descendants, a spouse or registered civil partner and, in some circumstances, parents may have a monetary claim against the heir or heirs. The compulsory share is normally half the value of the statutory inheritance share. It does not make its holder a co-owner of individual estate assets.
A compulsory share can be withdrawn only on narrow statutory grounds. These include an attempt on the life of the testator or certain people close to them, serious intentional offences, malicious breach of a maintenance duty, and specified serious criminal convictions where participation in the estate would be unreasonable. The requirements of section 2333 BGB and the necessary testamentary statement must be met. An “immoral lifestyle”, mentioned in older guidance, is not a current independent statutory ground. Unworthiness to receive a compulsory share is a separate legal issue; it should not be confused with testamentary withdrawal.
Lifetime gifts may give rise to supplementary compulsory share claims, preventing protected entitlements from being defeated by giving the estate away. Such claims are normally directed against the heir. In specified circumstances a claim against the recipient of a gift may also be available. The ten-year rules, reductions over time, retained rights and gifts between spouses need careful examination; a simple statement that every gift older than ten years is excluded is insufficient.
Limitation periods also require individual analysis. Claims against an heir and claims against a gift recipient are not necessarily governed by the same starting point. It is therefore unsafe to assume that every supplementary claim expires three years after death regardless of knowledge.
An heir who is within the protected class but receives a share worth less than their compulsory entitlement may have a claim for the shortfall, subject to the statutory conditions.
A notarised agreement with the future deceased can waive inheritance rights, compulsory share rights or both. The effect on the waiving person’s descendants depends on the type and terms of the waiver. Compensation is often agreed and can be paid during the future deceased’s lifetime. Such arrangements may provide funds earlier and help prevent later disputes, but their legal and tax consequences need advice.
Advance healthcare directives
An advance healthcare directive records your decisions about medical treatment for a future situation in which you cannot give consent. It can specify treatments you wish to receive or refuse and helps protect you against unwanted interventions.
It does not itself appoint the person who will represent you. That role may be assigned by a power of attorney or, where necessary, a court appointment. A directive is relevant where its statements apply sufficiently clearly to the actual treatment situation. Where they do not, the representative must establish the patient’s treatment wishes or presumed wishes rather than make a decision based solely on their own preferences.
A directive requires the necessary capacity to understand and decide when it is made. Current statutory requirements, including the written form, must be observed. Because wording needs to address specific situations and treatments, advice from an experienced lawyer, notary and, where appropriate, a doctor is recommended.
Legal expenses insurance in inheritance matters
Legal expenses insurance may cover an initial consultation on inheritance matters where the policy includes the relevant family and inheritance advice cover and an insured event has occurred. The policy wording and its general conditions (ARB) determine the scope.
Traditional advice-only cover can be subject to restrictions where the consultation is connected with further chargeable work. There is no universal promise that all inheritance disputes are insured; check the particular policy and obtain confirmation of cover.
Rights that pass to heirs
Many rights and obligations pass to heirs under German law, particularly rights with financial value. Rights that are inseparably linked to the individual may not be transferable on death.
Examples of rights that may pass include a deceased landlord’s claim for outstanding service charges, an accident victim’s accrued claim for compensation for pain and suffering, and claims arising from employment.
A motor insurance no-claims discount may be transferable if the insurance terms allow it and the heir used the insured vehicle during the deceased’s lifetime. The insurer’s conditions must be checked.
Stepchildren
Stepchildren do not automatically inherit from a stepparent merely because of their close relationship. A will or contract of inheritance is needed to provide for them, unless another legal basis such as adoption applies.
They can be appointed as heirs, including sole heirs, or receive particular benefits by legacy. The document should state clearly whether an inheritance share or only a specific asset or sum is intended.
Wills contrary to public policy
A will can be invalid if it contravenes public policy. Historically, cases involving gifts to an extramarital partner received particular attention. Disadvantaging a spouse, children or other relatives does not by itself resolve the issue.
The overall circumstances matter, including the content, effect, motive and purpose of the disposition. Older case law discussed gifts made solely as payment for a sexual relationship or to promote its continuation. A disposition motivated by affection, gratitude, care, attention or help with a household must be assessed in its full context rather than automatically treated as invalid.
Execution of a will
An executor implements the testator’s wishes after death. Appointment may be useful where those wishes could otherwise be difficult to carry out, for example where heirs are young or inexperienced, there are many heirs or legacies, or the estate is complex.
The executor’s duties can include identifying and recording assets, administering the estate and carrying out its distribution. The executor may also help avoid or resolve disagreements between heirs, within the powers conferred by the will and the law.
The size and cost of the estate matter, but a small estate does not automatically rule out a useful appointment. The need and scope should be assessed individually.
Partition auction
A partition auction can end joint ownership of real estate, for example where former spouses each own a half share and cannot agree on a sale or buyout. Subject to applicable restrictions, the property is converted into money through the court procedure.
If the owners cannot agree on distribution of the proceeds, the money may be deposited with the court pending resolution.
Directions for distribution
A testator can direct how particular estate assets are to be allocated among co-heirs. Unless the will provides otherwise, a co-heir who receives assets worth more than their inheritance share must compensate the others. Clear wording distinguishes a direction for distribution from an additional legacy.
Conversion of an invalid disposition
An invalid legal transaction may sometimes be treated as a different valid transaction if it meets that transaction’s requirements and the necessary intention can be established. In inheritance matters, this may help give effect to the testator’s intentions where the chosen form fails.
Establishing the actual intention by interpretation comes first. In suitable circumstances, an invalid contract of inheritance may, for example, take effect as a will if the requirements for that form are met.
An over-indebted estate
Inheritance includes debts and other liabilities as well as assets. An heir may therefore be liable with personal assets unless a statutory limitation of liability is available and properly used.
Possible mechanisms include court-appointed estate administration, estate insolvency proceedings and the defence based on an insufficient estate. Which steps are needed depends on the facts and any applicable deadlines.
Early inheritance settlement: former rules
Under the former rules, a child born outside marriage could in certain circumstances demand an early inheritance settlement from the father. This option was abolished by the inheritance equality reform taking effect on 1 April 1998. This entry concerns historical law; modern inheritance and any transitional rules must be assessed for the particular estate.
Additional legacy to an heir
An additional legacy (Vorausvermächtnis) gives an heir a benefit on top of their inheritance share. Unlike a mere direction for distributing estate assets, it is not intended to be credited against that share.
The recipient has two distinct positions, as heir and as legatee. Depending on the circumstances, they may accept the inheritance and disclaim the legacy, accept the legacy and disclaim the inheritance, or accept both. Formalities, deadlines and any interaction with compulsory share rights need to be considered.
Prior and reversionary inheritance
A testator can appoint one person to inherit first, as prior heir (Vorerbe), and another to become heir later, as reversionary heir (Nacherbe). The later heir succeeds to the original testator’s estate, rather than inheriting that estate from the prior heir. The prior heir therefore holds an inheritance subject to the later succession.
A missing will
A lost will, or one deliberately concealed by someone who would not benefit from it, does not necessarily become ineffective merely because the original cannot be found. Inheritance rights may have to be established in proceedings.
The person relying on the missing document must prove that a formally valid will was made and establish its contents. The evidential requirements are demanding.
Missing the disclaimer deadline
If an heir fails to disclaim in time, or accepts an inheritance and later discovers facts that would have led them to act differently, a challenge may be possible on a recognised statutory ground. A relevant mistake about the nature or liabilities of the estate is one potential example. Regret alone is insufficient, and short time limits can apply once the ground becomes known.
Remarriage clauses
A remarriage clause in a joint will can protect the ultimate heirs, often the children, if the surviving spouse marries again. A new spouse may acquire compulsory share rights that affect the assets ultimately available to the children. The wording and consequences of such a clause should be tailored carefully.
Revoking testamentary dispositions
A revocable will, or an individual provision in it, can generally be revoked without giving a reason. Revocation may take the form of a later valid will or deliberate destruction or alteration of the document with the intention of revoking it.
Burning, tearing or crossing out a will can therefore have legal significance, but accidental damage is different. Binding provisions in joint wills and contracts of inheritance are subject to special restrictions; the general rule does not override them.
Waiver of a testamentary benefit
Where a testamentary benefit has become binding, for example under a joint spousal will, a notarised agreement with the beneficiary waiving that benefit may provide a way to release the commitment. The effect on descendants and substitute beneficiaries must be checked rather than assumed.
Such arrangements can have tax consequences, potentially including gift tax. An example is a property requiring expensive renovation that the intended beneficiary does not want to take over. Whether a waiver improves the position of other beneficiaries depends on the exact arrangement; tax savings are not automatic.
Equalisation of accrued gains on death
A spouse’s statutory inheritance share depends on the other surviving relatives and the matrimonial property regime. The basic share is one quarter alongside first-order relatives such as children and grandchildren, and one half alongside second-order relatives or grandparents.
Under the default German regime of community of accrued gains, each spouse generally retains their own property during marriage. On termination of the marriage, gains are equalised under the applicable rules. Where the marriage ends by death and the survivor inherits, a flat-rate increase of one quarter normally applies instead of calculating the actual gains for that route.
This usually gives the surviving spouse one half alongside descendants, or three quarters alongside second-order relatives or grandparents. The spouse inherits alone where only more remote relatives survive. Disclaimer and other special situations require separate consideration.