Limits on securing an estate for known heirs

22 VI 218/19Court of First InstanceMay 17, 2019Inheritance lawOther

Open source

Extracted by Omnilex

Omnilex summary

The State of North Rhine-Westphalia appealed the Borken District Court's 29 April 2019 order concerning estate-protection measures. The court held that a probate court cannot appoint an estate administrator as a protective measure once the heirs are definitively known, even if an heir is unwilling to take possession of or administer the estate. It likewise cannot order estate property to be kept in custody for known heirs. The court declined to amend its earlier order and forwarded the appeal to the Hamm Higher Regional Court for decision.

Omnilex headnote

§ 1960 BGB; estate administration and safekeeping for known heirs. The probate court is not authorized to appoint an estate administrator as a protective measure where the heirs are definitively known. This applies irrespective of whether an heir is willing to dispose of the estate or take it into possession. Nor may the court order the safekeeping of estate property for known heirs, including by prompting police authorities to take custody of the property. The protective measure contemplated by § 1960 BGB is therefore unavailable merely because known heirs do not assume control of the estate.

Full text

Amtsgericht Borken — 22 VI 218/19 — Beschluss

Entscheidungsdatum: 2019-05-17

Aktenzeichen: 22 VI 218/19

ECLI: ECLI:DE:AGBOR1:2019:0517.22VI218.19.00

Dokumenttyp: Beschluss

Spruchkörper: Amtsgericht

Normen: § 1960 BGB, Gewahrsamssachenanweisung NRW

Leitsätze

  1. Das Nachlassgericht ist nicht befugt, bei endgültig bekannten Erben Nachlasspflegschaft als Sicherungsmaßnahme anzuordnen. Hierbei ist es unerheblich, ob der Erbe bereit ist, über den Nachlass zu verfügen, insbesondere diesen in Besitz zu nehmen.
  2. Das Nachlassgericht ist ferner nicht befugt, die Verwahrung von Nachlassgegenständen zugunsten bekannter Erben anzuordnen (hier: Anregung der Verwahrung von Nachlassgegenständen durch die dem Innenministerium des Landes NRW unterstehende Polizeibehörde).

Tenor

wird der Beschwerde des beteiligten Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen vom 14.05.2019 gegen den Beschluss des Amtsgerichts Borken vom 29.04.2019 aus den Gründen des Beschlusses und den folgenden Gründen nicht abgeholfen.

Die Beschwerde wird dem Oberlandesgericht Hamm zur Entscheidung vorgelegt(§ 68 I 1 FamFG).

Keywords

estate administrationknown heirsestate protectionsafekeeping

Key legal questions extracted by Omnilex

Whether the probate court may appoint an estate administrator as a protective measure when the heirs are definitively known, or order safekeeping of estate property for those heirs.

The probate court lacks authority to appoint an estate administrator or order safekeeping of estate property for definitively known heirs, regardless of whether an heir is willing to take possession of or dispose of the estate.

The protective powers under § 1960 BGB do not authorize these measures once the heirs are definitively known.

Whether the court should grant relief from its 29 April 2019 order in response to the State of North Rhine-Westphalia's appeal.

The court declined to amend its order and submitted the appeal to the Hamm Higher Regional Court for decision.

The court relied on the reasons in its earlier order and the additional reasons stated in this ruling.

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