OLG Frankfurt; 2024-08-14; 20 W 135/24
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:DE:OLGHE:2024:0814.20W135.24.00
Date: 2024-08-14
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Germany

82024DE0814(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
Three parties involved, who are relatives on the maternal side (hereinafter ‘the plaintiffs’), lodged an appeal against a partial certificate of inheritance issued by the Amtsgericht Wiesbaden (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance’) and demanded a restriction of the scope of the estate administrator’s authority.
The deceased was a US citizen. After the death of his German wife, he moved his habitual residence to the United States and only used the former marital home in Germany for short stays. There was no will, which is why statutory succession applied. According to the partial certificate of inheritance, the plaintiffs each became heirs to one sixth of the estate. For the paternal side, where the heirs were unknown, participant 1 suggested a guardianship of half of the estate. By resolution of 11 December 2023, the Court of First Instance appointed, in the partial certificate of inheritance, participant 4 to act as the estate administrator (hereinafter ‘the estate administrator’) and determined his sphere of activity to be ‘securing and administering the estate’ and ‘identifying the heirs on the paternal side’.
The plaintiffs argued that the scope of the estate administrator’s authority had been defined unclearly. Although he had been appointed only in respect of the unknown heirs on the paternal side, he had taken measures that affected the entire estate. For example, he had excluded their representative from access to the flat, issued a ban on entering the property, demanded the keys to the flat, attempted to cancel direct debits at the bank and had the flat sealed. This exceeded his powers, as he was not allowed to have more rights than the unknown co-heirs themselves.
The judicial officer of the Court of First Instance defended the original decision and explained that a restriction to half of the estate would effectively render the estate administrator incapable of acting, as the community of heirs constituted a joint ownership community. Effective protection of the estate could only be achieved through uniform action.
The plaintiffs’ appeal to the Oberlandesgericht Frankfurt (hereinafter ‘the Court of Appeal’) was found admissible and substantiated. The plaintiffs’ rights had been infringed upon, as the original wording of the scope of authority was likely to curtail their rights of participation as known heirs. The scope of the estate administrator’s authority had to be revised. His exclusive responsibility was to represent the unknown heirs on the paternal side in securing and administering the estate. Furthermore, the Court of Appeal clarified that the estate administrator had no greater powers than the co-heirs he represented.
Furthermore, the Court of Appeal examined ex officio the international jurisdiction of the German courts. Since the deceased had his habitual residence in the United States at the time of his death and was exclusively a citizen of that country, the general rules of jurisdiction under Article 10(1) of the Succession Regulation (1) did not apply. However, according to Article 10(2) of the Succession Regulation, German courts held jurisdiction insofar as assets located in Germany were concerned. In this case, this concerned the privately owned flat, bank deposits and other assets. The Court of Appeal emphasised that measures to secure the estate, such as estate administration, were not excluded by foreign inheritance law.
The Court of Appeal amended the decision of the Court of First Instance to clearly limit the scope of the estate administrator’s activities to the ‘representation of the unknown heirs on the paternal side in securing and administering the estate located in Germany’.
(1) Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and acceptance and enforcement of authentic instruments in matters of succession and on the creation of a European Certificate of Succession.