What is a disability will?
A disability will describes a special will of a person with a disabled child as an heir. It is an inheritance contract or testamentary disposition regarding the succession of property of the disabled child in the event of the death of the parents. This special will is intended to ensure the disabled child’s standard of living and quality of life in the long term without the State intervening in the inheritance process. The main objective is to ensure the level of social welfare of the child in the long term. This means, above all, that the parents’ estate is protected as an inheritance and, likewise, the disabled child’s entitlement to social benefits is secured. Through a disability will, the disabled child should be able to secure the full provision of the state through the corresponding social benefits and, at the same time, the inheritance should be protected against the social welfare agency. Your Frankfurt inheritance law lawyer will be happy to advise and support you in this matter.
How does the disability will work in Frankfurt?
When applying the disability will, there are different options for securing and regulating inheritance on the one hand and state social benefits on the other hand. The protection and safeguarding of the standard of living of the disabled child is the essence of both options. One option results from the so-called pre- and post-inheritance solution, whereby the disabled child is established as a pre-inheritor in the will. The second option, the legacy solution, attempts to avoid the community of heirs through pre-heirs and post heirs. The will of a disabled person with succession solution provides for the disabled child to be registered as a preliminary heir, but also to already think about a possible death of this disabled child and to determine who may be the subsequent heirs in the will of the disabled child. This approach usually considers the disabled child’s siblings or their descendants as next of kin. A special cornerstone arises in the solution of the subsequent inheritance through the inheritance share: the bequeathed inheritance share must also correspond to the legal share of the inheritance for the disabled child and must be set even slightly above the share of the compulsory share. Therefore, you should ask our lawyers specialized in inheritance law in Frankfurt for assistance. The second option, the legacy solution, is less common but similar in principle to the inheritance solution. The main difference is that the disabled child is not granted a preliminary inheritance in the will, but a preliminary bequest. This preliminary bequest usually increases the control obligation of the preliminary heir towards the disabled child, who administers the estate on behalf of the latter.
What can I regulate with a disability will?
A disability will is useful if the disabled child is dependent on social benefits from the state. This will secures social benefits that would normally depend on the respective income or assets (including an inheritance). The special case of a disability will is especially important because otherwise the disabled child would have to pay his or her own social benefits from a certain amount out of the parents’ inheritance. A special disability will ensures, either through an inheritance or bequest solution, that the disabled child does not have to pay state benefits himself out of the parental inheritance, but also does not have to do without the parental inheritance. Let a Frankfurt inheritance law attorney help you with the arrangement.
How can I make a Disability Will?
Basically, this will can also be made without a form, by hand and with one’s own signature. However, especially in the case of these special wills, which are intended to regulate the future of certain family members, there is also a high degree of sensitivity. Due to the various possibilities and the difficult legal lines of a succession solution, the inheritance is usually only secured for all parts of the family, including the future of the disabled child, with the legal or notarial support of a Frankfurt inheritance lawyer.
Why is the right to a compulsory share important in a Disability Will?
The right to a compulsory share is especially important in the context of the first inheritance option of the pre- and post-inheritance solution. The heirs must ensure that the disabled child, as a prior heir, also receives at least a compulsory share of the total estate. If this is not the case, the social welfare agency can claim the missing part of the estate by means of a claim for the supplementary compulsory share of other co-heirs for the disabled child. According to the Federal Supreme Court, this supplementary compulsory share claim is possible without the express wish and even against the will of the disabled child to arrange for the disabled child’s share of the estate as an heir. As an example, we can imagine two children, one of whom is disabled, who lose both parents through a death. Through the paternal will, the non-disabled child has been designated to manage the disabled child’s assets in order to secure and arrange the standard of living through adequate provision. However, through the management of the inheritance and estate of the non-disabled child and the compulsory share not assigned to the disabled child, the social welfare agency can claim the compulsory share in favor of the disabled child. This compulsory share claim can be filed even if the disabled child would not have seen reason to do so because of the care and management of the sibling. Such a claim can complicate the inheritance considerably. Seek an attorney specializing in Frankfurt inheritance law and discuss together how you can secure the livelihood of your disabled child.
What else can be done in addition to the Disability Will?
In addition to a well-organized and expertly supported Disability Will, an additional permanent execution of the Will may be especially important. In this case, the parents, as heirs, must specify in the Will who will organize the disabled child’s assets and have direct access to them. This permanent executor takes charge of the disabled child’s assets with access to them. The inheritance lawyers of our Frankfurt law firm will be happy to advise you in detail on this subject. In this context, it is particularly important to regulate in advance with the disability will when a specified special executor can access the disabled child’s estate, for example, on certain occasions, such as vacations or vacation trips.
