If the deceased emigrated from Germany to Canada before his death and established his habitual residence there, it may be necessary to transfer the deceased to Canada. Application of Canadian inheritance law come. This also applies if the testator has made a will in Germany and no choice of law can be derived from it. The question therefore arises as to what problems arise from the applicability of Canadian inheritance law for the recognition of German wills.
German wills are generally recognised in Canada if they were drawn up in Germany so long before the move to Canada that Germany was still considered the place of residence and the form and content were governed by German law. However, the problem is that these documents require full legalisation (confirmation of the authenticity of the documents by consular officials). Furthermore, they are hardly enforceable in Canada if they do not provide for the execution of a will.
This is another reason why German emigrants should not rely solely on the instrument of a will if they want to spend the rest of their lives in Canada. The usual way of estate planning should also be considered. This involves gifts, contracts in favour of third parties and trusts. Conversely, this route can also lead to problems if common law trusts are to be recognised in Germany because assets are still located here. A lawyer should therefore always be involved in estate planning. If you have any further questions, please contact your specialist inheritance lawyer in Düsseldorf and Krefeld, Dr Michael Gottschalk.