{"id":1086,"date":"2023-06-15T12:36:44","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T10:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rechtsanwalt-erbrecht.eu\/internationales-erbrecht\/erbrecht-in-drittstaaten\/der-deutsch-englische-erbfall\/welches-recht-wird-auf-den-deutsch-englischen-und-walisischen-erbfall-angewendet\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T17:47:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T15:47:45","slug":"which-law-is-applied-to-the-german-english-and-welsh-inheritance-case","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.rechtsanwalt-erbrecht.eu\/en\/internationales-erbrecht\/erbrecht-in-drittstaaten\/der-deutsch-englische-erbfall\/welches-recht-wird-auf-den-deutsch-englischen-und-walisischen-erbfall-angewendet\/","title":{"rendered":"Which law is applied to the German-English (and Welsh) succession?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is no standardised, autonomous conflict of laws in the United Kingdom. The principles of common law developed by the judiciary serve as the source of autonomous private international law. In addition, the United Kingdom is a contracting state to the Hague Convention on the Form of Wills and the Hague Convention on Trusts. Due to the fact that the United Kingdom did not participate in the EU Succession Regulation during its EU membership, leaving the EU has made no difference. The applicable inheritance law must therefore be analysed separately from an English and a German perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. view of the English and Welsh courts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In England and Wales, unlike in Germany, the principle of estate division applies. When determining the applicable law, a distinction must first be made between movable and immovable assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the common law applicable in England, the movable estate is inherited according to the law of the \u201edomicile\u201c of the deceased at the time of death, while the immovable estate is inherited according to the law of the respective place of location. It is irrelevant whether the succession is statutory or testamentary. A choice of law is generally not possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the case of immovable assets, the right of location (lex rei sitae) must be applied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. view of the German courts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

German courts use the EU Succession Regulation for inheritance cases from 17 August 2015. Accordingly, the last habitual residence of the deceased is decisive for determining the applicable law, whereby a reference back to English law is assumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, the principle of unity of estate applicable in Germany can be overcome in relation to probate property by referring back to the right of occupancy under English law in relation to probate property.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Im Vereinigten K\u00f6nigreich besteht kein einheitliches, autonomes Kollisionsrecht. Als Quelle des autonomen Internationalen Privatrechts dienen die richterrechtlich entwickelten Grunds\u00e4tze des Common Laws. Zus\u00e4tzlich ist das Vereinigte K\u00f6nigreich Vertragsstaat des Haager Testamentsform\u00fcbereinkommens sowie des Haager Trusts\u00fcbereinkommens. Aufgrund der Tatsache, dass sich das Vereinigte K\u00f6nigreich schon w\u00e4hrend seiner EU-Mitgliedschaft nicht an der EuErbVO beteiligt hat, hat der […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1082,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1086","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t