I missed this German Identikit picture when it was first produced in 1991.

The Civil Partnerships Act came into force in the UK on December 5 – after a period of notice, the first ceremonies will take place in England and Wales on December 21, and in Scotland on December 20. (The Guardian). This is not a marriage, but it contains most of the rights associated with marriage. Another Guardian article:

bq. Gay couples who register as civil partners will take on the obligation to support each other financially, even after the relationship ends. To split, they will have to go through a “divorce” process, with the courts dividing up the assets regardless of ownership if they fail to reach a settlement. They will be exempt from inheritance tax when the first partner dies, and will have the same pension rights as married couples.

To sum up: in German law, there are Erben whether a person made a will or not. (Gesetzliche Erbfolge – gewillkürte Erbfolge) So sometimes the term gesetzlicher Erbe needs to be translated. What do you do, when it really matters?

Strictly speaking, statutory heir or heir on intestacy is almost too much of a good thing, since in common-law systems the word heir implies that there was no will.

I had to translate this and asked a number of other legal translators which they liked. The most popular answer was ‘I don’t know much about inheritance law’.

I wanted to use the term intestacy, but I’m told statutory heir is normal usage in the USA. I did eventually get a lot of information from one US legal translator, who shall be nameless unless he would prefer to be outed. He suggested Google searches on
“statutory heirs” “uniform probate code”
Other ways of getting US sites are site:edu and site:us

I have to repeat that the word heirs is not used in English law at all. Hence comparing results for heirs on intestacy might be misleading. I also reject the suggestion of intestate heir, because it sounds to me as if the heir has neglected to make a will, which may or may not be true. But this term too is encountered on US sites. Heir on intestacy is comprehensible in the US, but sounds a bit odd, according to my informant (but I regard it as an advantage if a translation relating to German law sounds a bit un-American – I wouldn’t want people to think it referred to American law).

Finally, I looked at Tony Weir’s translation in German Private and Commercial Law. An Introduction, by Horn, Kötz and Leser – 1982 but still the best. It has a heading Statutory Intestate Succession! Michael Jewell’s translation of Gerhard Robbers, An Introduction to German Law, refers to beneficiaries on intestacy, and when it comes to distinguishing Erbe and Vermächtnisnehmer, it has residuary beneficiary and specific beneficiary.

This site has links to resources on canon law in a large number of countries and the EU.

Too late. I just hope to God I never need it again!

About the site and webmaster Dieter Krause at the ECJ in Luxembourg (in German)

(Via Handakte WebLAWg)

Here is the vocabulary used nowadays for those who inherit:

Germany
Testament: Erbe, Vermächtnisnehmer
Gesetzliche Erbfolge: Erbe

England
Will: beneficiary
Intestate succession: beneficiary

USA
Will: beneficiary (devisee: of real estate, legatee: of personal property)
Intestate succession: heir (or real estate)
distributee / next of kin (of personal property)

In both EN and USA: devise: a gift of real property
legacy / bequest: a gift of personal property
gift: either real or personal property

You can draw a little table with this information, but it doesn’t mean you can translate Erbe as beneficiary or Vermächtnisnehmer as legatee.

Note the distinction in EN and USA law between real property and personal property

Mark Reutlinger: Wills, Trusts, and Estates. Essential Terms and Concepts – on US law of succession

Still not finished …

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