The following probate dispute involves matters of citizenship, conflict of laws, and location of assets in a probate matter with international implications.
Decedent H. E. was a German citizen by birth. He later married a U.S. citizen and eventually resided in Virginia. In the year 2000 he became a U.S. citizen. In 2001, he wrote a “Last Will and Testament” and established a trust for the benefit of his wife. The will provided that his entire estate would be held by the trust upon his death. After his death in 2004, the Trustee petitioned the Frankfurt Trial Court, Probate Division, for a Testamentsvollstreckerzeugnis (a certificate allowing execution on assets, apparently similar to a “Letter of Administration” in U.S. probate law) to access bank accounts that the decedent had retained in Germany. Two of decedent’s children from a prior marriage opposed the petition, claiming that Decedent was still subject to German law and that the forced share should be paid to them under that law.
The Court rules that the certificate should issue to the Trustee. First, Decedent’s life was centered in Virginia, as evidenced by the Death Certificate, the Will, the Trust Agreement, the filing of the will in Virginia probate court, the naturalization certificate, as well as the declaration of Decedent’s wife. Thus, Decedent’s residence was in Virginia.
Second, Decedent held only U.S. citizenship, not dual citizenship. According to Section 17, Number 2, of the German Citizenship Law (StAG), a German person who naturalizes in another country loses the German citizenship unless he/she has written permission to retain the German citizenship. It does not appear from the record that Decedent had such a permission. Decedent’s wife declared that he had only U.S. citizenship. Thus, Decedent lost his German citizenship upon naturalization in the U.S.
Third, Decedent prepared a valid will under local (Virginia) law that provides that all of his assets (thus including the German bank accounts) are subject to the Trust. The Trust complies with the German law principle of Perpetual Estate Administration (Dauertestamentsvollstreckung) within the meaning of Section 2209 of the Civil Code (BGB).
Moreover, the legal situation does not change if German probate law is applied to this case. German probate law requires a legal interpretation where there is a beneficiary of the estate (meaning that a person will receive assets from the estate). In this case, the Trustee should be viewed like an estate executor under German law.
The Court notes that its task here is not to determine who are the beneficiaries of the estate or whether the forced share applies. Under German law, the forced share is a civil claim that must be pursued separately in civil court. The Court notes that Virginia does not recognize a forced share in estate matters.
Citation: Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main - Nachlassgericht – 51 VI 2451/04 E (December 19, 2005).
