The "Berlin will": what it binds and what children can claim

Checked on 05.11.2026

Translated from German. Where anything differs, the German text counts: Deutsche Fassung

"We appoint each other as heirs; after the death of the survivor, the children inherit." This, or something like it, is in a great many wills of married couples (in Germany called a "Berliner Testament"). What it means for the children, many only notice once the first parent has died.

What generally applies

First the spouse, alone. When one parent dies, the other inherits everything. The children are not heirs in this first succession; no community of heirs arises.
Then the children. If the spouses provided that after the survivor's death the estate goes to a third party, that third party is in case of doubt the heir of the survivor for the entire estate (§ 2269(1) BGB). The children inherit once, from the survivor, and inherit whatever is left then.
Only for spouses and registered civil partners. Only they can make a joint will.

The compulsory share at the first death

Because the children are passed over in the first succession, they can claim the compulsory share from the surviving parent: half of their statutory share, in money (§ 2303 BGB). They do not have to, and many do not.

Some wills contain a clause for this: whoever claims the compulsory share at the first death shall also receive only the compulsory share at the second. Whether and how such a clause works depends on its wording.

What becomes binding after the first death

Mutual dispositions. These are dispositions one spouse would presumably not have made without those of the other. If the spouses appoint each other, this is assumed in case of doubt (§ 2270 BGB).
While both are alive, a spouse can revoke such a disposition only in the form that applies to withdrawing from an inheritance contract, so not secretly by a new will (§ 2271(1) BGB).
With the death of one, the right to revoke ends. The survivor can only set aside their own disposition by rejecting what they were given (§ 2271(2) BGB). Having accepted, they usually can no longer replace the children as final heirs by a new will, for example in favour of a new partner.

The survivor may still dispose of the assets during their lifetime: they can sell the house and spend the money. The binding effect concerns the will, not life.

And the tax

Each acquisition is taxed on its own. Under a Berlin will the children inherit nothing from the first parent; their allowance from that parent goes unused, and at the second death the whole estate comes at once. With larger estates this can matter. More in Inheritance tax: allowances.

What helps

Read the will closely, word for word. Is there a compulsory share clause? May the survivor change it?
At the first death, record what there was. What is to be divided at the second death is easier to trace years later if the state of things back then is documented.
Talk while a parent is alive. About the house, about care, about what everyone expects.

What a particular will means, and whether claiming the compulsory share makes sense, is for a lawyer to assess.