With a codicil, content decides. Whether someone is heir or legatee shapes rights, duties and procedure.
Mag. Bernhard Brandauer
Attorney · BRANDAUER Rechtsanwälte, Salzburg
Inheritance matters are handled by Mag. Bernhard Brandauer together with a coordinated team. We examine the will, compulsory portion, gifts and deadlines and tell you clearly where you stand.
A codicil may supplement a testamentary arrangement, provide for an individual benefit or clarify a succession issue. In an inheritance dispute, the label on the document is therefore not enough. Its complete wording must be read together with the other dispositions.
The practical review should separate three questions: does the person receive a position in the estate or a share, does the person receive a specific asset or performance, and who is expected to provide it? Those questions require different evidence and next steps.
The short assessment leads from the document to the right review of heirship, legacy and performance.
Already know you want to get in touch? Go straight to the enquiry form.
For a codicil, review the document's wording, the type of benefit and the beneficiary's legal position separately.
Secure the codicil, all earlier or later testamentary dispositions and their dates. Only a comparison of the complete wording shows whether the later document regulates succession or adds another testamentary disposition.
Separate whether the codicil gives a person a position in the estate or a share, or instead gives a specific asset or performance. Section 647 ABGB concerns being called as a legatee, but the concrete classification depends on the complete wording and the other dispositions.
If implementation is blocked, identify the benefit, the information sought and the addressee first. Whether the request belongs to an heir, a legacy debtor or another procedural participant cannot be inferred from a shortened label for the codicil.
Section 552 ABGB describes a testamentary disposition and distinguishes regulating succession from other testamentary dispositions, including legacies, conditions and the appointment of an executor. A codicil must therefore be read in the context of the specific disposition.
Section 647 ABGB governs being called as a legatee. Whether a benefit is a legacy or an heir appointment cannot be decided from the heading alone. The wording, context, asset or share and the person expected to perform are relevant.
Place the codicil in its most reliable available form next to every will and other testamentary disposition. Note the dates, later additions, revocations or conflicts and mark the wording on which the alleged benefit is based.
For the further review, add the probate file, correspondence from the court commissioner, the estate inventory and records concerning the asset or performance. Account records, valuations or possession evidence can help define a monetary or item-specific benefit precisely.
Prepare a short classification first: who is said to be an heir, who receives an individual asset or performance, and which passage of the codicil supports that view? Add the current probate stage and any statements already made by the parties.
A letter should then identify the requested clarification or performance, the relevant document and the proper addressee. This keeps clear whether the issue is heirship, interpretation, information or fulfilment of a legacy.
In inheritance law, deadlines and evidence decide. Call us directly or send an email, callback within one business day.
Address
BRANDAUER Rechtsanwälte GmbH Giselakai 51 5020 Salzburg
Phone
+43 662 6280000