Free PDF checklist for heirs living abroad
The first 90 days after inheriting German property.
Written by licensed German property managers (§34c GewO) for heirs who live outside Germany. It is the same sequence we work through with clients: what to secure immediately, which documents to request and from whom, which deadlines are real, and how to compare keeping, renovating or selling with actual numbers.
Tell us where to send it and the full four-phase checklist arrives as a print-ready PDF with tick boxes. We are not a law or tax advisory firm — where a step needs an attorney or a German tax advisor, we say so.
Inside the checklist
Four phases, in the order they actually happen.
Some items overlap. If you are further along than day one, start at the phase that matches your situation.
- Days 1–14
Secure the property and stop the clock
Before any decision about keeping or selling, make sure nothing deteriorates and no deadline passes unanswered.
7 checklist items
- Days 15–45
Rebuild the file
German property is only manageable once the paperwork exists. This is the part that usually stalls for years — it is mostly requests, in the right order.
8 checklist items
- Days 30–60
Get the ownership and tax side moving
Two separate tracks run in parallel: recording you as the owner, and meeting German and home-country tax obligations. Both need professionals — your job is to feed them clean information.
6 checklist items
- Days 60–90
Decide with real numbers, then set it up to run
By now you can compare paths honestly instead of guessing. Whatever you choose, the property should not depend on your attention week to week.
7 checklist items
All four phases — every individual step, with tick boxes — are in the PDF we email you. It is free, and you can unsubscribe from the monthly briefing with one click and keep the checklist.
What goes wrong
Four mistakes we see most often.
Waiting for the estate to be settled
Inheritance proceedings can take a year or more. The building does not pause: fees accrue, tenants have questions, and repairs get worse. The property can be stabilised long before the estate closes.
Ignoring the WEG administrator
For condominium units, most of the money and most of the deadlines run through the owners' association. Silence there is what turns a manageable inheritance into arrears and special levies.
Deciding to sell before the file exists
Without land register, service-charge and meeting records, you cannot price the unit properly and buyers will discount it. Assembling the file first is usually worth more than it costs.
Treating tax as one problem
German inheritance tax, German rental income tax, and your home-country reporting are three separate tracks with different deadlines. Each needs its own professional and its own document set.
FAQ
Questions about this checklist.
- Is this checklist really free?
- Yes. Enter your email and we send you the complete checklist as a formatted PDF at no cost, along with our monthly owner's briefing. You can unsubscribe from any issue with one click and keep the checklist.
- Do I need to travel to Germany in the first 90 days?
- Usually not. Almost every step here is a request, a written instruction, or a document. Someone does need to physically check the property, which is what a local licensed manager or a trusted person on the ground is for.
- How long do I have to accept or disclaim a German inheritance?
- The standard period is six weeks from learning of the inheritance, extended to six months if you were living abroad at the time. Because it is a legal decision with financial consequences, discuss it with a German attorney rather than relying on a checklist.
- Can Inveum do these steps for me?
- We do the property side: identifying the unit, rebuilding the document file, dealing with the WEG administrator and tenants, stabilising costs, and then managing it long term. We are not a law or tax advisory firm, so the Erbschein and tax filings stay with your attorney, accountant and German tax advisor — we prepare the documentation they work from.
Somewhere on this list you'll want someone in Germany.
Bring whatever you have — a letter, an address, a name. We'll tell you what it means and what is missing.