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If you want to ensure that your disposition of property upon death (for example, your will) is found and opened in the event of inheritance, you can place it in special official safekeeping. This also protects your testamentary disposition from forgery or loss.

If your testamentary disposition is notarized by a notary public (notarial deed), this person will arrange for the special official safekeeping.

In the case of privately written (handwritten) wills, you can personally place them in special official custody at the local court.

Notaries and custodial courts register dispositions of death electronically in the Central Register of Wills. The Central Register of Wills contains custody details of wills, inheritance contracts and other documents relevant to succession. In the event of death, the competent probate court and the custodian are automatically informed of the death and the registration. Probate courts can also check the register of wills to see whether a disposition of property upon death is in official custody.

Contents of dispositions of death are not shown in the register of wills, but are kept sealed at the district court.

You do not have to take any special action to register in the register of wills. Depositories are required by law to register. However, this does not apply to privately written wills that are not kept in official custody. These cannot be recorded in the Central Register of Wills.

• Request by the testator to the district court that his disposition of death be placed in special official custody.

• the disposition of death to be deposited (for example, will)
• Birth certificate
• Identity card

A fee of EUR 75.00 is charged for depositing a will with the court.

The fee charged by the Federal Chamber of Notaries for registration in the Central Register of Wills is 12.50 EUR. If the fee is charged directly by the register authority to the party liable for costs, it amounts to EUR 15.50.

If you wish to deposit a disposition of property upon death yourself, it is advisable to proceed as follows:

• Please contact the probate court responsible for you or a notary public and arrange an appointment.
• In addition to the testamentary disposition, bring your birth certificate and your identity card with you to the appointment.
• Once the deposit has been made, you will receive a certificate of deposit as proof that the deposit has taken place.
• Later, you will receive an invoice for court costs.
• Details of your testamentary disposition are automatically deposited online in the register of wills by the court or the notary.

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• §§346, 347 of the Act on Proceedings in Family Matters and in Matters of Voluntary Jurisdiction (FamFG)
• § 2248 German Civil Code (BGB)
• Section 344 of the Act on Proceedings in Family Matters and in Matters of Voluntary Jurisdiction (FamFG)

In certain cases, special official safekeeping is also arranged by a third party if you so wish, for example when a notarized will or inheritance contract is drawn up. The notary will then ensure that the document is placed in special official custody.

Federal Ministry of Justice (BMJ)