Inheritance Law2026-10-09

The bank wants a certificate of inheritance for my late father's account – do I really have to apply for one?

The bank has frozen the account and keeps pointing to the certificate of inheritance. Whether that is legally required, or whether a will or a power of attorney will do, is what I explain here.

Your father has died. There is money in the account that you need for the funeral, for ongoing bills, or simply to wind up the estate. All the bank will say is: “Nothing can happen here without a certificate of inheritance.” Whether that is true depends on what you are already able to show the bank. It also turns out to depend on whether the bank is even entitled to insist on this in the first place.

In short

No, a certificate of inheritance is not needed in every case. Where there is a notarial will or a contract of inheritance together with the court’s record of its opening, the bank generally has to accept that. The condition is that the succession follows clearly from those documents. A clause in the bank’s standard terms that always demands a certificate of inheritance without exception is likely to be invalid. The position is different with a private, handwritten will, with statutory succession involving several heirs, or where there is any doubt about who inherits. In those cases a certificate of inheritance is, in practice, hard to avoid. And one more point: if your father had given you a power of attorney that remained valid beyond his death, you may not need any proof of inheritance at all – only that power of attorney.

How I can help

Checking which documents you already have (will, power of attorney, contract of inheritance) and whether the succession follows clearly from them
Assessing whether the particular bank clause rests on a valid or an invalid standard-terms provision
Drafting a letter to the bank setting a deadline, where a certificate of inheritance can be dispensed with in your case
Clarifying whether an existing power of attorney is sufficient, or where it reaches its limits
Guiding you through the application for a certificate of inheritance, if in the end it cannot be avoided after all (on which see my article in detail on the certificate of inheritance at the probate court)

Why the bank wants a certificate of inheritance at all

This is not pure formalism. On death, your father’s assets pass to the heirs automatically and without any application at all. The certificate of inheritance is merely a means of proving this; it is not a legal act that creates the status of heir in the first place. For the bank, however, it is more than just proof. If it pays out to the person named in the certificate, it is protected in doing so. That holds even if the certificate later turns out to be wrong. The bank loses that protection only if it knew the certificate was incorrect. The same applies if the probate court has already called the certificate in because it is incorrect. This protection of good faith is the real reason banks cling to the certificate of inheritance. It removes their risk of paying out to the wrong person and having to answer for it themselves.

When the bank may not fall back on the certificate of inheritance

That very risk of liability does not arise where the succession already follows clearly from another public document. Under section 35(1) of the German Land Register Code (GBO), the land registry may, by way of exception, also treat the succession as proven by a notarial will or a contract of inheritance together with the court’s record of its opening. In that case it does not require a certificate of inheritance. Only where it has doubts of its own about the succession does the requirement of a certificate remain. This relaxation applies directly only to the land registry. Applied to the bank, however, it means the following: a standard-terms clause that always demands a certificate of inheritance regardless of the individual case places the customer at an unreasonable disadvantage. That is so even where the succession is already established by a notarial will with a record of its opening. Such a clause is likely to be invalid under section 307(1) and (2) of the German Civil Code (BGB). What matters here is that the will was drawn up before a notary, or at least officially held in safekeeping and opened. Only then is the public document present that is decisive.

When a certificate of inheritance is still needed

Several situations do not allow this relaxation:

Private, handwritten will: Even with a record of its opening, this is not a public document. When opening the will, the probate court checks only formal matters, not the substantive validity or interpretation of the will. Banks may insist on a certificate of inheritance here.
Statutory succession with several heirs: Without a will, it has to be established who actually inherits and in what shares. The bank cannot reliably judge this from its own records.
Doubt or dispute: Several wills, a possible revocation, a challenge by other relatives, or simply disagreement between the heirs: as soon as the succession is no longer clear, even a co-operative bank needs the certificate of inheritance. That is the only way it avoids the charge of having paid out wrongly.
Dispositions affecting the land register: If a property from the estate is to be sold or re-registered, the land registry in these cases will regularly require a certificate of inheritance or a European Certificate of Succession in any event.

The power of attorney as an often-overlooked alternative

If your father had given you a transmortal power of attorney (valid for the event of death from the outset) or a postmortal one (taking effect only on death), that can do away with the whole dispute with the bank. The underlying mandate behind such a power of attorney does not, in case of doubt, come to an end by law on the death of the person who granted it. The power of attorney therefore continues to have effect in principle, provided it was drawn up accordingly. With the original of this power of attorney you can often still deal with the account without the bank being entitled to demand any proof of inheritance. There are, however, two things to keep in mind. First, the bank will itself check the power of attorney for validity and scope. A power that is worded too generally or is obviously out of date will not be accepted by it as a matter of course. Second, the power of attorney does not make you an heir. If you deal with the account beyond the scope of the power, or to the detriment of the other heirs, you may face claims for compensation from the community of heirs.

A typical case

A client presents his late father’s bank with a notarial will together with the record of its opening, clearly naming him as sole heir. The bank points to its standard terms, under which “as a rule a certificate of inheritance must be produced” for any dealing with an estate account, and freezes the account. In a case like this, a short, pointed letter is worthwhile. It refers to the clear evidential position, to the reasoning behind section 35(1) GBO, and to the invalidity of a blanket certificate-of-inheritance clause under section 307 BGB – coupled with a deadline for releasing the account. In such clear-cut cases banks often give way, because their own risk of liability is slight in any event. If the bank nonetheless digs in, all that helps is weighing up the individual case. Despite the cost and the waiting time at the probate court, the certificate of inheritance is sometimes the quicker route in the end – for instance where ongoing payments from the account urgently need to continue.

Common mistakes

A certificate of inheritance is often applied for as a precaution, without first checking whether a notarial will with a record of its opening would suffice anyway. This costs time and money unnecessarily.
The bank’s standard terms are accepted as immovable, without the particular clause and the particular proof being weighed against each other.
An existing transmortal power of attorney is overlooked because people head straight for the probate court.
In a community of heirs, one co-heir deals with the account alone without the shares of the other heirs being clarified. This almost always leads to dispute.
Only a copy of the will is produced, even though the bank is entitled to require the original or the certified copy together with the record of its opening.

Frequently asked questions

Will a plain copy of the will be enough for the bank?

As a rule, no. Banks usually require the copy of the will issued by the probate court together with the record of its opening, not a copy you have made yourself.

What is the position where there is only a private, handwritten will?

Then the public document on which the relaxation relies is missing. In this case a certificate of inheritance is regularly required, even if the will is clear in its content.

Can I force the bank to pay out without a certificate of inheritance?

Where the succession follows clearly from a notarial will with a record of its opening, this can be achieved by relying on section 307 BGB and a solicitor’s letter. If the bank remains unmoved, the final step is to have the matter settled in court – though in practice a well-founded letter is usually enough.

Does a power of attorney lapse automatically on death?

No. In case of doubt, the underlying mandate does not come to an end by law on the death of the person who granted it. Whether a particular power of attorney does in fact remain valid beyond death, however, depends on how it is worded and should be checked in the original.

What if there are several heirs and they do not all agree?

Then the bank will almost always insist on the certificate of inheritance, because otherwise it cannot be sure to whom, and in what share, it may pay out. Here even the clearest of wills does not help if there is a dispute about its validity or interpretation.

Your next step

Before you invest time and money in an application for a certificate of inheritance, it is worth taking a close look at the documents you already have. These include the will, the record of its opening, and any power of attorney. Often the bank’s blockade can be resolved with the right letter, without the probate court having to be involved at all. I will go through the documents with you, assess the prospects of success against the bank, and, if needed, also take on the application for the certificate of inheritance for you. Do get in touch with me about this through inheritance law.

This article provides general information and is no substitute for legal advice in an individual case. Last updated: 2026-10-09.

Christian Czirnich, Rechtsanwalt (attorney at law), Kirchseeon near Munich

Tell me what the bank is asking for and whether there's a will – I will take a look.

I read every message myself and usually reply on the next working day. What you write to me is covered by legal professional privilege from the first word, even if no engagement comes about. The initial assessment is free of charge.