Inheritance Law2026-10-07

I cared for Mum for years – am I entitled to more of the estate than my siblings?

If you have cared for a parent over many years, you can claim compensation when the estate is divided – but not automatically. What the law says and how to prove your claim.

You took on the weekends, the trips to the doctor, the sleepless nights, year after year. Your siblings, meanwhile, lived a two-hour drive away. Now your mother has died. And one question keeps running through your mind: does any of this count for something, or will the heirs simply split everything down the middle? This is a question I hear more and more often at the firm. As life expectancy rises, more and more families in and around the Ebersberg district and the Rosenheim area find adult children taking on the care of their parents themselves – often over many years.

In brief

Yes, the law does recognise care work. But it applies only under certain conditions and only between children (and their descendants) – not automatically in every family situation. The legal basis is § 2057a BGB. Anyone who has cared for a parent over a longer period can claim compensation from their siblings when the estate is divided. The court assesses this compensation according to the duration and extent of the care and the value of the estate. The claim does not automatically become a cash payment. It only takes effect when the estate is distributed. A will can also exclude it.

How I can help you

Checking whether your case gives rise to a compensation claim under § 2057a BGB at all
Quantifying the compensation and either enforcing it against the co-heirs or defending against it
Documenting and evidencing care work so that it holds up in court
Checking whether an existing will has already excluded the compensation or dealt with it differently
Clarifying how this links to your compulsory share, if you have been disinherited

Who is actually entitled to compensation

§ 2057a BGB applies expressly only to descendants of the deceased – that is, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A surviving spouse cannot rely on it, even if he or she bore the main burden of care. Different compensation mechanisms apply there, within the law of spousal inheritance. So if only you and your siblings have inherited as children, you are in the right framework.

The claim also requires that the children’s shares of the estate follow the statutory order of succession. This is also the case where a will essentially adopts that order of succession. Sometimes, though, a will sets out expressly who is to receive what, without reference to the statutory inheritance quotas. Such a provision generally takes precedence. The compensation under § 2057a BGB may then be displaced in whole or in part. The first thing I check in every matter is therefore: is there a will, and what exactly does it provide for?

What kind of care actually counts

The law requires care “over a longer period”. The wording does not set a fixed minimum duration such as “at least two years”. What matters is an overall assessment: how long, how intensively and how regularly did you look after your mother? In my experience, a handful of weekend visits is not enough. Substantial care provided over many years – basic personal care, dealing with the authorities, accompanying her to the doctor or running the household – is more likely to qualify. The care level (Pflegegrad) assigned to your mother is an important factor here, but not the only one. You may well have provided significant, compensable care even at a lower care level.

There is no claim to the extent that you have already received appropriate payment for the care. That includes ongoing care allowance (Pflegegeld) that you were entitled to keep, as well as payment agreed by contract with your mother. The law is not intended to create double compensation.

How the compensation is calculated

There is no fixed formula, but rather a standard of fairness. The court – or, ideally, the heirs themselves – assesses the compensation according to the duration and extent of the care and the value of the estate. In essence, the calculation runs as follows:

First, the court or the heirs determine an appropriate compensation figure for the care provided. A useful benchmark is what a professional carer would have cost for comparable services. What the estate can bear also counts here: a small estate cannot support compensation equal to several years of professional care costs.
§ 2057a (4) BGB then takes this figure into account when dividing the estate, in favour of the caring child: it is deducted from the value of the estate up front. Only the remainder is then divided among all the descendants according to their inheritance quotas. The compensation figure itself is afterwards added solely to the share of the caring child.
The result is that the caring child receives more than the arithmetical per-head share, and the others correspondingly less. There is no separate payout for this. Instead, the figure feeds into the distribution of the estate assets, or into the payout owed when the estate is settled.

Important: you do not bring a standalone claim for this. It only takes effect in the course of settling the estate under § 2042 BGB. So you cannot enforce it in advance as a monetary claim against one of your siblings. It forms part of the negotiations over how the entire estate is to be distributed.

If your mother passed you over in her will despite your care, or left you only a small share, you still have the route of the compulsory share (Pflichtteil). Here, too, the care pays off. § 2316 BGB requires a descendant’s compulsory share to be calculated as if the statutory order of succession, with all its compensation obligations, had applied. In other words: your care compensation increases your notional statutory share. And in doing so it also increases the basis on which your compulsory share is calculated. So the care pays off twice over – in the inheritance quota and in the compulsory share.

A typical case from practice

Three siblings, the mother has died, no will. The daughter ran her mother’s household and drove her to doctors’ appointments for the last six years of her mother’s life. In the final year the mother was assigned care level 3 (Pflegegrad 3). From that point the daughter largely took on the basic personal care as well. The two brothers live further away. They had little contact and no caring responsibilities. Without compensation, each child would receive a third of the estate. The daughter can evidence her care: with a care diary, the care fund’s assessment notices and her own calendar entries. A compensation figure can therefore be quantified. It lifts her share well above a third. The brothers receive correspondingly less.

Common mistakes

Clients often assume the compensation is a separate, immediately enforceable cash claim. In fact it only takes effect when the estate is settled.
Many only estimate the time spent caring years later, from memory and in rough terms. Without contemporaneous records, there is no evidence in the event of a dispute.
Some clients fail to mention care allowance they received, or payment from the parent, even though this can reduce or exclude the compensation claim. It comes to light at the latest when the estate is settled, and it damages your own credibility.
Some do not check an existing will at all to see whether it already excludes the compensation or deals with it differently. The parties then argue over a claim that no longer exists in that form.

Frequently asked questions

Does the care compensation also apply if my spouse cared for my mother?

No. § 2057a BGB applies expressly only to descendants of the deceased, that is, to children and grandchildren. If your spouse took on the care, this can at most become relevant by other routes – for example through a payment agreement made with the deceased during their lifetime. It does not run through the compensation claim between siblings.

Do I have to have cared for a minimum number of years?

The law does not set a fixed minimum duration; it speaks of care “over a longer period”. What matters is an overall assessment of the duration, intensity and regularity of the care in relation to the need for care. The shorter and more sporadic the support, the harder it is to establish a claim.

Could my mother have excluded the care compensation in her will?

Yes. The care compensation essentially shapes the statutory order of succession. A clear provision in a will can therefore displace it. That is why, in every matter, I first check whether and how an existing will deals with the shares of the estate. Only then do I quantify the compensation claim.

What applies if I received money from my mother for the care?

To the extent that you have already received appropriate payment for your care work, the compensation claim is extinguished to that extent. The law is not intended to provide double compensation. A small allowance for expenses, or care allowance from the care fund that was passed on to you, I review on a case-by-case basis. It does not necessarily rule out a (partial) compensation.

How do I prove the care work in the event of a dispute?

Helpful evidence includes a care diary kept at the time, the care fund’s notices assigning the care level, medical certificates, mileage logs, and statements from neighbours, GPs or the care service. The more specific and contemporaneous the documentation, the easier it is to enforce the compensation figure against your siblings.

Your next step

Whether, and how much, care compensation you are entitled to depends on the detail. The precise care situation, any will and the make-up of the estate are all decisive. Bring whatever evidence you have to the first meeting: a care diary, the assessment notices, any will. I will discuss with you how your claim can be quantified. I will also show you how to enforce it against your siblings, or how to secure it in advance should the question of inheritance arise. You can find more on claims relating to inheritance, the compulsory share and estates in the Inheritance law section.

This article provides general information and is no substitute for legal advice in an individual case. Last updated: 2026-10-07.

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

Tell me how long and how intensively you cared for your mother – I will look into it.

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