Inheritance Law2026-09-18

The Heir Puts the House Too Low – How Is the Property Valued for the Compulsory Share?

The heir has given you a house value that strikes you as too low? You don't have to accept it – you have a legal right to an impartial valuation, and the cost falls to the estate.

The heir tells you the inherited house is “only” worth 250,000 euros – yet the market value feels considerably higher to you. Perhaps they are relying on an outdated assessed value (Einheitswert), a tax notice, or simply their own opinion. For your compulsory share, that difference matters a great deal. And it is a figure you do not simply have to accept.

In brief

For the compulsory share, only the open-market value (Verkehrswert) of the property at the date of death of the deceased counts. The assessed value (Einheitswert), a tax value, a purchase price from years ago, or the heir’s own opinion are not decisive. As a person entitled to the compulsory share, you have an independent right to a valuation by an impartial expert – at the expense of the estate, not your own. If the heir refuses, this right can, if necessary, be enforced through the courts.

How I can help you

Checking whether the value the heir has given actually holds up, or whether you need not accept it
Asserting the right to a formal expert valuation against the heir
Selecting or vetting the valuer and testing any valuation put forward for plausibility
Enforcement through the courts by way of a staged claim (Stufenklage) where the heir refuses or delays
Negotiating with the heir or their solicitor to avoid a costly court action wherever possible

Which value counts – and which does not

Under § 2311 BGB, the compulsory share is calculated by reference to the composition and value of the estate “at the time of the inheritance”. What matters, then, is the open-market value precisely as at the date of death – not the value at a later division or on any eventual sale. The statute also states expressly that a valuation made by the deceased themselves is not binding. It follows all the more that the heir’s own opinion carries no weight.

In practice this means the following figures are, on their own, no reliable proof – even though heirs are fond of relying on them:

The assessed value (Einheitswert) or the property-tax value – these tax-based figures are routinely well below the actual market value. They serve taxation only, not the calculation of the compulsory share.
An old purchase price – what the family paid 20 or 30 years ago says nothing about the value at the date of death.
A later sale price – if the house is not sold until months or years after the inheritance, the price achieved is at best an indication. Because of intervening market movements or renovations, it is not automatically the decisive value.
An informal estate agent’s estimate – a non-binding “market value” from an agent is no substitute for a proper valuation. It can, however, serve as an initial guide as to whether a challenge is worthwhile at all.

What is decisive instead is the open-market value. An expert determines this using the recognised valuation methods – depending on the property, the comparative-value, the income-value, or the asset-value method. For owner-occupied detached and semi-detached houses the comparative or asset-value method usually applies; for let properties, frequently the income-value method.

The right to an impartial valuation

If, as a person entitled to the compulsory share, you are not yourself an heir, you have a right against the heir to information about the composition of the estate. Beyond mere information, § 2314 (1) sentence 2 BGB grants you a further right. You can require the value of the estate assets – and therefore of the property – to be determined by an expert. What matters for you:

The valuer must be impartial. It is not enough for the heir to instruct some acquaintance or “their” estate agent. The point is a neutral, expert assessment – in practice usually a publicly appointed and sworn expert for property valuation.
The cost falls to the estate, not to you personally. You therefore do not have to fund a counter-valuation out of your own pocket in order to enforce your right. The statute expressly places the cost on the estate.
A valuation obtained by the heir alone is not proof against you. If the heir produces a self-commissioned valuation that comes out conveniently low, you are not bound by it. You can still insist on an independent, impartial procedure.

Value-reducing encumbrances that genuinely burden the property affect the open-market value and must be taken into account in the valuation. Examples are a usufruct (Nießbrauch) entered in the land register, or a right of residence in favour of a third party. A merely asserted “right of residence” that is not registered, by contrast, does not automatically reduce the value.

How to enforce the right

Request the heir’s stated value and question it. Ask in writing on what basis the stated value rests. Often it becomes clear at this very stage that there is no proper valuation at all.
Assert the right to an expert valuation. Call on the heir, setting a deadline, to commission a proper open-market valuation. Alternatively, they may accept the instruction of an impartial expert nominated by you.
If they refuse: a staged claim. If the heir does not respond or refuses to cooperate, the right can be enforced through the courts. This is typically done by way of a staged claim (Stufenklage), which combines information, valuation, and finally the quantified payment of the compulsory share in a single set of proceedings. The court can itself obtain a valuation where the parties cannot agree on an expert.
Check the valuation. Once the valuation is to hand, it should be tested for plausibility. Check, for instance, whether location, condition, floor area, and valuation method are set out in a way that can be followed.

This enforcement through the courts is the final stage of a staged claim. Its first stage – the right to information itself – is described in the foundational article on enforcing the compulsory share.

A typical case from practice

A daughter is disinherited by her father’s will; her brother inherits the family home outright. The brother quotes her a value of 250,000 euros, relying on the old property-tax value from the tax office. The daughter does not accept this, as comparable houses in the street change hands for considerably more. Through her solicitor, she calls on the brother to obtain an open-market valuation from an impartial expert, the cost to be borne by the estate. After some initial hesitation, the brother instructs a publicly appointed expert. The valuation arrives at an open-market value of 420,000 euros as at the date of death. The daughter’s compulsory share comes out correspondingly higher than she was first told.

Common mistakes

Accepting the heir’s stated value. Anyone who takes the quoted figure at face value may give away a substantial part of their compulsory share.
Commissioning a valuation at your own expense, instead of asserting the statutory right to a valuation at the estate’s cost.
Treating the assessed value or property-tax value as decisive simply because it appears in the heir’s papers or those of the tax office.
Waiting too long. Even though the valuation itself is not subject to any separate short deadline, the limitation period for the compulsory share claim continues to run in parallel – on which the foundational article goes into detail.
Settling for a compromise figure “somewhere in the middle”, rather than insisting on a valuation that is coherent and methodically sound.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to accept the property value the heir has given?

No. You have an independent statutory right to have the value determined by an impartial expert. You are not obliged to settle for a one-sided estimate from the heir.

Who decides which expert prepares the valuation?

The statute requires an impartial expert. In practice, the parties ideally agree on a publicly appointed and sworn expert for property valuation. If no agreement can be reached, the choice can be made in the course of court proceedings.

Who bears the cost of the valuation?

The cost falls to the estate, not to you personally. You therefore do not have to pay up front in order to enforce your right to have the value determined.

Does the price the heir later achieves on selling the house count?

It can be an indication, but it is not automatically binding. For the compulsory share, the value at the date of death is decisive, and the market or the condition of the property may have changed by the time of a later sale.

What if the heir refuses to cooperate in the valuation?

Then the right can be enforced through the courts. This is usually done by way of a staged claim (Stufenklage), which bundles information, valuation, and the subsequent payment of the compulsory share into a single set of proceedings.

Your next step

If the house value you have been given strikes you as too low, you should not simply hope for an amicable settlement. Instead, actively assert your right to an impartial valuation. The sooner you do so, the better the matter can still be resolved out of court. I will review the documents you have, request the valuation on your behalf, and enforce the right through the courts if necessary. You can find out more about your rights concerning the compulsory share in the inheritance law section.

The next part of this series looks at gifts the deceased made during their lifetime. I will show how these affect your share through the claim to supplement the compulsory share (Pflichtteilsergänzungsanspruch).

This article provides general information and is no substitute for legal advice in an individual case. Last updated: 2026-09-18.

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

Tell me what value the heir named and what it's based on – I will look into it.

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.