Inheritance Law2026-11-01

An acquaintance withdrew money from my late mother's account – can I get it back?

After a death, the bank statements show withdrawals made by a third party who held a power of attorney. When you, as an heir, can demand an account and repayment, who has to prove what, and which time limits are running.

You have your mother’s bank statements in front of you and you can see cash withdrawals you cannot account for – made by an acquaintance who held a power of attorney over the account. When you ask about them, you are told: it was all for your mother, or: she gave it to me as a gift. Whether you can recover that money turns not on the power of attorney, but on a different question altogether – and on evidence you should be securing right now.

In short

If the acquaintance was under a duty towards your mother to deal with the money in your mother’s interest, she must account for every withdrawal and hand back everything she did not use in accordance with instructions (§§ 666, 667 BGB). That claim forms part of the estate and passes to you on death (§ 1922 BGB). The power of attorney itself gives her no protection – it operated only in relation to the bank, not in relation to your mother. The decisive point is whether this internal relationship can be established; if it cannot, you are left with the harder route through the law of unjust enrichment (§ 812 BGB).

How I can help

Obtaining bank statements and transaction lists from the bank, including for the period before the death
Working out which legal basis your case actually fits – and what you would have to prove to rely on it
Demanding an account and supporting documents from the acquaintance, with a clear deadline
Checking limitation and, where necessary, suspending it by taking the right steps
A letter of demand, settlement negotiations or court proceedings – including on behalf of a community of heirs
Assessing whether a criminal complaint would help or harm your civil claim

Why the power of attorney is not the decisive question

A power of attorney over an account governs only the relationship with the bank: the bank was entitled to pay out, which is why you will usually have no claim against the bank itself. What the authorised person was allowed to do with the money sits on a different level – in her relationship with your mother.

If your mother gave her access to the money so that she could take care of things on her behalf – shopping, the pharmacy, bills, housekeeping money – then there is a mandate, that is, the gratuitous handling of someone else’s affairs (§ 662 BGB). Two duties flow from that, and they are what carry your case: the duty to give information and to render an account of how the task was carried out (§ 666 BGB), and the duty to hand over everything she received in order to carry it out and everything she obtained from it (§ 667 BGB). In plain terms: she gets to keep only what she can show she spent for your mother. The rest must be returned.

If, on the other hand, the relationship was a pure act of kindness with no legal obligation whatsoever – the helpful neighbour who “just” fetches some cash – that lever is missing. Then you are left with the enrichment route: what must be handed back is whatever she obtained without legal grounds at your mother’s expense (§ 812 BGB). On top of that, if she owed a duty to look after your mother’s assets and breached it, there may be a claim in damages for breach of a protective statute (§ 823 Abs. 2 BGB) in conjunction with the offence of embezzlement/breach of trust (§ 266 StGB). These routes are available, but they are considerably harder to run – and this is precisely where heirs come away empty-handed when they rely on “surely a power of attorney means misuse”.

Withdrawals made after the date of death are a point in their own right. A power of attorney does not end automatically on death; whether it lapses depends on the underlying legal relationship, and it can be revoked at any time (§ 168 BGB). As the heir you step into your mother’s position and can revoke it – in writing, both to the bank and to the authorised person. That should be the first thing you do, not the last.

Burden of proof and time limits – this is where the case is won or lost

You must first establish two things: that money left the account and reached the acquaintance, and that there was a relationship of mandate or management of affairs between her and your mother. The first follows from the bank statements. For the second, everything that documents daily life counts: the power-of-attorney document and its purpose, care contracts, notes left by your mother, receipts, messages, witnesses from the family circle.

Once that relationship is established, the position shifts: it is then generally for the authorised person to set out and prove that she used the money in accordance with instructions – or that it was a gift. The gift is her defence to raise, not your problem. Where no mandate can be shown, you must set out that there were no legal grounds, and that is far more laborious where a gift between people who trusted one another is being asserted.

As to time: the standard limitation period of three years applies (§ 195 BGB). It begins at the end of the year in which the claim arose and in which the creditor became aware, or without gross negligence ought to have become aware, of the circumstances giving rise to the claim and of the identity of the debtor (§ 199 Abs. 1 BGB). In practical terms: if you learn of the withdrawals in the year of the death, the period runs until 31 December three years later. If your mother already knew during her lifetime, the clock may have started earlier. Independently of any knowledge, long-stop periods of ten years from the point the claim arose apply (§ 199 Abs. 3 Nr. 1, Abs. 4 BGB) – very old withdrawals are therefore usually no longer enforceable. One important point: a solicitor’s letter on its own does not stop limitation. For that you need negotiations that can be evidenced as such, a court order for payment (Mahnbescheid), or a claim form.

The sequence – in this order

Proof of heirship and revocation. A certificate of inheritance (Erbschein) or a notarial will with the record of its opening; revoke the power of attorney; have the account blocked.
Information from the bank. As the heir you have stepped into the contractual relationship and can demand transaction lists and copies of vouchers, including for the period before the death; banking secrecy does not apply as against you. The bank may charge a fee for older searches. Do this early – at some point old records simply can no longer be obtained.
Demand an account. Not a vague question, but an ordered statement of every withdrawal with date, amount, use and supporting document, and a clear deadline.
Reconcile and quantify. What has been evidenced and plausibly spent for your mother, and what has not?
A letter of demand with a deadline – once the debtor is in default, interest is added.
Court proceedings, if necessary as a staged claim (Stufenklage): first information, then payment. Jurisdiction lies with the general court for the defendant’s place of residence; depending on the amount, this is the local court (Amtsgericht) or the regional court (Landgericht).

If there is more than one of you, there is a particular rule on which claims come to grief: the claim belongs to the community of heirs. The debtor can only pay to all the heirs jointly, and each co-heir can only demand performance to all of them (§ 2039 BGB). So you may proceed on your own – but only with an application for payment to the community of heirs, not to you personally.

A typical case

A woman in her mid-eighties lives alone. A long-standing acquaintance helps with the shopping and is given a power of attorney over the account for that purpose. After the death, the son finds over thirty cash withdrawals in the statements for a 20-month period, plus four transfers to the acquaintance’s own account marked “expenses”. The acquaintance explains that everything was either spent or a gift.

When asked, she produces till receipts for groceries and the pharmacy – part of the total is thereby accounted for. For the round sums withdrawn at the start of each month and for the transfers, there is no documentation. Because the power of attorney was expressly granted “for taking care of my affairs” and a carer can confirm that purpose, the mandate is established. It is therefore for the acquaintance to prove the gift she claims – and without any document, witness or recognisable occasion, that rarely succeeds. The negotiation is then about the undocumented part, not about the total sum.

Common mistakes

Treating the bank as the opponent. As long as the power of attorney was valid and no obvious misuse was apparent, the bank will usually have been right to pay out. The position can be different where funds were drawn after a revocation.
Telephoning first. Remarks such as “I’m sure Mum slipped you something now and then” resurface later as confirmation of a gift. Clarify the facts in writing.
Asking only for money, not for an account. The statement is your real lever – it forces the other side to commit before they know what you can prove.
Failing to revoke the power of attorney, so that funds continue to be drawn after the death.
Allowing yourself to be strung along. “We’ll find a solution” dragged out past the turn of the year can, in the worst case, cost you the entire claim.
Suing as a co-heir for payment to yourself – and losing on the wrong application even though the claim is good.
Waiting too long, until the money has been spent and there is nothing left to recover.

Frequently asked questions

Is the bank allowed to give me statements from before my mother died?

Yes. On death, the rights under the account contract pass to the heirs, and banking secrecy does not protect the deceased against her own heirs. You can demand transaction summaries and copies of individual vouchers, but you will need to produce proof of heirship, and for older periods you should budget for a fee.

The acquaintance says my mother gave her the money as a gift. Do I have to disprove that?

That depends on the legal basis. If it is established that she was to manage the money for your mother as an authorised person, the gift is her defence – and then she has to prove it. If no such relationship can be shown, the position reverses and you have to show that there were no legal grounds.

Was the power of attorney even still valid after my mother’s death?

In most cases, yes: a power of attorney over an account or a general power of attorney does not end automatically on death; whether it lapses depends on the underlying legal relationship, and it remains revocable (§ 168 BGB). As the heir you can revoke it immediately. Withdrawals made after the death that did not benefit the estate must nonetheless be accounted for to you.

Is a criminal complaint worth it?

It can make sense where a duty to safeguard someone’s assets has been breached – that is the territory of embezzlement/breach of trust (§ 266 StGB). One advantage is that the public prosecutor has investigative powers you do not have, and you can later inspect the file. It will not, however, get your money back, and criminal proceedings can block settlement talks. This decision should be taken after reviewing the statements, not before.

There are three of us siblings – can I act on my own?

Yes. Each co-heir can pursue an estate claim on their own, but must demand performance to all the heirs jointly (§ 2039 BGB). So you do not need your siblings’ agreement to demand an account and payment – only the right form of application.

Your next step

Put three things together: the bank statements for the last year before the death and the period afterwards, the power-of-attorney document, and your proof of heirship. From these alone it is usually possible to tell whether your case runs through the duty to render an account or through the law of unjust enrichment – and that decides your prospects of success more than any outrage over the withdrawals ever could. What to do next, I will set out with you in the right order under inheritance law: revoke the power of attorney, obtain the bank information, demand an account with a deadline, and secure the position on limitation.

Call me, or set out your case to me in writing. In an initial consultation I will tell you what I consider sound and what it will cost – under the Lawyers’ Remuneration Act (RVG), or through your legal expenses insurance, with which I will submit the request for cover on your behalf. I work throughout Germany, and we can have the conversation by video or telephone.

This article provides general information and is no substitute for an examination of your individual case.

This article provides general information and is no substitute for legal advice in an individual case. Last updated: 2026-11-01.

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

Tell me which withdrawals you see and who held the power of attorney – 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.