The Impact of Renouncing an Inheritance on Insurance Claims Federal Court of Justice, Order of July 23, 2025 - XII ZA 16/25
The Facts: Renunciation of the Inheritance and Statutory Heirs as Beneficiaries
In the case decided by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), all known statutory heirs, including the deceased’s children, had renounced the inheritance because the estate was insolvent.
The decedent, as the policyholder of an accident insurance policy, had named his “statutory heirs” as beneficiaries.
The estate administrator, who had been appointed to secure and manage the estate, had claimed the payment of the deceased’s accident insurance benefits on behalf of the estate.
The insurance company refused to pay the insurance proceeds to the estate administrator. The estate administrator then applied for the establishment of a guardianship for “unknown parties” in order to incorporate the claim for the insurance proceeds into the estate. The lower courts rejected this application.
The Federal Court of Justice’s Decision: Inheritance and Insurance Claims Are Separate
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) upheld the decisions of the lower courts and dismissed the estate administrator’s appeal.
The decision was based on the fact that there were no “unknown parties” in this case, since the beneficiaries were known and guardianship was therefore unnecessary.
The right to benefits under the accident insurance is an independent claim and does not form part of the estate. The decisive provision here is § 160(2) sentence 2 of the Insurance Contract Act (VVG), which clarifies that renouncing an inheritance has no effect on the entitlement under the insurance contract.
Consequently, the decedent’s children were the statutory heirs at the time of death and thus the beneficiaries of the insurance. They acquired this right upon the occurrence of the insured event and retain it even if they later renounce the inheritance.
Note
The ruling strengthens the rights of beneficiaries of insurance benefits. It confirms that inheritance and insurance claims are legally separate matters. Anyone who renounces an inheritance, for example to avoid liability for the decedent’s debts, need not fear that this will also result in the loss of the right to a contractually agreed benefit from a life or accident insurance policy.
The provision of § 160(2) sentence 2 VVG thus conflicts with the principle of inheritance law under § 1953 BGB, according to which renouncing an inheritance results in the inheritance being deemed retroactively never to have arisen.
The beneficiaries therefore have a direct claim against the insurer for payment of the insurance sum despite the renunciation.