The seller has produced a grant of probate (Erbschein). While your purchase is still being completed, you receive a message about a possibly different succession. Perhaps the probate court is said to have already requested the return of the grant of probate. You now need a concrete legal assessment of the new information and of the steps towards completion that have actually been taken.
Record the new message precisely
Our editorial recommendation: keep the complete communication showing receipt, sender and any attached documents. Distinguish a mere family conjecture from a submitted court letter. Report what you have actually been told; do not supplement with your own asserted succession based on isolated clues.
Promptly forward the facts to the notary handling the purchase and, if necessary, to your own legal adviser. This includes the grant of probate used, your purchase documents and the known status of completion. An unpleasant message does not become meaningless because you postpone reading it in full.
Understand which legal presumption is affected
§2365 BGB governs the presumption of the inheritance right stated in the grant of probate and any restrictions indicated there. [VERMUTUNG] If it becomes apparent that a granted grant of probate is incorrect, the probate court must withdraw it under §2361; upon withdrawal it becomes void. [EINZIEHUNG]
This article does not declare your specific grant of probate to be correct or incorrect. However, these fundamentals explain why an earlier produced document should not be treated independently of a court proceeding that has since come to light.
Have protection of good faith assessed against the actual course of events
§2366 contains rules on the public faith of the grant of probate for the transfers of rights covered there. The provision expressly names limits where the acquirer knows of the inaccuracy or is aware that the probate court has requested return because of the inaccuracy. [KENNTNIS]
Therefore, mere possession of an old copy does not, by itself, create an acquisition guarantee confirmed by this article. Have the content, origin and timing of the information examined together with the steps already completed and those still outstanding. Conversely, a mere presumption of succession is not by its communication alone converted into an established inaccuracy. That very distinction requires professional assessment.
Hypothetical case: a letter arrives during completion
A buyer is awaiting further completion steps. An involved person sends him a letter that is said to concern the reclamation of the grant of probate used. The seller believes the purchase has been signed and therefore considers the message irrelevant.
The buyer secures the documents and submits them to the notary with the actual date of receipt. He asks for clarification of the document’s contents, the current status of completion and the consequences for any outstanding actions. The example does not establish any particular succession nor any already effective acquisition in good faith. It shows why the new notice should neither be ignored nor treated independently as a conclusive court result.
Allocate further steps explicitly
§35 GBO governs proof of succession vis-à-vis the land registry office including statutory alternatives. [NACHWEIS] Which current proofs suffice for your case will be determined by the competent procedure. A general guide to estate sale does not replace this assessment where a newly arisen dispute exists.
Have it explained which obligations already declared remain in force, which checks are still outstanding and how payments, applications or the schedule should lawfully proceed. This article does not constitute a declaration of withdrawal and does not recommend unilaterally withholding payment. Keep the clarified outcome with its actual scope. A completed advisory meeting is only a reliable working basis once it is clear to which information and which stage of completion it related.