If you want to be in a good mood, look to Lower Saxony. Not per se, of course, there is still Hanover, some may object. But these days, the country of flatland cyclists offers an opportunity to take a deep breath and is working on its reputation as an underestimated region. The Higher Regional Court in Oldenburg announced on Wednesday: A will is also valid if it is only written down on a pub notepad. And in such brief words: “Rosi gets everything”. The good news is linked to death, and it doesn’t get much more comforting than that.
The fact that it’s easy is a rarity in this country, as bureaucracy eats its way through all areas. That’s why entrepreneurs shy away from investing, and who can blame them with stories like this: At a festival in Esslingen, for example, only arbors that could withstand heavy snow loads were once allowed to be used – mind you, at a summer festival. The Regulatory Control Council recently found that things are getting worse: the costs and time required to comply with regulations are at record levels in Germany. The nation is overflowing with approvals, reports and paragraphs. But if you want to pass on your money, all you have to do is leave a simple, handwritten verse with a date and signature. Famous.
The background for the decision in Oldenburg was a will from an innkeeper from East Frisia, of course: East Frisians keep things short. The innkeeper had bequeathed his fortune to his partner with the date and signature in the brief formula “gets everything”. The court did not disclose the specific nickname, so it could have been Elli, Bienchen or Moni. The heiress in question finally found the deceased’s note behind the counter and went to the local court in Westerstede to apply for the certificate of inheritance. However, she dismissed the idea: It was not possible to determine with certainty that the notepad was actually intended to be used to make a will. The necessary “testamentary will” is missing.
The Higher Regional Court now saw things differently; a look at the Civil Code also helps, as it does not define a specific surface. And that’s good news for everyone: judging content from form is inappropriate. Waiter’s blocks are also capable of being extremely serious, and bargoers know that anyway. The court confirmed through witness statements that the nickname only applied to the innkeeper’s partner. In addition, the innkeeper often kept important documents behind the counter, which all made a coherent picture.
The decision allows conclusions to be drawn for more creative types of wills, and it was of course not the first time that someone did not use elegant A4 paper to write them down. The Cologne District Court once decided that a table top could also be a suitable document. At that time, a man had named a sole heir with felt writing on a wooden table. She still didn’t get any money later: the signature was missing. There has to be that much form.