German Erbrecht and Digital Assets: What Inheritance Law Actually Covers

German Law Meets Digital Life

You've lived in Berlin for eight years. You have a thriving freelance business, a crypto portfolio, and ten years of family photos locked in Google Drive. You also have a will (Testament)—carefully drafted by a German Rechtsanwalt according to German inheritance law.

But here's the problem: that will was written assuming your assets are tangible. A house. A bank account. A business on paper.

Your digital life—the one that might be worth more than your physical assets—barely registers in Erbrecht (German inheritance law). And if something happens to you, your Erben (heirs) will be trapped trying to figure out what happens to your online accounts, your domain names, your cryptocurrency, and your digital business.

This is the reality for tens of thousands of expats in Germany.

What is Erbrecht (German Inheritance Law)?

German inheritance law is one of Europe's most codified systems. It's governed primarily by the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB), the German civil code, which treats inheritance as a detailed transfer of property and rights.

The key principle is Universalsukzession—universal succession. When you die, everything in your Nachlass (estate) passes to your Erben. This is comprehensive and protective, which is why Erbrecht has survived for centuries.

But here's the catch: The BGB was written in 1896. It defines Nachlass as tangible property, financial accounts, real estate, and contractual rights. It does not explicitly mention:

• Cloud accounts and data
• Digital subscriptions
• Social media profiles
• Cryptocurrency
• Domains and intellectual property stored online
• Digital businesses (Shopify, Stripe, SaaS)

When you die in Germany, a court will technically apply Erbrecht to your digital assets—but the law is silent on how.

The German Court's Dilemma: Gmail and the BGB

Here's a real scenario: You die in Munich. Your Erben hire a notary (Notar) to process your will. The notary requests access to your Gmail account, which you used for business. Google says no—your heirs need the death certificate, probate documents, and a formal legal request in English, processed by their legal department in California.

Three months pass. Your business email is inaccessible. Your clients move to competitors. By the time your heirs gain access, the opportunity is gone.

German courts have ruled (e.g., the 2018 Berlin court decision on Facebook accounts) that digital accounts are part of your Nachlass and therefore pass to your heirs. But—and this is critical—the mechanism for accessing them is not covered by Erbrecht.

You're left in a legal grey zone where inheritance law says "yes, this is yours" but practical access is controlled by terms of service written by US tech companies.

Erbrecht and Cryptocurrency: The Headache

Cryptocurrency is even more problematic under Erbrecht.

If you own Bitcoin stored in a hardware wallet, the BGB technically treats it as Vermögen (property). In theory, it passes to your heirs. In practice:

1. Your heirs need the private key or seed phrase to access it.
2. If you stored the key offline (best practice), but never told anyone where it is—it's lost forever.
3. German tax authorities (Finanzamt) will still demand that your heirs pay inheritance tax (Erbschaftsteuer) on the Bitcoin, even if they can't access it.
4. If the Bitcoin was in a trading account (Kraken, Bitstamp, etc.), each exchange has its own process for verifying death and transferring assets—and not all of them recognize German inheritance documents.

The BGB is silent on digital asset custody, private key inheritance, and the tax treatment of cryptocurrencies. Your heirs are navigating without a map.

Digital Businesses and the Nachlass Problem

You built a Shopify store that makes €5,000/month. You run a SaaS product with 200 subscribers. Under Erbrecht, these are part of your Nachlass.

But—and this is the critical gap—Erbrecht assumes assets are static or can be easily transferred. A house passes to your heir. A bank account is reassigned. A business is sold.

A digital business, however, is fragile. It depends on:

• Your login credentials (and often two-factor authentication, which dies with you)
• Hosting accounts and renewal payments
• API integrations and third-party services
• Your personal reputation (if it's a personal brand)

Your Erben inherit the right to the business under Erbrecht—but not the practical ability to run it. If you haven't documented your passwords, hosting providers, and critical integrations, the business may collapse within weeks.

German law gives your heirs the right to your digital business but assumes they'll somehow know how to access and operate it.

What German Law Does Protect

To be fair, Erbrecht does offer your heirs some protection:

Testamentary Freedom: You can write a will specifying who gets what, including instructions for digital assets. A German Testament (notarized will) is ironclad.

Gesetzliche Erbfolge (Legal Succession): If you die intestate in Germany, the BGB defines a clear order of succession: spouse, then children, then parents, then siblings. Your heirs are automatically determined.

Erbengemeinschaft (Heir Community): If multiple people inherit (common in Germany), they form a legal community with defined rights and obligations.

Pflichtteil (Mandatory Share): Even if you try to disinherit someone, German law guarantees spouses and children a minimum share of the Nachlass.

These protections are strong—for tangible assets. But they crumble when applied to digital life.

What You Need to Do Today

German inheritance law is robust, but it's incomplete for the digital age. If you're an expat in Germany, here's what you need to do beyond your standard Testament:

1. Document Everything: Create a list (physical copy, ideally) of all digital assets: email accounts, cloud storage, cryptocurrency, domains, business accounts, and subscriptions.

2. Name a Digital Executor: Erbrecht doesn't recognize the role, but name someone in your will as Digitalverwalter (digital administrator) with explicit authority to access your accounts and manage digital assets.

3. Store Passwords Securely: Don't just leave them in a drawer. Use a trusted password manager or a sealed envelope stored with your lawyer (Rechtsanwalt). Your heirs need to know it exists.

4. Update Your Testament: Work with your Rechtsanwalt to add a Kodizil (codicil) or amendment that explicitly addresses digital assets, cryptocurrency, and online businesses. Be specific: "My Bitcoin is stored in a hardware wallet, serial number X, in a safe deposit box at Bank Y."

5. Plan for Cryptocurrency: If you own crypto, leave detailed instructions for your heirs. Where is it stored? What's the access method? Have you paid taxes on it? German Finanzamt will ask.

6. Register Domains and Business Accounts: Make sure your business domain registrar and hosting accounts are registered in your name (not a temporary email). Give your heirs the account details.

The German state will not do this for you. Erbrecht gives your heirs the right to inherit—but not the practical ability to access or manage digital assets.

The Cost of Inaction

Every week, a German family discovers that a relative's digital business, valued at €50,000, is now worthless because nobody could access the hosting account. Another family pays inheritance tax on cryptocurrency they can't access because the seed phrase was lost.

You've built a digital life in Germany. Your Testament is in place. But if your heirs can't access your Gmail, your Stripe account, or your cryptocurrency, what was the point?

Secure your digital inheritance today with LegacyShield — because German law may protect your heirs in theory, but they need practical access to your digital life in reality. Don't leave your digital Nachlass to chance.