What to Do After a Death in Germany

If the death occurs at home, call the family doctor or the medical on-call service 116 117. The doctor issues the death certificate (Totenschein). At a hospital or care facility, staff handle this. In most German federal states the deceased may rest at home for up to 36 hours before transport to a funeral home.

The death must be registered with the registry office (Standesamt) at the place of death within 3 working days. The funeral director typically handles this. Order 8–10 original death certificates – banks, pension insurance, life insurers, the probate court, employer and landlord each require originals.

German law requires burial within 4–10 days depending on the federal state. Bavaria requires transport within 96 hours; Bremen allows up to 10 days. Cremation, traditional burial, sea burial and tree burial are all permitted. A basic funeral costs €2,500–5,000; an elaborate ceremony €8,000+.

• Deutsche Rentenversicherung – stop pension, claim widow(er) or orphan pension
• Health insurance – terminate membership
• Employer – final salary, employment termination
• Banks – accounts frozen until heirs are identified
• Life and funeral insurance – claim payout
• Landlord – extraordinary termination within 1 month
• Utilities, telecoms, streaming – cancel or transfer contracts
• Finanzamt (tax office) – final income tax return

The probate court at the deceased's last habitual residence handles inheritance matters. It opens wills, issues certificates of inheritance (Erbschein), receives inheritance disclaimers and supervises executors. Heirs have 6 weeks from knowledge of the inheritance to disclaim it (6 months if living abroad or the deceased lived abroad).

German inheritance tax has generous personal allowances: spouses €500,000, children €400,000 each, grandchildren €200,000, parents (on inheritance) €100,000. Tax classes and rates: Class I (close family) 7–30 %, Class II (siblings, in-laws) 15–43 %, Class III (others) 30–50 %.