I cared for my parents for years, my brother did not. Am I not entitled to more?
Your co-pilot in inheritance law
Mag. Nevena Shotekova-Zöchling
Attorney in Vienna · 16 years of legal practice · Inheritance law
Care is work. The law sees it the same way.
“She did it voluntarily”
For years, the daughter drives to her father every day. She cooks, does the laundry, organises doctor’s appointments, sits by his bed at night when he is unwell. Her brother does not come. Perhaps a phone call at Christmas.
Then the father dies, without a will. Statutory succession: both children inherit half each. For the brother, that settles it. “Equal children, equal inheritance.”
The daughter comes to us. She does not want anything unfair. She only wants what she did to be recognised.
What she did has a value. And the law measures it.
We assert the care legacy: how many hours a month? Over what period? What would professional care have cost? The value of this care is paid out of the estate first – only then is the rest divided between the siblings.
The brother will not accept it. “She did it voluntarily.” A settlement with him is not possible. So the matter goes to court.
We won. The daughter received her care legacy – and only the remainder was divided.
The lesson: “voluntary” does not mean “worthless”. Anyone who provided care should know about this claim – and enforce it.
How the care legacy works
- Who? Close relatives – children, spouses, registered partners, grandchildren, siblings, and also cohabiting partners and their children (section 677 of the Austrian Civil Code, ABGB).
- What period? Care in the last three years before death counts – for at least six months. Even if you provided care for ten years, it is these last three years that count for the claim.
- How much care? To more than a merely minor extent – as a guideline, more than 20 hours a month on average. This means real care: personal hygiene, household, accompaniment, organisation, being on call at night.
- Unpaid: anyone who was already paid for the care does not receive it twice. Occasional small gestures, however, do no harm.
- How much money? What counts is the value of the care – that is, what was saved through it. The more hours, the longer and the more demanding, the higher the amount.
- In addition to the inheritance: the care legacy is paid out of the estate first. Only the remainder is divided.
What this can mean in figures
A simplified example: estate € 200,000, two children, no will. The daughter provided regular care in the last three years; the value of the care is set at € 40,000.
- Without the care legacy: each child receives € 100,000.
- With the care legacy: first € 40,000 to the daughter, then the remaining € 160,000 is divided. The daughter receives € 120,000 in total, the brother € 80,000.
What you should do now
- Register the claim in the probate proceedings. It does not happen automatically – you have to assert it.
- Document the care: care allowance decisions, doctors’ letters, calendars, messages, travel logs, witnesses such as neighbours, the family doctor or home helpers. The more specific, the better.
- Do not agree to “50:50” hastily. A signed division of the estate is hard to undo.
You provided the care – and now you are supposed to get the same as everyone else?
We calculate your claim. Initial assessment within 48 hours on working days; the first consultation is free of charge.
Have your care legacy checked+43 1 34 601 71