My father died in Serbia, I live in Vienna, and he had an account with an Austrian bank. Where do I have to go?
Your co-pilot in inheritance law
Mag. Nevena Shotekova-Zöchling
Attorney in Vienna · 16 years of legal practice · Inheritance law
He had a court decision. Just not the one the bank needed.
The wrong decision
The father worked in Vienna for many years. On retirement he moved back to Serbia. He kept his account with a Viennese bank, where his Austrian pension was paid in. The son lives in Vienna.
After the death, the son settles everything in Serbia: probate proceedings, house, signatures. In the end he holds the Serbian decision in his hand, translated and certified. He takes it to the bank in Vienna. The bank refuses.
He had a court decision. Just not the one the bank needed.
For assets located in Austria there are separate Austrian proceedings. Only with a decision of an Austrian court does the bank release the account. And something else comes up: the pension insurance reclaims the pension that was still paid after the death.
We conducted the Austrian proceedings for him, coordinated with what had already been decided in Serbia. The son did not even have to go to the notary. In the end the bank paid out, minus the reclaimed pension, and the matter was closed.
The lesson: each country decides on the assets located there. Anyone inheriting in two countries often needs two sets of proceedings.
What the law says
- Serbia: the proceedings for the house and the assets in Serbia take place in Serbia.
- Austria: if the deceased last lived outside the EU, the Austrian courts still have jurisdiction under the EU Succession Regulation over the assets located in Austria (Art. 10). The account therefore requires Austrian probate proceedings.
- Which inheritance law applies depends on the last habitual residence and on citizenship. For people who lived between Austria and Serbia or moved back on retirement, this is not always obvious. It should be checked before making any declarations.
- Small estates: if there is little in Austria, for example an account with no more than 5,000 euros and no real estate, a simplified procedure without full probate proceedings is available (section 153 of the Austrian Non-Contentious Proceedings Act, AußStrG).
- Pension: pension payments still received after death are usually reclaimed by the pension insurance. This money does not belong to the estate.
- Documents: Serbian death certificates and decisions require a certified translation and generally an apostille.
What you should do now
- Inform the bank in Vienna and present a death certificate. The account is then blocked and the pension reclaim is handled properly.
- Start the proceedings in Serbia and in Austria in parallel. That saves months.
- Record all assets in Austria: accounts, securities, insurance policies. The court commissioner can query the central account register.
- Sign a power of attorney for Vienna, then you do not have to attend any appointments yourself.
If the house in Serbia is the issue: My parents in Serbia have died. I live in Vienna and don’t want to lose the house there. →
An inheritance in Serbia and in Austria?
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