Identification as a foreign national for inheritance

Legal General Legal Matters
1

Hey everyone!
My Fiancé is Taiwanese but moved to Germany when she was four. Nowadays she has German nationality and had to give up her Taiwanese nationality. Her father has recently passed away and now there are some questions regarding the inheritance.
She is not quite sure of the process in general and we’ve attempted to contact lawyers already.

Something that still remains unclear: Will the German passport be enough to verify her identity, given that she still has her birth certificate from Taiwan and the names match?
If not, what are the requirements for legally binding translations of such documents?
Any pointers would be greatly appreciated!

2

Matter is solved. For anyone who might encounter a similar problem in the future:

  1. Get notarized copies of your passport
  2. Send those notarized copies over to the district court (Landgericht) for an apostille
  3. Send the notarized copies, which have been apostilled, over to the embassy, who will then also apostille them
  4. Have them translated in Taiwan
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3

Sorry I missed this question. My condolences for your loss; I wish you and your family well during these tough times.

At least you were able to find the answer you needed and posted the update; I’m partly in Taiwan for inheritance purposes too, except it’s to obtain US/TW dual citizenship just so it’s out of the way when my mom’s day comes, especially since apparently my aunts and uncles are shysters and my mom doesn’t trust them to be forthright and ethical (long story), so we’re setting up as much safeguards as we can.

To add to it a bit: Translations do need to be notarized. Not sure how notaries work in Germany, but as far as I know, Taiwanese notaries almost exclusively work by appointment (not sure if there’s ever been a walk-in), and there needs to be proof of everything (e.g. if the notary asks the reason and she says it’s for her late father, you *might* need his death certificate, but it’s best to ask the notary before you go… If it’s anything like when my dad passed away in the US, it took them about 2 weeks to issue it, and it kinda slowed some inheritance processes down).

You might also need their hukou (household registration AKA HHR); it’ll be easiest if your mom or siblings have it AND there’s at least a mention of her in the HHR papers (I’m not sure how it works before you’re old enough to get national ID at 14 years old; my family are refugees born in China and my mom’s earliest entry was when she was 28 so I have no point of reference), or much easier to reapply if her mom is still alive or have siblings that still have their citizenship, and are either in Taiwan or willing to go to Taiwan.

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