Urteil: Eigenhändiges Testament: Wann die Unterschrift zählt

The court ruled on a case involving a handwritten testament, determining when a signature is valid. According to the Oberlandesgericht München (case number 33 Wx 202/25), referenced by the German Association of Attorneys (DAV), a handwritten testament must meet certain requirements regarding the signature. In this particular case, an unmarried man had drafted a total of eleven testaments, all signed with first and last names, though the handwriting resembled each other.

Testament 12 was signed with a distinctive wave-like form, followed by a twelfth handwritten document in which he "canceled" the previous eleven notarized testaments. This document contained only a wave-like form as its "signature."

The son believed he was the sole legal heir due to this document, as all provisions were deemed nullified upon the man's death. However, the court disagreed. While a notarized testament could be overturned by a handwritten one, the handwritten testament the man used to "cancel" his testaments did not meet the legal prescribed form for a revocation testament.

According to the law, a handwritten testament must be handwritten and signed if it is not notarized. The signature must consist of letters and be handwritten and signed, if not notarized. The first name is not mandatory in the signature. Furthermore, the signature does not need to be legible or comparable to previous signatures, as there is no legal protection against the recognition of a writing as a signature by the court.

However, a pure wave line is insufficient, as the court maintains that a signature requires a structure of letters from a usual script. A mark without recognizable letter structure does not fulfill the requirements of the Civil Code (§ 2247 para. 3 BGB), even if it is undisputedly the work of the testator.