What determines the amount?

By the duration and extent of the care and the value of the estate (section 2057a BGB). The law names no fixed sum; the amount in the individual case belongs in a lawyer’s hands. We order the conversation; the figure stays with the lawyer.

When is the equalisation settled?

At the division of the estate among the heirs (section 2042 BGB). It belongs to the equalisation rules among descendants — like the equalisation of advancements (section 2050 BGB) — and is counted into the shares, not paid out beforehand as a separate sum.

Knowledge · Community of heirs & property

When one child cared for the parents — and the estate should recognise it

One child cared for the parents over years; the siblings lived further away. When the estate is divided, that care should count. The law provides for an equalisation that raises the caring child’s share. What matters is to name it early and openly.

As at: June 2026 · ← back to the guide

The answer first. If one child cared for the deceased parents over a longer period without being adequately paid for it, that child is entitled, among the descendants, to an equalisation that raises their share at the division (compensation for care (Pflegeausgleich), section 2057a BGB). It is not a wage but a balancing among siblings — measured by the duration and extent of the care. It belongs to the equalisation rules among descendants — alongside the equalisation of advancements such as a marriage portion (section 2050 BGB) — and is settled at the division of the estate (section 2042 BGB). The amount belongs in a lawyer’s hands; our task is to order the conversation about it.

Care is often the quiet source of conflict

Whoever cares for years gives up much: time, often part of their own working life, sometimes their own health. The siblings see little of this, because they live further away. At the division the two things meet — the quiet sense of having carried it alone, and the equally quiet sense among the others that everything is already in order. It is precisely here that conflict ignites, conflict that has less to do with the law than with missing recognition. When the care is named openly and placed on a neutral basis, this dispute loses its edge before it arises.

How the equalisation is measured

The equalisation under section 2057a BGB is not tied to hours and invoices, but to the duration and extent of the care and to the value of the estate — stepping back professionally can additionally shape what is equitable. If, say, they provided care daily over more than two years and stepped back professionally for it, that weighs more heavily than occasional help. The precondition is that the care was not already adequately remunerated — whoever was paid for it has, to that extent, no additional claim. The equalisation applies among descendants, that is, typically among siblings as joint heirs.

Documenting helps — calmly and in good time

Because the equalisation is measured by duration and extent, it helps to record the care in a comprehensible way: a simple care diary, the period, the kind of help, and what was set aside for it — working time, say, or one’s own living situation. This is not a reckoning against the siblings, but a calm basis on which it is easier to speak later. How the equalisation is finally counted into the share belongs to the legal and tax side — we hold the thread so that the care is not lost in the conversation.

Compensation for care (Pflegeausgleich). The equalisation among descendants for the fact that one child cared for the parents without being adequately paid; it raises that child’s share at the division and is measured by duration and extent (section 2057a BGB).

Equalisation (Ausgleichung). The setting-off of prior contributions among descendants when the estate is divided — so that advancements (section 2050 BGB) and special contributions such as care (section 2057a BGB) are fairly accounted for among siblings.

This article provides orientation and does not replace legal or tax advice. The amount of the equalisation and how it is counted in are clarified by a lawyer or notary, tax questions by a tax adviser, the value of the property by an expert; the conversation within the family we prepare with you.

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Does the caring child receive more of the estate?: If a child cared for the parents over a longer period without being adequately paid, they are entitled, among the descendants, to an equalisation that raises their share at the division (section 2057a BGB). It is not a wage but a balancing among siblings.
What determines the amount?: By the duration and extent of the care and the value of the estate (section 2057a BGB). The law names no fixed sum; the amount in the individual case belongs in a lawyer’s hands. We order the conversation; the figure stays with the lawyer.
When is the equalisation settled?: At the division of the estate among the heirs (section 2042 BGB). It belongs to the equalisation rules among descendants — like the equalisation of advancements (section 2050 BGB) — and is counted into the shares, not paid out beforehand as a separate sum.
What helps to show the care later?: A simple care diary, the period, the kind of help, and what was set aside for it. This is not a reckoning against the siblings, but a calm basis on which the equalisation can be discussed openly and without conflict.