Claim of the joint descendants to information about gifts made by the testator

Facts

According to the marriage contract dated May 21, 1988, the widow Margrit Fontana-Schmid received the total sum of both proposals after the death of her husband Josef Peter Fontana on April 1, 1997. The six joint children, Roland Fontana and Ursula Müller-Fontana, applied to have the estate judicially determined and divided. They demanded that the widow provide comprehensive information about the extent of the acquisition.

The District Court of Weinfelden and the High Court of the Canton of Thurgau dismissed the application for the provision of information. The Defendants 1 and 5 then appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court decided that Defendants 1 and 5 have a legally protected interest in learning from the Plaintiff whether and in whose favor the testator made gifts before more or within the last five years before his death, to which the Plaintiff consented. These gifts are to be fully added to the estate, insofar as they are subject to reduction or equalization, regardless of the property law relations.