Facts
The plaintiff, Ida Guhl-Fahrner, is the daughter of Jakob Fahrner-Müller, who passed away on July 1, 1948. On December 23, 1942, the father had concluded a publicly notarized contract on "Allocations from Inheritance Expectancy" with his three children, Karl Fahrner, Fritz Fahrner, and Ida Guhl-Fahrner. Under this contract, the father transferred various assets to the children "on account of their inheritance claims against him". On February 3, 1949, the three heirs concluded a division contract regarding the estate.
In 1950, Ida Guhl-Fahrner had the tax records inspected and concluded that she had been shortchanged in the division. She then filed a lawsuit against her siblings with the following legal claims:
- Annulment of the contract dated December 23, 1942, and the inheritance division contract dated February 3, 1949, due to error and deception
- Judicial determination of the actual financial circumstances of the decedent, taking into account the advance payments and obligations to equalize
- Reservation of further claims against the defendants
Considerations
The Federal Court upheld the judgment of the lower instance, which had dismissed the lawsuit. The Federal Court stated that the claims 1 and 2 were declaratory actions, for which there was no sufficient legal interest. The plaintiff had been able to assert her inheritance claims for equalization or reduction of the compulsory portion directly through a performance claim, instead of first limiting herself to contesting the contracts.
The Federal Court clarified that the heir is entitled to demand…