Facts
On May 14, 1955, Josef Keller-Mühlebach, domiciled in Lucerne, passed away. He leaves as legal heirs:
- His wife in his second marriage, Marie Keller-Mühlebach
- His daughter from his first marriage, Frieda Schreiber-Keller
On March 23, 1946, the deceased had concluded a buyback and succession contract with his wife and daughter. According to this contract, in the event of the husband's prior decease, the entire estate was to revert to the wife. Upon her death, the remaining assets were then to be transferred to the daughter or her descendants as substitute heirs. After the death of Josef Keller-Mühlebach, the division of estate office of the city of Lucerne issued a certificate stating that the wife and daughter were the sole heirs. Based on this certificate, the wife requested the registration of the transfer of ownership of the estate properties in her name with the land registries of Lucerne and Diessenhofen. The land registry of Lucerne proceeded with the registration, but the one in Diessenhofen refused to register the property located in its territory solely in the name of the wife. The government of the canton of Thurgau rejected the wife's appeal against this refusal, considering that the certificate issued by the Lucerne division of estate office did not constitute a certificate of heir within the meaning of Art. 559 CC.
Considerations
1. The Federal Tribunal considers that the certificate issued by the Lucerne division of estate office must be recognized as a valid proof within the meaning of Art. 18 of the Land Registry Ordinance. Although the certificate does not expressly designate the wife as the "sole" heir, its meaning is clear: the wife is recognized as the sole…
