Facts
This case concerns the partition of the estate of Ida H.-K., who died on May 1, 1956. Her legal heirs were her husband Karl H. and her four siblings (the defendants). In her will, Ida H.-K. had provided that her real estate purchased in 1937 be considered the separate property of the wife, and that the rest of her estate be divided with one quarter for her husband and three quarters, in full ownership without usufruct for her husband, among her siblings.
In the succession partition contract of June 19, 1956, the real estate was included in the partition. Although the initially planned sale price was 250,000 to 260,000 francs, only 198,000 francs could ultimately be obtained. Karl H. accepted this sale price on the condition that his one-quarter share be calculated based on the desired price of 250,000 francs.
The plaintiff, Karl H.'s daughter from a previous marriage, learned of these partition terms. Karl H. assigned his rights to the estate of his wife to her, including the right to contest the partition contract. The assignee then brought an action to have this partition contract declared null due to error on the motives, fraud and threat, to exclude the real estate from the estate, to include a claim of the deceased against one of the defendants in the estate, and to reduce the testamentary dispositions in favor of the defendants.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal considers that the assignee, as a third party foreign to the succession community, does not have standing to sue the other heirs. Indeed, the assignee of an inheritance share does not acquire the status of heir and therefore cannot judicially assert the claims that belong to the heirs, such as contesting the…