Facts
The appellants, [A.] , [B.] and [C.] , as well as the respondent, [K.] , are the children and legal heirs of their deceased parents [E.] and [F.] . In the context of the division of the two estates, the offsetting of the advance inheritances of the two sons of CHF 250,000 each remained disputed. The High Court of the Canton of Thurgau considered the advance inheritances to be proven and affirmed the obligation to offset.
The appellants requested the Federal Court to amend the high court's judgment, to delete the respondent's share in an advance inheritance of appellant 2 and to reduce her share in the advance inheritance of appellant 3 to CHF 9,500. Alternatively, the contested judgment should be set aside and the case should be remanded to the lower court for reassessment.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the admissibility of the appeal and came to the conclusion that the appeal is generally admissible according to Art. 72 ff. FSCA.
The High Court had rejected the appellants' requests for additional evidence regarding the disputed gifts or advance inheritances, as the relevant facts had been sufficiently clarified through the evidence procedure and it was not apparent how the documents to be produced could change this.
The Federal Court found that the obligation to offset of the heirs is regulated in Art. 626 CC and that it is a so-called statutory offset, as the testator had made the gifts to appellants 2 and 3 as marital property, endowment or by transfer of assets, waiver of debt, etc.
The High Court had…