Overview

• The BGH began hearing arguments on July 2, 2025, to determine the legal validity of a notarized 2016 care-and-inheritance agreement between a patient and his doctor.
• The contract promised the physician a plot of land in exchange for ongoing medical services including house calls and telephone availability.
• Both the Landgericht Bielefeld and the Oberlandesgericht Hamm ruled the agreement invalid after finding it violated the Ärztekammer Westfalen-Lippe’s prohibition on gifts that could imply compromised independence.
• Although testamentary gifts benefit from constitutional testation freedom, legal experts say it is unclear if that protection applies equally to binding inheritance contracts.
• The BGH’s forthcoming decision will clarify whether professional ethics rules can nullify contractual inheritance pacts under German law.