Duty to deliver (Ablieferungspflicht)

A person who is in possession of a Will which has not been placed in court custody is obliged to deliver it to the probate court without undue delay after they have obtained knowledge of the death of the testator. See § 2259 BGB. The purpose of the duty to deliver the Will is to ensure that the Will can be "opened" (opening of the Will). 

The duty of delivery applies to all documents that may be recognizable as testamentary dispositions in terms of content and appearance, regardless of their substantive and formal validity; documents whose capacity as wills is in doubt must also be delivered, as the decision as to whether a document meets the requirements to be met by a will is the sole responsibility of the probate court (see KG Rpfleger 1977, 256; OLG Frankfurt OLGZ 1971, 205 f.). Even a document that is not expressly or analogously referred to as a “will”, but is in the form of a letter or a “declaration” or agreement, must be delivered in any case if its content contains instructions that, when considered in the context and language used, can be understood as instructions under inheritance law for the event of the author's death (KG loc. cit.). Typically, the original must be delivered and not just a (certified) copy (BayOblG of May 29, 1981 - BReg. 1 Z 43/81 p. 9 f.).
It is irrelevant for the obligation to deliver whether

• the testator was German or a foreign national,
• whether the beneficiary lives in Germany or abroad and
• which law is applicable with regard to the succession.

It is controversial whether a Will that is located abroad is to be delivered. However, once the Will has been filed with a foreign probate court, it is impossible to comply with the duty to deliver the Will to a German probate court. Consequently, a court certified or exmplified copy must suffice (if the Will is to be opened in Germany at all).