Pflichtteil

German

Etymology

From Pflicht (“obligation”) +‎ Teil (“portion, share”). Regularly the word should be only masculine as the sense “portion” is otherwise always masculine, but the neuter is also common.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈp͡flɪç(t)ˌtaɪ̯l/, (northern and central Germany) [ˈfl-]
Audio: (file)

Noun

Pflichtteil m or n (strong, genitive Pflichtteils or Pflichtteiles, plural Pflichtteile)

(law) forced share: portion of an estate that a forced heir (such as a child or spouse) minimally receives

Usage notes

In Germany and Austria, the Pflichtteil is half of what the heir would take in intestacy. In Switzerland it might be even higher.

Declension

Declension of Pflichtteil [masculine // neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der, das	Pflichtteil	die	Pflichtteile
genitive	eines	des	Pflichtteils, Pflichtteiles	der	Pflichtteile
dative	einem	dem	Pflichtteil, Pflichtteile¹	den	Pflichtteilen
accusative	einen, ein	den, das	Pflichtteil	die	Pflichtteile

¹Now rare, see notes.