Private investors

I have inherited a Hannover-Leasing shareholding - what do I have to do?

In order for us to be able to send you our forms for settling your estate, we ask you to prove your identity as an heir by providing proof of inheritance in the form of a copy of your will or certificate of inheritance. For data protection reasons, we are not permitted to send personal forms or provide information without proof of identity.

Please send us

• the proof of inheritance
• the death certificate
• the front and back of your ID card

in each case as a copy by post or as a PDF document scan to investoren@hannover-leasing.de. Please note that we cannot accept photographed documents by e-mail.

What documents do I have to submit to Hannover Leasing for the transfer of the participation?

After the death has been reported, you will receive the documents for the transfer of the participation from us. You will find the forms required for the transfer in this package. In detail, we will request the following documents from you:

• A copy of the death certificate,
• Certificate of inheritance or
• A copy of the will and the will opening protocol confirmed by the bank,
• Executor's certificate in bank-confirmed copy (if an executor has been appointed),
• Declaration of consent (if the shareholding is to be taken over by only one heir in the case of several heirs),
• Register transfer request,
• Self-disclosure and
• bank-confirmed copies of identity cards of all heirs.

If the deceased held the investment in the fund company as a direct limited partner, the investment must be entered in the commercial register. In this case, we require original inheritance documents and a notarized commercial register power of attorney from you for submission to the local court. We will send you the commercial register power of attorney as a blank form together with the transfer documents.

We are a community of heirs. Can the Hannover Leasing shareholding be transferred to us as a whole?

Our articles of association only allow natural or legal persons to join. A community of heirs that comes into being after the death of the testator in accordance with § 2032 BGB unfortunately does not meet these criteria. A division of the estate is therefore mandatory. We can only transfer our shareholdings to the individual heirs.

Where do distributions from the fund company go if the estate settlement takes longer and the deceased's payment account has been blocked?

Upon receipt of the death notification, the deceased's payment account is automatically blocked. This serves to prevent abuse. Payments made between notification of death and transfer of the investment from the fund company remain in the investment account. Once the transfer has been completed, the retained funds are subsequently transferred to the legal successor.

How long does the commercial register entry process take and what costs are involved?

The registration of a shareholding takes place at the local court. Notary and local court costs are incurred for the registration of a shareholding. Hannover Leasing submits your original inheritance documents and the commercial register power(s) of attorney to the notary for notarization. The processing of the entry in the commercial register is then the responsibility of the local court and can take anywhere from a few weeks to three months, depending on how busy the court is. Please allow for this period before handing over your original inheritance documents. We cannot influence the processing time at the local court. As soon as we have the inheritance documents back at our office, we will send them to you immediately by registered mail.

Who pays for the third-party costs incurred in the commercial register entry?

As contractually agreed, the legal successor is responsible for the notary and local court costs. You will receive an invoice from us once your shareholding has been registered, in which we will pass on the third-party costs to you.

Why do I have to fill out a self-disclosure form?

According to the legal requirements of the "Financial Account Information Exchange Act", providers of closed-end investment funds have been obliged since January 1, 2016 to request the tax residency of the investor for the purposes of the international exchange of information in tax matters (CRS - OECD Common Reporting Standard) by means of a self-disclosure.

Under the FATCA1-USA Implementation Regulation, the investment company is obliged to obtain information on the investor's US citizenship and tax residency in the USA by means of self-disclosure and to report certain investor information to the Federal Central Tax Office. From there, the information is reported to the US tax authorities (IRS). In particular, the investor's name, address, tax identification number (TIN) and details of the investment account (account balance or account value, total gross amount of interest, dividends, sales proceeds or other income) are transmitted.

In order to fulfill these legal obligations, we require the 4-page self-disclosure form that you will receive with the documents for the transfer of the shareholding. A transfer is not possible without this form.

There is an executor. What must he contribute to the transfer of the shareholding?

The appointed executor must prove his identity to Hannover Leasing. In the case of trustor participations, this can be done by means of a bank-confirmed copy of the certificate of executorship or the letter of acceptance. In the case of participations of a direct limited partner that are entered in the commercial register, we require the original executor's certificate. No other form of legitimation is possible here.

The executor must always consent to the transfer. The register transfer form contains a signature field for this purpose.

I have received the Hannover Leasing investment as a legacy. Does it make any difference to my legal entitlement to the transfer that I am not an heir?

Various circumstances may mean that bequests stipulated in the will have to be amended or cannot be fulfilled at all. Inheritance law states that it is the duty and responsibility of the heir or executor to make bequests from the estate in accordance with the wishes of the testator. As a legatee, you therefore require, in addition to the documents to be submitted, a written instruction from the heir or executor to transfer the Hannover Leasing shareholding to your name.

I don't want to keep the Hannover Leasing investment, I want to sell it. How do I proceed here?

Unfortunately, it is not possible to sell the Hannover Leasing investment as an heir directly from the estate. According to our partnership agreements, you must first join the fund company and have the investment transferred so that you can then sell it. However, the sale of the investment is only possible with the transfer of the contract at the end of the year.

Our company does not have a secondary market for trading in fund investments. However, you have the option of asking your intermediary bank/savings bank about potential interested parties. The trading platform www.zweitmarkt.de can also support trading. We will be happy to provide you with the contact details on request.

 I don't want to take over the Hannover Leasing shareholding I inherited. Is that possible?

If you have accepted the inheritance, you are already legally in possession of the Hannover Leasing investment. Our partnership agreements stipulate that the fund participations are automatically continued with the heirs from the day after the date of death. Unfortunately, there is no special right of termination in the event of death.

I have a general power of attorney from the deceased beyond death. Can I use it to transfer the shareholding to myself or determine to whom the shareholding should be transferred?

No, both options are not possible. As our partnership agreements include the immediate transfer of the contract to the heirs after the death of the investor, a power of attorney of the testator beyond death does not apply here. The shareholdings are already in the possession of the heirs. The authorized representative of the deceased cannot influence this legal succession.