Court nears ruling in multimillion-euro inheritance dispute

A district court in Innsbruck is expected to issue its first ruling in a six-year dispute over the multimillion-euro estate of former ski racer Anneliese Schuh-Proxauf. Experts told the court that she was probably not capable of making a will when she signed the document at the centre of the case, ORF reports.

Schuh-Proxauf signed a detailed, notarised will in favour of a longtime friend, who also worked as her housekeeper. After her death, a judge who had advised her on legal matters for years presented a second will, a handwritten note naming him as sole heir. The two sides dispute which document is valid.

Schuh-Proxauf’s doctor told the court she was suffering from delirium when she signed the second will on September 7, 2020, and was unable to make decisions. She was bedridden with a serious knee infection and needed medication that, the doctor said, worsened her mental state. He also said she had not told him she wanted to change her will.

A neurologist said Schuh-Proxauf had 10 of 13 risk factors for delirium and could no longer weigh up decisions. Even if her condition improved during the week she signed the note, he said, cognitive effects could last well beyond the period of confusion. He assessed it as highly likely that she lacked the capacity to make a will at the time. A psychologist reached the same conclusion, citing a mental or comparable illness.

The psychologist also questioned the handwritten note because Schuh-Proxauf had repeatedly made detailed wills over the years, while the disputed document was unusually brief. Both experts said she did not have the cognitive abilities required under the legal standard discussed in court, which was likened to those of a 14-year-old.

The lawyer for Schuh-Proxauf’s friend said the testimony supported the first will and sought an agreement, but the other side rejected the proposal. The court must now issue its first ruling, though observers doubt that it will end the case. The estate includes a property at Rechenhof above Innsbruck, properties in the Bahamas and substantial cash assets, amounting to several million euros.