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Sometimes world shocks and gives us news example for the showcase. Recently residents of a community in central Germany have surprisingly inherited property and a stock portfolio worth €6.2 million ($7.5 million), following the death of an elderly neighbour.ByHarry WilliamsDecember 5, 2020 064 Share

December 10, 2020Harry Williams

Berlin, Germany: Sometimes world shocks and gives us news example for the showcase. Recently residents of a community in central Germany have surprisingly inherited property and a stock portfolio worth €6.2 million ($7.5 million), following the death of an elderly neighbour.

Renate Wedel had lived near the Weiperfelden district of Waldsolms in Hesse, central Germany, with her husband, Alfred Wedel, since 1975, as per the statement from the Waldsolms district, which is built up of 6 villages.

Alfred who was “successful” plus “active” on the stock exchange, died in 2014, and Renate, who had been getting care in a nursing home in Frankfurt since 2016, expired in December 2019 at the age of 81.-

In April this year, the district said, it was notified that Renate had bequeathed it a bank balance, shares and valuables.

Renate’s sister, who was her original heir, had already died.

The news came as a shock upon the authorities. “I thought in; first, this is just not possible, I thought a comma had moved, something is not really right,” local mayor Bernd Heine told Hessenschau.

The municipality also acquired a property in Weiperfelden, which was initially left as a legacy but was decayed by the initial inheritor because of the cost of sustaining the house and outbuildings and because residents’ contributions were due to work on a local road.

The community is required to use the inheritance, valued at €6.2 million, toward “community facilities and infrastructure.”

“The community of Waldsolms posthumously thanks the Wedel couple for this important inheritance,” the community said in a statement.

“We will deal with it very responsibly, develop our community for the good of all and keep an honourable memory of both,” it added.

Local residents have some ideas about what the money should be spent on.

Heine said Hessenschau that money was needed for cycling paths, buildings and a kindergarten, while residents suggested this money should be spent on an outdoor pool, public transportation and facilities as local children.