Heino distributes his inheritance – but not to his son

Pop singer Heino is 85 years old, lost his wife Hannelore last year and is worried about the time when he may need help and companionship. According to “Vermögen Magazin”, he is said to have an estimated fortune of around 20 million euros from his decades-long hit career. But what else is there? Who gets it – and when? Heino hopes for a happy future if he gives away his inheritance now.

His manager and close confidante Helmut Werner and his family will be the beneficiaries. Werner is said to have already received part of the assets. After Hannelore’s death, the most valuable possession, a four million euro villa in Kitzbühel, passed to her husband Heino. Her stepson, Uwe Kramm, who comes from Heino’s first marriage to Henriette Heppner, came away empty-handed. However, it is quite common for spouses to name each other as heirs.

Heino has decided to distribute his inheritance during his lifetime. He signed over the million-dollar property to his manager Helmut Werner and his family and, according to the tabloid “Bild”, was granted lifelong residential rights. He explained to the newspaper: “Helmut and his family are now my family too. Without them I would be all alone and probably in a retirement home. I love Helmut, his wife Nicole and their little son Lennie with all my heart, and that’s why everything should “It belongs to me, it belongs to them too. I would leave everything to Helmut at some point anyway, so I can share everything with him now.” But the donation is also an agreement: the family should look after Heino until his death.

What does this mean for his son Uwe Kramm, Heino’s only living child? Daughter Petra Bell committed suicide in 2003. They say she had delusions and heard voices of people who were long dead. Heino tried to help her and had her admitted to a closed clinic months before her death, but in vain. Heino has a troubled relationship with his son Uwe Kramm, who is now 64 years old and receives a small pension, as well as his two grandchildren Alexander and Sebastian.

His son should only inherit the compulsory share, the folk singer told “Bild” in 2023: “My son wouldn’t have been able to keep the house in Kitzbühel anyway, he could only have sold it. Because maintaining the house costs money, which he has to spend “I can’t afford it with his small pension. I’m not prepared to give Uwe the most beautiful place in Kitzbühel and Hannelore didn’t want that either. We both decided that Helmut would get our inheritance.”

“I’m not prepared to give anything to someone who has never done anything for me and Hannelore,” the 85-year-old continues about his son. The broken relationship between the two and the search for a replacement family has been solidifying for some time. In an article from 2021, “Bild” reports on a planned adoption. Heino and Hannelore wanted to adopt their confidante Jutta T., then 48 years old, and her husband Andreas. However, in the case of an adult adoption, the biological child must consent because this significantly reduces his or her hereditary share. He is said to have learned about his father’s plans from the office without warning.

Kramm said in an interview in 2021: “I find it strange that people between the ages of 81 and 79 want to adopt strangers. What are the interests of those being adopted?” Heino replied: “Hannelore and I wanted to use the adoption to ensure that people would take care of us when we needed care. The advantages for Jutta and Andreas were of course financial.” He stated this after he had already given up on his adoption plans. According to German law, Uwe Kramm’s compulsory share is half of Heino’s assets. After the planned adoption of two adults, this part would have been divided by three.

Now manager Helmut Werner is supposed to take the place of the heir. Werner says about the transfer of the house: “I had a hard time accepting the house at the beginning. It comes with a great responsibility for me. Heino and I are together every day from morning to evening, live in the house together and have a lot of fun together . He’s part of our family. Of course, even if he can’t perform one day, we’ll always be there for him.”

Werner began renovating the house during Hannelore’s lifetime. New bathrooms, a sauna and a wellness area were installed.