Now the question is what becomes of the art when Gurlitt had no heirs. Mary J. lane at The Wall Street Journal explains:

Given Mr. Gurlitt’s perpetually frail state of health, a German court appointed Munich-based lawyer Christoph Edel as his legal guardian late last year. But Mr. Edel’s position was “voided as soon as Mr. Gurlitt died,” his spokesman, Stephan Holzinger, told The Wall Street Journal.

Mr. Holzinger says he doesn’t even know if Mr. Gurlitt has a will and that his own contract will only continue for “the next few days.”

“The only guy who could give orders in [restituting art] was Mr. Edel, but now his job has ended,” said Mr. Holzinger. “The job right now is to find out what’s in the will—if there is a will.”

The lack of certainty about a finished will may in part be due to the tensions that have plagued Mr. Gurlitt’s own legal team since it came together earlier this year.

German Art Collector in Nazi Uproar Dies

Here’s Bloomberg on Gurlitt’s death:

Cornelius Gurlitt, the German art collector who for decades kept a secret trove of masterpieces before agreeing to return works that once belonged to Jews under the Nazi regime, has died. He was 81.

He died today at his apartment in Munich in the presence of his doctor and nurse, according to a statement e-mailed by his spokesman, Stephan Holzinger. […]

“There is nothing I have loved more in my life than my pictures,” Gurlitt said.

Cornelius Gurlitt, Hoarder of Nazi-Era Art Trove, Dies at 81 (Bloomberg)