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All Posts By

Bernhard Schmeilzl

German LawGerman ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance LawGerman Tax LawWills and Succession Planning

If your Parent or Child passes away while having been resident in Germany…

... then German Succession Rules do apply to the Estate! Since August 2015, all EU members (except for UK, Ireland and Denmark) apply the same basic rule: The national succession laws of that country shall apply in which the decedent had his or her last habitual residence (EU Succession Regulation, EU 650/2012). Thus, if your parent or your child has been permanently living in - for instance - Germany, France or Spain and sadly dies…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
March 6, 2018
Austrian ProbateGerman ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance LawInheritance Law SwitzerlandSwiss Probate

This is what a Swiss Grant of Probate really looks like

Sample Certificate of Inheritance issued by Switzerland Probate Court (Zurich) We, the German-British law firm Graf & Partners, specialise in international probate matters as well as estate planning in all German speaking countries, i.e. Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Thus, we are often approached by clients who need to apply for a grant of probate in these countries. Also, we are sometimes approached by clients who fell for an online inheritance scam. In order to…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
February 26, 2018
German LawGerman Succession & Inheritance LawGerman Tax LawWills and Succession Planning

“I want to make a Gift to my Child in Germany…”

... but my son-in-law / daughter-in-law shall not benefit from such a gift or inheritance! Is that possible under German law? Yes, it certainly is possible. Spouses are sometimes under the impression that they have an automatic entitlement to any gift the other spouse receives, whether as a lifetime gift or as an inheritance. Simply by virtue of the fact they are married. Under German law, this is certainly not the case. Unless the spouses…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
February 8, 2018
German ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance LawInternational ProbateWills and Succession Planning

How to deposit a Will in Germany

Keep your German will at home or have it registered with German probate court? If you live in Germany or have significant assets there you should consider making a separate last will with regard to those German assets. If you do so, the question arises where to store the will. In case you opted for a so called public will (i.e. a will recorded before a German notary), an official copy of your German will…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
January 26, 2018
Business in GermanyCivil actionGerman Corporate LawGerman LawGoing to courtLitigation in GermanyStarting Business

Harsh “Unfair Competition” Rules in Germany

The German Habit of sending out Cease and Desist Letters to Competitors When you start trading in Germany you may be in for unpleasant surprises. The first letter your German subsidiary receives may likely be a formal cease and desist notice sent by your competitor's lawyers. Why? Because under German unfair competition laws, every business has the right to formally demand competitors to fully comply with any and all German laws. And there are many…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
January 25, 2018
Civil actionContract TemplatesDebt collectionGerman LawGoing to courtLitigation in Germany

Your German Debtor asks for Relief from Payment?

Then you should use this opportunity to obtain a so called "abstraktes Schuldanerkenntnis" (an autonomous acknowledgement of debt) from your German debtor. This is sometimes also called "selbstständiges Schuldanerkenntnis" or "Schuldversprechen". In other words: You agree to grant the debtor a moratorium (or a deferred payment) of a few weeks or months, but only under the condition that the debtor signs a Schuldanerkenntnis (a formal "I owe you"). Such a written debt acknowledgment according to…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
January 24, 2018
German LawGerman ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance LawGerman Tax LawInternational ProbateWills and Succession Planning

This is what a German Gift Tax & Inheritance Tax Bill really looks like

Understanding a German Inheritance Tax Statement Inheritance tax in Germany is calculated very differently from the IHT in the United Kingdom. First of all, under German law, not the estate as such is being taxed but each individual beneficiary. Secondly, each beneficiary has an individual tax rate and an individual tax allowance, based on the amount received and the degree of kinship. And, last not least, German law applies the concept of gift tax which…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
January 18, 2018
Civil actionDebt collectionGerman LawGerman Tort LawGoing to courtLitigation in Germany

Litigation Costs in Germany: Basic Principles and an Online Cost Calculator

By German Litigation Expert Bernhard H. Schmeilzl, LL.M. (Leicester), admitted to the Munich Bar and qualified to represent clients in Courts of Law throughout Germany Court fees (Gerichtskosten) in Germany are based on the value of the claim (Streitwert or Gegenstandswert). The same is true for lawyers fees (Anwaltsgebühren) which are regulated by statutory law, the so called Rechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetz (RVG). We explain the details of German civil litigation procedure including litigation costs in our expert…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
December 8, 2017
Business in GermanyCivil actionCriminal LawGerman Corporate LawGerman Tax LawGerman Tort LawGoing to courtLitigation in GermanyM&A Germany

Forensic Accountant for Business Litigation in Germany

You need to understand German company accounts for a German lawsuit? In order to win a business or corporate law suit, understanding the numbers is often equally important as knowing the legal aspects of the case. The same is true if you plan to acquire a German business. Thus, the German-British litigation lawyers as well as the M&A experts at Graf & Partners (www.grafegal.com) regularly team up with German forensic accountant Hermann Werle. Hermann obtained…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
November 3, 2017
Austrian Inheritance LawAustrian ProbateGerman ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance Law

“See the Big Picture”: The Preparation of International Wills

One-Day Workshop for English Wills & Probate Solicitors Clients these days often own foreign assets, have close relatives (i.e. future beneficiaries) who live abroad or even move to a non-UK country themselves. In all of these cases, a "standard" English last will and testament does not adequately cover all the client's needs. Foreign IHT consequences, for example, are often completely ignored. As is the fact that many European jurisdictions do not recognise an English trust…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
October 18, 2017