All Posts By

Bernhard Schmeilzl

German LawGerman Succession & Inheritance LawInternational ProbateWills and Succession Planning

Preparing International Wills: A Checklist for Clients and their Lawyers

Complete Questionnaire for International Families and Expats who are resident or own Assets in Germany or Austria If you or your client owns assets in more than one country, or if a beneficiary is resident in another country than the testator, chances are that the executor and/or the beneficiary need to obtain probate in more than one country. Since the EU Succession Regulation neither applies to the United Kingdom nor to Ireland, the option to…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
September 14, 2017
Family LawInternational Divorce Cases

Questionnaires for German-British Divorce and Child Custody Matters

How to efficiently instruct a German Family Lawyer If a marriage goes sour and one spouse finally decides to ask a lawyer for advice, the client is usually rather emotional and nervous, especially when children are involved and the parents cannot agree amicably on where and with whom the children shall live for the time being. Thus, the client wants a reliable assessment of the legal situation. And he or she wants these answers fast.…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
August 4, 2017
Conveyancing GermanyGerman LawGerman Tax LawProperty in Germany

Is there German Capital Gains Tax when you sell a German Property?

Tax implications of selling property in Germany If you buy or inherit German property (whether it is a house, a flat or just a plot of land) and this property is then sold (by you or your heirs) before a period of ten full years has expired, the resulting profit (sale price minus purchase price minus certain related costs like notary fees) is subject to German tax, even if you are not a German tax…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
July 26, 2017
Austrian Inheritance LawAustrian ProbateGerman LawGerman ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance LawGerman Tax LawInternational ProbateProperty in Germany

Workshop “Clients with Foreign Assets” for British Inheritance & Probate Lawyers

Testators with assets abroads Why would an English or Scottish solicitor even give a toss about German or Spanish inheritance tax laws or about French or Italian forced heirship rules? Well, for starters, in order to avoid the client's survivors yelling at him/her some years later because they ran into probate or/and foreign tax problems abroad. Or, and this is of course the far better reason, to really impress your client with advice on international…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
July 25, 2017
German ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance LawInternational ProbateProperty in Germany

International Wills: What your English Solicitor does not tell you (but should)

Drafting Wills for British or American Clients with Assets outside the UK / USA You are a British or American citizen but have assets abroad, let's say in Germany, Austria, France, Italy or Spain. Your English solicitor or your American lawyer suggests you make a Will which deals only with your national estate, i.e. the Will is restricted in such a way that it shall only apply to your assets located within the UK or…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
July 24, 2017
German Sports LawyersSports Law Experts Germany

The German Baseball Lawyer

On the lighter side: A personal message from Graf & Partner's managing partner Bernhard Schmeilzl. In my unpaid (how could that happen to me being a lawyer) moonlighting job as chairman of the board of the largest German baseball organisation, Regensburg Buchbinder Legionnaires, the place where German MLB baseball star Max Kepler trained before getting signed by the Minnesota Twins, I was asked to give an interview for a short piece about the early years…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
July 14, 2017
German Law

Our Munich Office has relocated

Same part of town, but larger and more modern offices! Since 1st of June you can find our Munich lawyers in the modern and centrally located Agendis Business Center building on Radlkoferstr. 2. We are looking forward to meeting you in our new office! For those clients who specifically chose our firm because we were located right next to the Octoberfest area: Relax, the new office is only 500 meters south-west of the old one.…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
June 2, 2017
Uncategorized

Elective Share Rules under German Inheritance Law (Pflichtteil)

German Testators cannot fully disinherit their Children and their Spouse. Not even their Parents for that matter! It has always been a principle of German inheritance law that close relatives are entitled to a portion of the deceased's estate, even if the deceased had expressly disinherited those close relatives in his or her Last Will and Testament. This is called "Pflichtteil" (section 2303 German Civil Code), which can be translated forced share or compulsory portion…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
May 29, 2017
Conveyancing GermanyGerman LawProperty in Germany

Purchase German Property by Online Auction?

Beware of buying German real estate through the internet. It does not work that way in Germany! Our firm specalises in German-British and German-Amercian legal matters. Thus, we are sometimes contacted by non-German clients who proudly tell us that they have just successfully bought German property by way of online auction, for example from "MIDLAND ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD" or another online auction service provider. There is just one small problem with this: In order to…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
May 29, 2017
German LawGerman ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance LawInternational ProbateLitigation in Germany

Does a German Last Will & Testament become void if the Testator later marries or has Children?

Does marriage automatically void previous wills under German law? Not automatically, but the surviving spouse and/or the child may challenge the Will for being "outdated". The German legal term is "Anfechtung" according to section 2079 German Civil Code (Section Wills & Probate), which states: Section 2079 German Civil Code Avoidance for omission of a person entitled to a compulsory portion A testamentary disposition may be avoided if the testator has omitted a person entitled to a…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
May 29, 2017