German Certified Inheritance Lawyer

No, only specific German inheritance lawyers feel able to counsel about German inheritance tax law, either. Although the preparative course-programs for becoming a German specialist inheritance lawyer contain single lessons about German inheritance tax law, those basics are not sufficient at all to become familiar with a counselling about German inheritance tax law.

In fact, German inheritance tax law is a sub-field of German tax law than a subarea of German inheritance law. Therefore, numerous Certified German Inheritance Lawyers need to involve a German tax advisor, so that the tax advisor can counsel about the inheritance tax law-related subjects of a certain case. For international succession cases as well as for international estate planning-mandates, German inheritance tax law-questions need to be answered. On top of his being a German certified inheritance lawyer, Dr. Hosser is a German certified tax lawyer (Fachanwalt fuer Steuerrecht) who – as it comes to German tax laws – strictly focuses on advising about German inheritance tax law and German gift tax law, only.

Different from the procedures in many Anglo-American jurisdictions, an inheritance in Germany does not in any case require probate proceedings in Germany, although in many constellations, this is the case. When probate procedures are necessary, you should assign a German certified inheritance lawyer or at least a German lawyer who specializes in German inheritance law.

The main reason for the possible dispensability of probate proceedings in Germany is the so-called principle of universal succession pursuant to German substantial inheritance law.

Section 1922 paragraph 1 of the German Civil Code states that “upon the death of a person (devolution of an inheritance), that person’s assets (inheritance) devolve as a whole to one or more than one other persons (heirs).” Different from the legal situation in many Anglo-American jurisdictions, an appointment of a personal representative for the estate is not required in any case, because in General the heirs of a decedent become his legal successors and may represent the estate.

Anyhow, probate proceedings in Germany are always required, if the heir does not have any other opportunity to prove his position as a legal heir and a legal successor of the decedent in the sense of section 1922 German Civil Code above.

Unless a German notarial last will and testament has been executed by a decedent, which has formally been opened-up by a German probate court, the heir who was appointed in a last will and testament as an heir or a beneficiary under the last will and testament, will have to apply for a court-certificate, which must be issued by the competent German probate court. Although in theory, this application can be filed by a juristic lay person, we cannot recommend you that.

In most of the cases it makes sense to assign a German specialist inheritance lawyer like Dr. Hosser with legal assistance in the application-procedures for the formal court-certificates’ context. The frequent language problems of heirs from abroad is only one of a multitude of reasons for this recommendation to involve a German certified inheritance lawyer, preferentially one with international experience who can explain the next steps to you understandingly.

If a notarial last will and testament exists, it can basically serve as a proof for the appointed heir’s position as the legal successor, when it is presented to a third party, together with the minutes about the last will’s formal opening-up by the competent German probate court. The same is true for a German inheritance contract and if the testator has not appointed any sole heir, but a multitude of heirs, the above principles apply correspondingly for the heirs, too.

If the decedent died intestate, the required court-certificate will be a German certificate of inheritance (Erbschein). In case the testator appointed an executor for his last will and testament, a German certificate of executorship (Testamentsvollstreckerzeugnis) might be the right court-certificate to apply for, or – potentially even on top of that – a German certificate of inheritance, either, regardless of the appointment of an executor in the last will and testament.

German banks with which the decedent had a bank or securities account or e. g. the German land registry office may rely on the person who is named in the German certificate of inheritance’s position as the legal successor, regardless of said certificate’s real accuracy. There is a provision in the German Civil Code which protects the good faith of third parties in a German certificate of inheritance’s contents’ being true and accurate. Therefore, the above institutions or authorities will with all regularity ask the appointed heir for a German certificate of inheritance’s presentation and will not rely on any possible foreign probate court-decision.