Representation of U.S. clients in non-contentious estate matters in Germany

Services

We support beneficiaries residing in the U.S. of an estate or trust in Germany towards the German executor (Testamentsvollstrecker) or German heir (Erbe). In particular, our services include

• requesting a copy of the Will;
• requesting and reviewing the estate inventory and accounting;
• requesting the documents required for tax assessment (inheritance tax, gift tax, income tax) in Germany or in the U.S.;
• recommendations regarding the exercise of tax election rights to avoid double taxation;
• reviewing the German executor`s / trustee's activities (e.g. costs of administering the trust);
• asserting and enforcing the claim to payment of the share of the estate / trust assets;
• advice on the tax-optimized allocation of assets when not all beneficiaries reside in the U.S.;
• initial review of the legality of withdrawals from the trust assets (e.g. for trust administration costs and trustee remuneration);
• assertion of claims for distribution against the personal representaive / trustee;
• assertion of claims for reimbursement, e.g. German inheritance tax;
• Advice on disclaiming an interest in the estate (e.g. in order to reduce German inheritance tax);
• Advice on payment methods, currency exchange and reporting requirements under the Foreign Trade and Payments Act (Außenwirtschaftsgesetz);
• advice regarding the Money Laundering Act (e.g. declarations to banks regarding the origin of the assets).

On the basis of the information obtained, we also assist with the declaration of German inheritance tax in the case of connections to the U.S. and offer advice regarding the consequences of the inheritance for German income tax.

Representation throughout Germany

We represent clients with respect to estates administered throughout Germany as in non-contentious estate matters (responsible e.g. for certificate of inheritance proceedings), travelling to the probate court will generally not be necessary, as correspondence in non-contentious matters is usually exclusively electronic/postal and a personal appearance at the place of jurisdiction is almost never necessary. 

District Courts in Germany 

Landgericht Aachen, Landgericht Amberg, Landgericht Ansbach, Landgericht Arnsberg, Landgericht Aschaffenburg, Landgericht Augsburg, Landgericht Aurich, Landgericht Bad Kreuznach, Landgericht Baden-Baden, Landgericht Bamberg, Landgericht Bautzen, Landgericht Bayreuth, Landgericht Berlin, Landgericht Bielefeld, Landgericht Bochum, Landgericht Bonn, Landgericht Braunschweig, Landgericht Bremen, Landgericht Bückeburg, Landgericht Chemnitz, Landgericht Coburg, Landgericht Cottbus, Landgericht Darmstadt, Landgericht Deggendorf, Landgericht Dessau-Roßlau, Landgericht Detmold, Landgericht Dortmund, Landgericht Dresden, Landgericht Duisburg, Landgericht Düsseldorf, Landgericht Ellwangen (Jagst), Landgericht Erfurt, Landgericht Essen, Landgericht Flensburg, Landgericht Frankenthal (Pfalz), Landgericht Frankfurt (Oder), Landgericht Frankfurt am Main, Landgericht Freiburg im Breisgau, Landgericht Fulda, Landgericht Gera, Landgericht Gießen, Landgericht Görlitz, Landgericht Göttingen, Landgericht Hagen, Landgericht Halle, Landgericht Hamburg, Landgericht Hanau, Landgericht Hannover, Landgericht Hechingen, Landgericht Heidelberg, Landgericht Heilbronn, Landgericht Hildesheim, Landgericht Hof/ Saale, Landgericht Ingolstadt, Landgericht Itzehoe, Landgericht Kaiserslautern, Landgericht Karlsruhe, Landgericht Kassel, Landgericht Kempten (Allgäu), Landgericht Kiel, Landgericht Kleve, Landgericht Koblenz, Landgericht Köln, Landgericht Konstanz, Landgericht Krefeld, Landgericht Landau i.d. Pfalz, Landgericht Landshut, Landgericht Leipzig, Landgericht Limburg a.d. Lahn, Landgericht Lübeck, Landgericht Lüneburg, Landgericht Magdeburg, Landgericht Mainz, Landgericht Mannheim, Landgericht Marburg, Landgericht Meiningen, Landgericht Memmingen, Landgericht Mönchengladbach, Landgericht Mosbach, Landgericht Mühlhausen, Landgericht München I, Landgericht München II, Landgericht Münster, Landgericht Neubrandenburg, Landgericht Neuruppin, Landgericht Nürnberg-Fürth, Landgericht Offenburg, Landgericht Oldenburg, Landgericht Osnabrück, Landgericht Paderborn, Landgericht Passau, Landgericht Potsdam, Landgericht Ravensburg, Landgericht Regensburg, Landgericht Rostock, Landgericht Rottweil, Landgericht Saarbrücken, Landgericht Schweinfurt, Landgericht Schwerin, Landgericht Siegen, Landgericht Stade, Landgericht Stendal, Landgericht Stralsund, Landgericht Stuttgart, Landgericht Traunstein, Landgericht Trier, Landgericht Tübingen, Landgericht Ulm, Landgericht Verden (Aller), Landgericht Waldshut-Tiengen, Landgericht Weiden i.d.OPf., Landgericht Wiesbaden, Landgericht Wuppertal, Landgericht Würzburg, Landgericht Zweibrücken, Landgericht Zwickau