Family law forms the legal framework for marriage, families and cohabitation. In Germany, it consists of the provisions in the German Civil Code, which govern parental responsibility, marriage, maintenance, matrimonial property and pension rights. We also consider family law to include the specifics that apply to all legal relationships between family members. Only in-depth expertise can provide the basis for sound and comprehensive legal advice.
Family law helps: with separation, divorce and the rights of the children, with maintenance, the sharing of pension rights and matrimonial property, with real estate, debts, asset transfers, with trusts and endowments.
Family law can be set out in a contract: prenuptial agreement or divorce settlement. Fair arrangements promote family relationships and their resolution. This can frequently prevent family disputes from escalating.
We help our clients to arrange their fortune. This includes not only their active life, but also the end of life. Knowing that everything has been arranged gives our clients security and quality of life.
Inheritance law is forward-looking: donations, wills, endowments and trusts regulate things that will only become relevant later. It makes sense to attend to your own estate early on. Entrepreneurs must plan for the future just as much as independent professions. Life situations, whether it is a marriage or a co-habitation, frequently change after just a few years, making wills and contracts of inheritance invalid.
Testators who actively settle their estate secure the future – of their wife, their husband, their children, their partner.
Beneficiaries who receive sound legal advice avoid losses and personal quarrels.
International law
In our days, families and couples are becoming increasingly international, either due to relationships between people of different nationalities or due to assets located abroad.
International law governs which law applies and which courts have jurisdiction. Some of these legal implications can be arranged by contractual agreements or a will.
International cases require extensive deliberations as to which law will provide better solutions in the individual case. If a lawsuit can be filed in different states, speed is sometimes of the essence, as it is often the first suit to be filed that prevails.
We provide advice on the international legal framework as well as on the applicable foreign law. With our expertise, we help private individuals as well as fellow lawyers from other fields of law and from other countries.
