Expats from Britain or the United States should be aware of the unique rules that apply to divorce or the death of a family member while living in Germany.
When businesses think about expanding to Germany and sending UK or US staff to Europe, they usually obtain tons of advice about visas, work permits, German employment law and the practical issues of relocating from an Anglo-American country to Germany.
What rarely occurs to anyone are the following two aspects:
- should the UK or US employee get divorced while living in Germany, then very different sets of rules apply with regard to the separation of family wealth, child custody etc.
- should a family member pass away during their stay in Germany, the surviving spouse and/or the children may be in for a surprise, because the German succession laws may kick in (forced share rules!)
UK/US businesses sending staff to Germany should provide checklists for their employees
It helps avoid difficult complications and it will give peace of mind to the staff members being relocated to Germany, if their UK or US company makes them aware of these issues and recommends that these expat families obtain expert advice with regards to their personal affairs, e.g. international wills, lasting powers of attorney valid in Germany as well as the available options with regards to marriage contracts and pre-nups in Germany.
If the British or American expat in Germany makes a conscious decision not to use any of these tools, that is fine. But it should be a conscious and informed decision.
The Expert on Anglo-German Legal Matters
German business and international estate administration lawyer Bernhard Schmeilzl specialises in Anglo-German legal matters including cross-border disputes since 2001. He is not only a very experienced German trial lawyer but he also knows the English side of things because he has written the only German language textbook on civil litigation in England and Wales (“Der Zivilprozess in England”) published by the renowned BECK Verlag.
His in depth knowledge of both legal systems and their respective civil procedure rules makes his advice so valuable for litigants from the UK. Bernhard Schmeilzl immediately eliminates any misconceptions and unrealistic expectations the UK party may have, for example about the tool of disclosure, which simply does not exist under German law.
He is the editor of the German language law blog www.EnglischesRecht.de, which explains matters of English law to a German speaking audience, and he has written dozens of articles and checklists on UK-German inheritance matters and international divorces.
For more on these topics see:
- HOW TO OBTAIN PROBATE IN GERMANY AND ADMINISTER A GERMAN ESTATE
- PRE-NUPTIALS, MARRIAGE AGREEMENTS AND DIVORCE PROCEEDINGS IN GERMANY