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All Posts By

Bernhard Schmeilzl

GeneralGerman Law

LGBT Friendly Law Firms in Germany, Austria and Britain

Although Germany and Britain are comparatively liberal and progressive societies, we are fully aware that the struggle against hate, discrimination and bigotry is far from over. Our firm of German and British lawyers supports openness, diversity and equal rights for all sexual orientations and gender identities. We welcome clients from the LGBT community both in Germany and the UK and we provide legal advice in all areas of law, from family law (e.g. same sex…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
September 28, 2017
German ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance LawInternational ProbateWills and Succession Planning

Living Wills and Advance Directives for Medical Decisions in Germany

Advance directives in Germany: How to plan for medical care in the event of loss of decision-making capacity Our law firm specialises in international wills and succession planning for German-British and German-American clients. In this context, our international clients often also ask us to assist with the related matters of creating a Living Will, a Healthcare Proxy, a Lasting Power of Attorney or Advance Directives for Care or End of Life Medical Treatment. All these…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
September 21, 2017
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