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The Experts on Anglo-German Law

CrossChannelLawyers.co.uk, its German language counterpart Cross-Channel-Lawyers.de, and InternationalProbateLaw.com are law blogs (blawgs) dealing with Anglo-German legal issues. A network of international lawyers who are experienced in cross border legal problems and who give practical and reliable advice. The law blogs are run by the lawyers of Graf & Partners, a firm of German lawyers (Rechtsanwälte) with many years of professional experience in cross border legal proceedings, who provide legal advice in a comprehensive, understandable and user-oriented manner. Our experienced team of German litigation lawyers provides forensic services all across Germany and runs the expert litigation law blog German Civil Procedure. Graf & Partners, with its international expertise, is well equipped to advise and represent clients from the USA, the United Kingdom and other English speaking countries. Visit us also on YouTube.

+49 (0) 941 – 463 70 70
mail@grafpartner.com
German ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance LawInternational Probate

Typical Pitfalls of UK-German Probate Case

What English will and probate solicitors should know If an English testator owns assets in Germany, or if they decide to gift all or part or their estate to someone resident in Germany, a “standard” English will does not adequately cover all the client’s needs. Foreign IHT consequences, for example, are often completely ignored, as is the fact that German law does neither know the concept of “personal representative”, nor does it recognise trusts. Standard…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
April 5, 2022
Business in GermanyCivil actionGerman Corporate LawGerman Labor LawGerman LawGerman ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance Law

Less Cricket. More Baseball!

GrafLegal creates US-German Legal Desk Too much cricket, not enough baseball! That's essentially what our marketing people told us after finding that 65% of all posts on our various law blogs deal with UK-German legal issues, only 35% with USA related topics. We may just have gone a bit too much Downton Abbey on everyone. Enough of that, let's balance the scales! The German law firm for US-German legal matters To start off our US…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
March 29, 2022
Business in GermanyCivil actionGerman LawGoing to courtInternational LitigationLitigation in Germany

Guide to Civil Litigation in Germany

101 on German Civil Lawsuits Download your free brochure If things go sour in international business relationships, U.S. or British businesses may find themselves in a German legal dispute. In this situation, many American and British business owners and CEOs make the same mistake: They assume that a German civil lawsuit will be “somehow similar” to what they know from home. They couldn't be more wrong! Very different Procedure Rules. Litigating in a German court…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
March 21, 2022
Civil actionDebt collectionGerman LawGoing to courtLitigation in Germany

The German Court System

Structure of the German Civil Courts explained If you need to bring a claim before a German court of law, this chart shows you which German court has jurisdiction and how many judges will hear your case:   The chart is taken from our expert law blog https://www.germancivilprocedure.com on which our German expert litigators explain many aspects of German civil procedure. You can also ask for our 20 page brochure: Civil Litigation in Germany -…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
January 18, 2022
Family Law

How to Change Your Name in Germany

German law is quite restrictive when it comes to changing last names In England, anyone can change their last name by simple deed poll. Not so in Germany! Under German law, one is usually stuck for life with the name selected by one's parents. The only easy method to get rid of one's last name is to marry. Because, upon marriage, each spouse is free to either keep their own last name, take on the…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
January 14, 2022
Civil actionDebt collectionInternational LitigationLitigation in GermanyProcess Server Germany

Process Server in Germany

How to serve legal documents in Germany We have previously explained why there is no tradition of instructing a private process server in Germany (see here). Since our law office GrafLegal specialises in international civil and commercial litigation, we are frequently contacted by British, US and Canadian law firms who need to serve court papers or other important legal documents on a party who is resident or has their legal seat in Germany. In order…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
November 10, 2021
Civil actionEuropean ProbateGerman ProbateGoing to court

Experts on Contentious Probate in Germany

How to challenge a German Last Will and Testament  German Probate Courts routinely issue a German Grant of Probate (Erbschein) to the applicant without any pro-active investigation into the question whether the testator did possess legal capacity or not. In other words, if nobody comes forward to challenge the validity of the last will, the German court will issue the Erbschein even if the German testator had suffered from severe dementia at the time the…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
October 29, 2021
Civil actionGoing to courtInternational LitigationLitigation in Germany

Dispute Resolution in Germany

GP Law - Leading Anglo-German Litigation Lawyers since 2003 British-German dispute resolution has been the focus of Graf Legal LLP ever since the firm was established by litigation experts Birgit Graf and Bernhard Schmeilzl about 20 years ago. Based in the south of Germany, with offices in Munich and Regensburg, we provide English speaking clients with bespoke advice in commercial and high profile private client litigation cases throughout Germany. Head litigator Bernhard Schmeizl has more…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
September 27, 2021
Civil actionGoing to courtLitigation in Germany

Graf Legal – The German Litigation Lawyers

We specialise in German commercial litigation since 2003 When German civil litigation expert Bernhard Schmeilzl co-founded Graf Legal LLP back in 2003, the goal was to provide top notch German legal advice for British and US-American clients, with a clear focus on high stakes civil litigation cases. And this is exactly what the Bavaria based boutique litigation firm has done ever since. Every day, we explain German law and especially German civil procedure rules to…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
September 27, 2021
Business in GermanyCivil actionLitigation in Germany

How to Win Commercial Lawsuits in Germany…

... is something we explain to our UK and US clients for more than 20 years now. Our German commercial litigation boutique specialises in advising and representing British and American businesses in civil and commercial courts throughout Germany. More on the German court system here.  In a German courtroom, pretty much everything is different! If you are a British or American litigator dealing with a German civil lawsuit: Forget everything you think you know about…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
September 15, 2021
Civil actionDebt collectionGerman LawGoing to courtLitigation in Germany

Litigation in Germany is Different — CPR Explained

Typical Misconceptions about Civil Litigation in Germany Since Brexit, less German companies are willing to accept English law to govern their business relationships with UK trading partners. As a consequence, if things go sour between the parties, UK businesses may find themselves in a German legal dispute. German Civil Procedure Rules permit immediate Court Action In this situation, many British company directors and their solicitors make the same mistake: They assume that a German civil…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
July 22, 2021
Business in GermanyGerman LawGerman ProbateLitigation in Germany

German Desk at London Law Firm

Experts in Anglo-German Law The German law office Graf & Partners provides legal advice on German civil and commercial law matters for English speaking clients since 2003. The Bavaria based lawyer team around co-founder and managing partner Bernhard Schmeilzl specialises in German-British civil litigation, commercial and corporate law, international probate cases and estate planning. German Civil Litigation Experts With more than 20 years of courtroom experience under his belt, Bernhard is a renowned German civil…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
July 9, 2021
Civil actionGerman Corporate LawGoing to courtLitigation in Germany

German Litigation Boutique Graf & Partners fends off EUR 26.5m Claim by UK Manufacturer

German Lawyers Settle 7-Year International Dispute for their German Client For seven years, from 2014 to 2021, a British manufacturing company based in Wales, and a south German constructor of energy plants fought an all out legal battle about whether the wood fired plant designed and built by the Germans in 2013 in Wales, was performing according to the contractual specifications. The UK claimant, a subsidiary of an international group with 14,000 employees, did not…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
May 17, 2021
European ProbateGerman ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance LawGoing to court

How to Dissolve a German Community of Heirs

What to do if co-heirs in Germany cannot agree on how to distribute the estate Under German law, as well as in most other EU jurisdictions, there is no personal representative (executor or administratror) who takes possession of and deals with the estate. Instead, the "heir" (Erbe) is the immediate and direct successor of the deceased. This principle of automatic and direct succession is called "unmittelbare Gesamtrechtsnachfolge". This is all swell if there is only…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
April 13, 2021
German LawProfessional Regulations

Can I Practise as a Physician in Germany post Brexit?

Are British Medical Doctors permitted to work in Germany after Brexit? Since 2021, UK professional qualifications are no longer automatically recognized by EU member states. Thus, if you studied medicine in the UK or have already worked in the UK as a medical doctor and intend to work in Germany or elsewhere within the EU, this is no longer possible. However, qualifications obtained in the UK can be recognized in Germany if the qualifications are…
Magdalena Gegenfurtner
March 1, 2021
German LawGerman Real Estate LawGerman Tort Law

German Civil Law Explained

New Article-by-Article Commentary of the German Civil Code English speaking lawyers who deal with German civil law issues on a regular basis can turn to a helpful new resource: The German publishing houses Beck and Nomos have teamed up for this project and have just released a 2,300 page article by article commentary of the first three parts of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch): Book 1: General Part Book 2: Law of Obligations (including…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
January 15, 2021
Civil actionGerman Corporate LawGerman LawGerman Tort Law

Research on German Law

German Law in English Language Obviously, German legal research is easier if you are able to read German. English-language resources are available, but mostly limited to general introductions or very specific special interest topics a German legal scholar has published about in English language. Still, if you are an English speaking lawyer or legal scholar interested in German law in English language, here are some sources you may find helpful: (1) Harvard Law School Library…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
December 30, 2020
Family Law

Experts on German-English Family Law

Specialists for International Pre-Nuptials, Marriage Agreements and British-German Divorces German lawyer Bernhard Schmeilzl is the author of the country report (Länderbericht) on Family Law of England & Wales contained in the German Family Law textbook and legal commentary published by NOMOS, available online here. Ever since 2000, Bernhard Schmeilzl specialises in British-German legal matters, from estate planning, to business litigation and cross-border family law matters. International Family Law Experts in London and Munich In alliance…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
December 23, 2020
German LawGerman ProbateGerman Succession & Inheritance LawLitigation in Germany

The German Elective Share

Children and surviving Spouse cannot be entirely disinherited under German Law Germany, like many other European countries (e.g. France, Spain, Austria etc), has mandatory succession laws to stop a person from leaving their spouse and/or their children penniless. These "forced heirship" laws in most European countries reflect public policy that a testator shall not be allowed to leave these close family members (spouse and offspring) destitute by making little or no provision for them in…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
December 23, 2020