With notary Verena Walter and former notary Dr Ingrid Walter-Meinig, our firm draws on more than thirty years of notarial experience. We assist from the initial advice through to the completion of agreements and transactions in the following areas.

Buying a home, trading in commercial property or entering into a property development agreement calls for terms tailored to the transaction. We advise on the relevant aspects and handle the process with public authorities, banks and the land registry. Our work includes authenticating and completing contracts for land and flats, declarations dividing property into units and property development agreements. We also assist with creating and cancelling land charges, easements, rights of usufruct and rights of residence. We act as a point of contact for business law firms and family offices.

Our services include:

• Purchase agreements for developed and undeveloped land
• Purchase agreements for flats
• Creation of separate ownership of flats (Wohnungseigentum)
• Creation of heritable building rights (Erbbaurechte)
• Property development agreements for new builds and renovation projects
• Creation and cancellation of land charges and mortgages
• Creation of easements
• Creation of rights of usufruct and residence

We provide company law advice drawing on many years of experience. We assist individuals and businesses with formation, dissolution, capital measures and the drafting of purchase and assignment agreements.

In this area of law, the decisions you make can shape your options and business opportunities for years. We consider both the legal and business aspects of your situation when advising you.

Our company law services include:

• Advice and notarial authentication for business formations, including GmbHs and AGs, and partnerships such as OHGs, KGs, GmbH & Co. KGs, professional partnerships and civil-law partnerships
• Drafting and notarial authentication of share purchase agreements
• Capital increases and reductions
• Transactions under the German Transformation Act, including mergers, demergers and changes of legal form
• Appointment and removal of managing directors, holders of commercial powers of attorney, and management and supervisory board members
• Creation and cancellation of land charges and mortgages
• Contract drafting and amendments
• Shareholders’ agreements and articles of association
• Corporate agreements
• Capital measures of all kinds
• Assistance with commercial register matters
• Pledging of company shares and membership interests
• Liquidation of companies
• Drafting and filing commercial register applications

We draw on our civil law, notarial, tax and business experience to plan and implement transfers of assets and businesses. Planning early can help make use of available tax allowances and put your preferred succession arrangements in place.

We advise on succession planning using our expertise in company and property law. In complex cases, we work closely with tax advisers to address the inheritance, company, tax and property law aspects of your plans.

In business succession and more complex estates, statutory succession rules may not suit the circumstances and can lead to a substantial inheritance tax bill. A will or an inheritance agreement can provide a tailored solution. We discuss your situation with you, analyse the legal framework and propose options to help avoid uncertainty and disputes.

A notarised will or inheritance agreement can often serve as proof of succession, together with the probate court’s record of its opening. A handwritten will may not be sufficient in every case when dealing with the land registry or a bank. Where a certificate of inheritance would otherwise be required, a notarised document may spare the heirs the time and cost of obtaining one.

Lifetime gifts can help with planning for compulsory-share claims, gift or inheritance tax and the early transfer of a business to the next generation while the owner can still guide the process. Early notarial advice can help structure these transfers.

We can help with:

• Wills and other testamentary dispositions, including joint wills for spouses and registered civil partners
• Inheritance agreements
• Lifetime gifts and transfer agreements for property, businesses and other assets
• Business succession agreements and wills for business owners
• Applications for certificates of inheritance
• Disclaiming an inheritance
• Division of an estate among heirs

Various family law agreements, including marital agreements and agreements on the consequences of divorce, require notarial authentication. As these matters are often personal, we place particular importance on confidential advice and a relationship of trust. Our family law services include:

• Marital and civil partnership agreements
• Agreements on matrimonial property regimes
• Agreements on transfers between spouses in connection with their marriage
• Formation of family companies, including tailored articles of association
• Agreements on the consequences of divorce
• Acknowledgements of paternity and custody agreements

If you become unable to manage your affairs, the guardianship court may need to appoint a legal representative. A power of attorney for future incapacity can help you make your own arrangements in advance. We advise on drafting a power of attorney suited to your needs and can help prepare an advance healthcare directive.