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To ensure that you are always up to date, you will receive occasional notifications about important court rulings as well as legal commentary and notes from our experts on this page. Please be aware that the original language of our news content is German. While we strive for accuracy, automated or manual translations may occasionally contain errors. If any part of a ruling or commentary is unclear, do not hesitate to reach out to us for direct advice.
Company under civil law (GbR): Indirect obligation to register in new register from 2024
On January 1, 2024, the law governing civil law partnerships (GbR) will be comprehensively reformed. There is a need for action for companies with real estate ownership or company participations. The GbR should be registered in the new company register. What purpose does the register serve? And when is there an obligation to register? "The company register provides information on who is a shareholder and may represent the company....
Central register of guardians of the Federal Chamber of Notaries - registration prevents the appointment of a court-appointed guardian
More and more people are no longer able to make decisions about their own personal and financial affairs due to illness, accidents or disability. Currently, around 1.3 million people in Germany are looked after by a court-appointed guardian. If you want to retain your self-determination in the event of care, you should make provisions for this while you are still healthy and...
Land charge simplifies real estate financing - foreclosure threatens in the event of default
Anyone who wants to fulfill their dream of owning their own house or apartment usually has to take out a loan. To protect themselves against payment defaults, banks and financing insurers generally have an enforceable land charge entered in the land register. If the loan cannot be repaid in accordance with the contract, the land charge allows the property to be foreclosed under certain conditions without prior...
When is the right to inheritance forfeited? Ineligibility to inherit only in the rarest of cases
If there is a serious dispute between parents and adult children, or if the father and mother feel permanently neglected in their twilight years, they sometimes consider their own offspring unworthy of inheritance. However, the legislator has set the hurdles for accepting unworthiness of inheritance much higher than many people believe. Even voluntarily dropping out of education or choosing a...
Expansion of notarial online procedures
The current range of online notarial procedures in Germany will be expanded on August 1, 2023: With immediate effect, unanimous shareholder resolutions such as amendments to articles of association or capital measures at a limited liability company (GmbH) can also be certified online. Registrations in the register of associations are now also possible digitally. „This marks the next milestone in the digitization of the notarial profession,“ says Prof. Dr. Jens Bormann, President of the Federal Chamber of Notaries, welcoming the...
When heirs are in financial difficulties - a will for the needy prevents third parties from accessing the inheritance
Many people want to leave something of value to their descendants so that they will have a better life later on. However, if the heirs are in debt, have gone bankrupt, or are receiving social assistance, concerned parents often turn to a notary. A so-called "will for the needy" with testamentary execution and preliminary and reversionary inheritance can prevent creditors from gaining access to the estate. To this end...