Asset & business succession
We support you with your wealth and estate planning using a holistic approach that fully encompasses the areas of civil and tax law.
Key areas of our consulting services include
- Advance asset succession planning
- Asset succession and cross-border issues
- Generational transition
- Protecting family members (asset protection)
- Drafting of wills
- Execution of wills
- Investment of assets
- Disputes over inheritance
- Tax optimisation of financial circumstances
- Structuring of family holding companies
- Inheritance and gift tax returns
- Powers of attorney for healthcare, guardianship and living wills
Questions raised by our clients include:
- Is the ‘Berlin will’ – a common practice whereby spouses ‘disinherit’ their children in the first line of succession – actually advisable, or should it be used with caution?
- Is a gift subject to a right of usufruct possible not only for property transfers but also for share portfolios? How is this implemented in practice by banks?
- How is the valuation of property carried out for succession purposes, and what tax advantages does this offer?
- What advantages (including tax advantages) do shares offer compared to property in terms of asset investment and succession planning?
- Can renouncing an inheritance be advisable in certain cases?
- What conditions must be met in order to claim the standard or optional exemption for business assets?
- What is the tax liability for large acquisitions (valued at over €26 million) when applying the exemption needs test under Section 28a of the Inheritance Tax Act (ErbStG), and how can subsequent tax assessments be avoided?
- Are there any valuation alternatives to the so-called simplified income-based valuation method for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)?
- In which cases does a so-called ‘marital property regime switch’ make sense from an inheritance tax perspective, and what other tax consequences does this entail?
There is a wide variety of wishes and objectives that clients seek to achieve through the planning of their private assets during their lifetime or by initiating a generational handover within a business. Our advisory services support clients in such matters, paying particular attention to the family interests and life circumstances of those involved.
Effective estate and asset planning requires an interdisciplinary approach, particularly when transferring business assets. This is because, depending on the nature of the assets being transferred, provisions from a wide range of areas of civil and tax law are involved. It is precisely this holistic advisory approach that is our strength.
Our many years of experience show that, for wealth transfer tailored to individual needs, it is essential to have a trusted partner at your side who understands the various investment options, asks the right questions and comprehends clients’ concerns, whilst always thinking and acting with an entrepreneurial mindset. Our team is interdisciplinary and has many years of experience in managing wealth and business succession. We support you in all tax and civil law matters, from structuring your assets and passing on business assets to the next generation, right through to setting up a family holding company to ensure a sustainable transfer of assets. We are also well-versed in the issues and solutions relating to assets held abroad.
