Succession, Wealth and Foundations

Family means obligation. We build trust.
Careful planning is critical to a successful business and asset succession. We help to bring together even the most diverse of interests both inside and outside the company and owner family, achieving the optimal result – tailored to your individual needs and in constant dialogue with all parties involved.
For many years we have been advising entrepreneurs, owner families and wealthy private individuals on how to structure and secure the succession to their company or assets, also bearing cross-border aspects in mind. This includes advising founders and foundations with family-related or charitable objectives.
We know what arrangements you can use to reduce inheritance and gift tax and how you can simultaneously keep your private and business arrangements flexible.
With an outstanding international and interdisciplinary network of renowned network partners, we are ideally positioned to handle all issues brought by our demanding clients and to find efficient solutions.
Our range of advice in the field of succession, wealth and foundations includes:
- Inheritance, corporate and foundation law arrangements and their tax optimization
- Due diligence under inheritance law
- Company and asset succession (gifts and bequests)
- Transfer of assets during lifetime
- Asset management by family companies and foundations
- Settlement and administration of estates
- Marriage and cohabitation agreements
- Non-profit law
- Family constitutions, family business governance concepts and family education
- International and cross-border aspects of inheritance, family, corporate and tax law
In addition, we offer a range of innovative advisory approaches:
- NextGen Academy
- Academy: succession, wealth and foundations
- Oppenhoff Family Risk and Privacy Management
Awards
JUVE Handbook Commercial Law Firms, 2021/2022
Strong in collaborating with the corporate and tax law groups.
In-house counsel survey: kanzleimonitor.de, 2018/2019
Top 10 recommendations Germany
Further contacts
Newsbeiträge
Related news
Private ClientsSuccession, Wealth and Foundations / Tax Law28.04.2023 Newsletter
German Federal Fiscal Court about corporate succession: caution still required in case of full exemption
Last year, the German Federal Fiscal Court [Bundesfinanzhof, BFH] ruled that when companies are transferred to the next generation, an application for so-called full exemption can be made for each individual transferred company (= economic unit). It thus rejected the previous view held by the tax authorities (ruling dated 26 July 2022 - II R 25/20).
Private ClientsSuccession, Wealth and Foundations / Tax Law23.03.2023 Newsletter
German Federal Fiscal Court: no limited inheritance tax liability in case of an acquisition of a domestic real estate by bequest
The German Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof, BFH) ruled on 23 November 2022 that real estate located in Germany can be transferred tax-free by way of foreign bequest if neither the testator nor the beneficiary have their domicile or habitual residence in Germany. In the case of German nationals, an additional prerequisite is that they already gave up their domicile or habitual residence in Germany over five years ago.
Private ClientsSuccession, Wealth and Foundations15.02.2023 Newsletter
New spousal emergency representation law: end of the lasting power of attorney?
The number of so-called “lasting powers of attorney” (Vorsorgevollmacht) in Germany has been rising steadily for years. Nevertheless, the number of people under guardianship due to illness or physical infirmity is increasing. The German Act to Reform Guardianship Law [Gesetz zur Reform des Vormundschafts- und Betreuungsrechts] now aims to strengthen the rights of people who are no longer able to manage their own affairs.