Estate Planning and Succession Planning

The Succession Law Team of Brödermann Jahn has many years of experience in developing individual succession concepts for family businesses and private individuals with high expectations and sophisticated needs. We are advising on all aspects of estate planning and succession planning: structuring and transferring of your assets during your lifetime, planning a generational change and succession in a family business, as well as providing for the transfer of your assets after your death in wills and inheritance contracts. 

We take tax aspects into consideration in collaboration with our tax cooperation partners (see also TuN Testament und Nachfolge, www.tun.consulting). 

Brödermann Jahn's Succession Law Team is also experienced in working cross-border: when structuring and drafting international succession concepts and when advising on cases with international aspects, we can combine Brödermann Jahn's core competences in cross-border cases with our expertise in German, foreign and international inheritance law.

There are many reasons for estate planning during lifetime: For example, lifetime gifts or transfers in anticipated succession can provide benefits through the multiple use of tax allowances or with respect to impacts on future inheritance shares and compulsory portions. We can even structure lifetime gifts and transfers in a way that you do not lose control and may continue using the gifted asset by way of usufruct. 

A suitable tool for transferring parts of the family assets step by step to the next generation while maintaining control through corporate structures and at the same time using tax advantages is a family company. We advise on the various possible combinations and develop a tailor-made structure.

We advise on succession planning and prepare last wills and inheritance contracts. We assist in implementing your personal goals in succession planning, such as the provision for the surviving spouse and/or the distribution of your assets among the heirs, while taking legal requirements into account, such as compulsory portion rights. We can make use of various legally possible concepts from our “tool box”, such as joint wills and inheritance contracts, legacies and testamentary obligations, provisional and reversionary inheritance, conditions precedent and conditions subsequent, execution of wills, as well as waivers of inheritance and/or compulsory portions. We also take into account individual needs and circumstances by using special tools (entrepreneurial wills, provision for children with special needs, patchwork families, wills of divorced persons, etc.). 

In the case of participation of a business or shares in a company, the will must be coordinated with the articles of association of such company or business entity. Thus, we also advise on adapting succession clauses in the articles of association to the provisions of your last will.

Brödermann Jahn’s special focus lies in cross-border cases where the structuring of succession requires special care due to internationals aspects such as dual or multiple citizenships, various residences, or assets in different countries. We have broad expertise in dealing with foreign legal systems and are familiar with the various concepts of inheritance law world wide. We design your succession with special focus on the respective national inheritance laws and the particularities of the foreign legal cultures.

We also advise foreign clients who wish to draw up a separate will for their German assets. Special attention should be given to harmonize the existing wills from the different legal systems so that they do not contain contradictory provisions. We have broad experience in considering the various aspects and requirements of international succession planning.