Real estate law is at the centre of notarial activity. In this area, most declarations can only be made effectively before a notary. This applies in particular to the purchase or donation of real estate or a condominium, the creation and transfer of a heritable building right, the granting of a right of residence, the creation of a land charge or a right of way or management and the division of an apartment building into condominiums or partial ownership.

There is almost always a lot at stake for those involved. Without the support of the notary as a neutral advisor and finally certifying parties, many parties involved would not recognize the risks of a real estate transaction and the necessity to secure them. As a rule, the services of the contracting parties cannot be rendered directly at the notary's notarisation table after the signature has been executed. Rather, the land registry office and often other agencies must be involved in order for the deed to be executed. That is why the notary also plays the indispensable role of a neutral, effective and, above all, fast translator in the processing of his deeds, above all in securing services to be provided step by step.

Heirs and bequests without disputes and taxes - this is the goal of timely settlement of one's own succession. The notary helps you to approach this goal.

Notarial wills, contracts of inheritance or transfers in anticipated succession are not "ready-made goods" but always "made-to-measure". The notary listens to you carefully, because in inheritance law in particular, nuances and side notes are of great importance for the shaping of the "Last Will". The notary advises you independently and in a balanced manner. In this way, the numerous errors of a private will can be avoided, which are also due to the complexity of German inheritance law and the problems of the right to a compulsory portion and inheritance tax law. This also prevents the estate from being reduced by expensive inheritance disputes. The notary will suggest solutions that do justice to the structure of your assets, the situation of your family and your very personal ideas of succession.

Since the notarial deed in conjunction with the judicial opening protocol constitutes proof of inheritance without any doubt, it makes a certificate of inheritance and an executory certificate superfluous, as confirmed by the Federal Supreme Court in October 2013. The notary's deed is therefore ultimately cheaper than a private will. In addition, the notary ensures that your last will and testament is deposited in the register of wills, thus ensuring that his deed is "put on the table" immediately in the event of inheritance.

It is often advisable to regulate succession as early as possible. For this reason, notarial work in inheritance law also focuses on live transfers in anticipated succession. This is worthwhile for the participants: Inheritance and gift tax allowances can be exhausted every 10 years and claims of beneficiaries of the compulsory portion are excluded 10 years after a gratuitous donation. A guardian of the children in the event of the simultaneous death of both parents should also be appointed early. If the children are of age, waiver of the compulsory portion in the event of the death of the first parent is also possible and reasonable.

Finally, the notary is also called upon when the inheritance occurs. He notarizes applications for the issue of a certificate of inheritance or executor's certificate, inheritance disputes and transfers of inheritance shares and accompanies the heirs in correcting the land register and the commercial register.

Marriage before the registrar has far-reaching consequences - under marriage and inheritance law. With regard to the divorce rate, people have a need for protection. They also often do not want to leave inheritance to legal regulations alone. Both cases can be largely shaped by notarial deeds in the sense of securing the spouses and their children.

Thus, the notary notarises marriage contracts with regulations on equalisation of gains, equalisation of pensions and postmarital maintenance, transfers of assets between spouses and agreements on the dispute over assets in the event of divorce.

The notary also notarises partnership agreements between civil partners of the same or different sex (non-marital partnerships).

Finally, declarations of custody, acknowledgements of paternity, consents, applications by persons wishing to adopt and declarations of consent also belong to the notary's field of activity in family law.

When founding a company, the notary advises the parties involved on the question of the legal form (sole trader, partnership or corporation) and clarifies the relevant decision criteria. Together with the parties involved and their tax consultant, he must, for example, weigh up the advantage of limiting liability against the tax disadvantages compared to partnerships in the case of corporations.

Decisions in company law are very complex. For example, the consequences for the succession must be considered well in advance. All this requires experience, overview and empathy, so that partnership agreements and their amendments only become effective with a notarial deed. The notary also advises companies, shareholders and managing directors in the preparation of notarial transformations when adapting corporate structures to changed general conditions. Finally, the notary who advises and certifies is also responsible for recording the general meetings of a stock corporation and the sale of companies or business shares.

All necessary registrations for the electronic commercial register are also made exclusively by the notary.

Each of us must expect to be temporarily or permanently prevented from making decisions and taking care of ourselves by illness or accidents. The law does not provide for automatic power of attorney for the spouse or children in these cases. That is why I strongly advise you to give a person who enjoys your unrestricted trust a so-called precautionary power of attorney. Otherwise, in an emergency, the court appoints an official, often non-family carer who receives remuneration for his work. This is often not in the interest of the family. The precautionary power of attorney is an unlimited general power of attorney, which may only be used, however, if the situation described above is given.

As a rule, the precautionary power of attorney is combined with a care directive and a living will. The living will includes an instruction to the attending physician not to prolong the life of the patient and only to treat him palliative medical if his situation is completely hopeless and his death is inevitably imminent. The authorised representative may enforce this order. In the event that a prophylactic agent is not (no longer) present or appointed, the decision of the prophylactic court is to be influenced by appointing the person to be appointed by the court in an emergency, determining the scope of the care and formulating further instructions to the prophylactic agent.

In particular, if the power of attorney also relates to real estate transactions or is intended to enable representation in partnerships or corporations, it must be in notarial form. In the case of notarisation, the notary verifies the legal capacity of the grantor of the power of attorney. And if desired, he can register the proxy in the Central Register of Pensions of the Federal Chamber of Notaries, so that it can actually be used in an emergency and state support measures are thus prevented.

The notary is obliged by law to be strictly neutral. All contracts drawn up and notarised by him serve to avoid disputes. The resulting experience in the position of the impartial and the notary's daily attention to all parties involved and their interests enable him in a special way to help the opposing parties in the dispute as mediator, arbitrator or mediator to settle a dispute out of court.

It is not without reason that in the notarial mediation procedure under the Property Law Validating Statute the notary as mediator is expressly provided for.

The notary acts as arbitrator on the basis of a special arbitration agreement in which the parties involved also determine the persons of the arbitration court. The arbitral tribunal shall give a judgment which has the same binding effect as the judgment of a court of general jurisdiction.

On the other hand, the notary as mediator does not make a judgement; he does not decide the dispute. The aim of mediation is rather an agreement between the parties, which corresponds to their respective interests and means the end of the conflict. The path to this goal is characterised by voluntary action and personal responsibility on the part of the parties to the conflict. The mediator only has to ensure that the procedural rules of mediation are observed.

In all these cases of out-of-court settlement of disputes, the notary helps the parties involved to achieve considerable cost savings beyond the end of the dispute, measured against the cost burden of a court case and, in view of the considerably shorter procedure, an increase in "unshadowed lifetime".

As a notary I will be happy to advise and accompany you in other areas. You can use me for the following services, among others:

• Authentication of signatures
• Issue of representation certificates
• Certified transcripts or copies, e.g. of certificates
• Inspection of land registersr
• Collection of
  • Extracts from the Commercial Register
  • Excerpts from the register of associations
  • Apostilles and legalizations
• Preparation of draft contracts
• Examination of draft contracts prepared by third parties, in particular in the areas of
• Real estate purchase agreement
• Formation of a company (articles of association, transfer of shares)
• Company acquisition agreement
• Inheritance law (wills, contracts of inheritance, transfers in anticipated succession)
• Family law (marriage contracts, agreements on divorce consequences, marriage-related benefits)
• Preparation of legal opinions