Succession Planning

Succession planning is rarely just a legal issue — it requires strategic foresight, careful timing, and sensitive communication.

We advise high-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurial families, and family-owned structures on all aspects of wealth and business succession, both domestically and internationally. Our focus is on legally sound, tax-efficient, and sustainable solutions that preserve assets and help prevent family conflict.

How can wealth be transferred meaningfully across generations? How can values, decision-making structures, and family harmony be safeguarded for the long term?

How We Support You

• Wealth succession and generational planning

• Matrimonial property law

• Inheritance law and testamentary dispositions

• Co-heir communities and conflict resolution

• Foundations and asset structures

  
  

Key Areas of Advice

Wealth Succession & Generational Planning

How can the transfer of wealth be structured in a legally sound, tax-efficient, and fair manner?

Transferring wealth to the next generation requires clear concepts and forward-looking planning. We develop tailored succession structures that take family, commercial, and tax considerations into account.

• Structuring the transfer of assets during lifetime and upon death

• Use of statutory and contractual structuring options

• Tax-efficient succession concepts in cooperation with tax advisors

• Preservation of value, control, and fairness across generations

  
  

Matrimonial Property Law

How can wealth be protected through the right matrimonial property regime?

Marriage and wealth are closely linked from a legal perspective. We advise on the selection and design of the appropriate matrimonial property regime and establish clear arrangements in the event of separation, divorce, or death.

• Advice on the appropriate matrimonial property regime

• Drafting and negotiation of marital agreements

• Protection of entrepreneurial and family assets

• Adjustment of existing agreements to changed life circumstances

  
  

Inheritance Law & Testamentary Dispositions

How can you ensure that your wishes are implemented clearly and with legal effect?

Wills and inheritance agreements are key instruments of succession planning. We draft testamentary dispositions that are clear, robust, and aligned with your individual objectives.

• Drafting of wills and inheritance agreements

• Optimisation with regard to compulsory share rights

• Prior and subsequent succession, legacies, and partition arrangements

• Lasting powers of attorney and advance healthcare directives

  
  

Co-Heir Communities & Conflict Resolution

How do you deal with differing interests within a community of heirs?

Communities of heirs are often prone to conflict. Different expectations, commercial interests, and emotional ties frequently come together. We support you with a solution-oriented and effective approach.

• Advice and representation within co-heir communities

• Division and dissolution of co-heir communities

• Enforcement and defence of inheritance-related claims

• Negotiation and out-of-court conflict resolution

  
  

Foundations & Asset Structures

How can foundations be used to safeguard wealth over the long term?

Foundations can be a powerful instrument for wealth preservation and succession planning. We support our clients from the initial concept through to ongoing advisory work.

• Preparation and structuring of foundation establishment documents

• Formation of legally independent civil law foundations

• Advice on governance, asset management, and fulfilment of the foundation’s purpose

• Ongoing legal support throughout the life of the foundation

  
  

Our Full-Service Approach

Succession planning requires careful coordination across multiple areas: inheritance and family law, corporate law, tax law, and asset structuring are closely interconnected. We address these interfaces holistically and develop integrated, tax-efficient solutions from a single source.

You benefit from:

• clear structures and accessible advice

• forward-looking planning instead of reactive conflict management

• tailored concepts for complex asset situations

• sensitive support with a clear view of family, wealth, and the future

  
  

Contact

Ralph G. Werner - Partner
+49 89 23 23 73 6-11
ralph.werner@oikon.law

Dr. Jur. Anna Tönies-Bambalska
+49 89 23 23 73 6-27
anna.bambalska@oikon.law