As with all reputable law firms we feel confident that we can provide you with the very best legal service as it pertains to our specific areas of legal expertise. We are constantly updating our legal expertise with regard to the respective areas of law in both Germany and the US.
You are a German citizen, living in the United States? Or you are a US citizen, living in Germany? You set up a will and would like to get legal advice on the tax consequences? Which tax laws of which country apply? Which country can tax the transfer of property to the devisee? How can one avoid the issue of dual taxation?
Or you are living in the United States and inherited property located in Germany. Now you should file an inheritance tax return in Germany.
You are living as German Citizen in the US or you intend to emigrate to the US? You will still be receiving income from Germany? Where do you have to declare the income?
Or: You live in Germany as an American Citizen or Dual Citizen. The bank in Germany requests your US tax ID number. However, you never filed a tax return in the US.
Our goal is to minimize the amount of taxes that will need to be paid in order for your property to pass to others after death. Every dollar your estate has to pay in estate or inheritance taxes is a dollar that your beneficiaries won’t get. A good estate plan can give the maximum allowed by law to your beneficiaries and the minimum to the government.
We help to avoid double taxation of a transferred estate through careful international estate planning and advise you on the Convention between the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States of America for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to taxes on estates, inheritances, and gifts.
Should you plan to give up your US citizenship you need to think about the exit tax. The expatriation tax provisions under Internal Revenue Code apply to U.S. citizens who have renounced their citizenship and long-term residents who have ended their U.S. resident status for federal tax purposes.
