Wealthy Individuals & Families

We provide guidance to private clients in all matters regarding inheritance law. This includes both the proper, lawful and tax-optimized design of succession solutions, such as the establishment of "family pools" and the bundling of assets in family offices, as well as the drafting of wills and contracts of inheritance, which exclude the intestate succession and instead enforce your will. Frequently, donations already during the lifetime of the donor by way of anticipated succession also make sense. We draft the necessary donation contracts according to your wishes.

Many wealthy people decide to place their private assets or their company or their participations in a company in foundations – either during their lifetime or only in the event of their death. The willing benefactor will thereby have a wealth of choice, for "the foundation" does not exist. Rather, the world of foundations has very different legal constructs (independent foundations on the one hand, dependent trust foundations on the other hand; non-profit foundations or family foundations, church or secular foundations; income and consumption foundations) and even foundations on offer, which in the legal sense are actually not foundations at all (such as the Foundation GmbH or the Foundation Society). In addition, numerous already existing foundations court donations of benefactors, for example in the form of donations, endowment contributions, foundation funds or benefactor loans or else a beneficial treatment per the will.

Thus, the motives of benefactors in establishing foundations are as diversified as the foundation world itself. For one, the main thing is to promote the common good, for the other, to protect his relatives or to prevent an atomization of family wealth by way of inheritance. For others in turn, the establishment of a foundation means finding a suitable durable and, if necessary, tax-optimized succession solution for their own life’s work, for example, the company built up over many years.

WINHELLER Attorneys at Law are proven foundation experts. We respond to your ideas and offer you orientation in the thicket of foundation law. Even though really a matter of course, in the face of the growing number of service providers on the "foundation market" (asset managers, banks, trust companies from Germany and abroad, fundraising agencies, etc.) it is nevertheless worth mentioning that as your legal advisors we have only your concerns in mind. We are bound to absolute independence and loyalty and have no conflicts of interest. Should a foundation solution ever not make sense, we will tell you so in no uncertain terms and present suitable alternatives to you.

We provide guidance to wealthy private individuals, family offices and foundations in all proprietary matters. We optimize your contractual relations with your asset managers and bank partners and develop designs under corporate law for asset management as efficient as possible and tax-optimized. Since our clients as investors are not immune to slumps in the market due to general market developments, but also to false advice by asset managers and/or banks, we examine whether financial losses incurred can be compensated for by the assertion of claims against banks, asset managers, etc. The independent JUVE Handbook on Commercial Law Firms 2011/12 certifies our law firm to have an excellent reputation in this area.

Moreover, through close cooperation with Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP, Philadelphia (USA), one of the leading U.S. law firms for securities class action lawsuits, we can facilitate our institutional clients (family offices, foundations, pension funds, etc.) participating in U.S. securities class action lawsuits remunerated on a contingency fee basis, if this is advisable in individual cases.

In recent years, in addition to disputes with banks and asset managers, also disputes with insurance companies, which refuse to pay agreed upon insurance benefits, for example, from term-life insurance, accident insurance, disability insurance, etc. have gained considerable importance. We advise you in these cases, negotiate with the opposing party, and assert your claims out-of-court and, if necessary, in court.

For wealthy investors, investments in real estate have always been in great demand. We assist you with respect to legal and tax aspects of your real estate investments, be it direct investment in residential or commercial properties or indirect investments, for example, through closed-end fund structures or in real estate AGs, etc. We draft the necessary contracts for your investments under purchase law and/or corporate law and in the case of failed investments examine whether damage claims can be successfully asserted against the advisor and/or seller.

Tax law, particularly international tax law, offers wealthy taxpayers legal opportunities that can lead to the reduction of their total tax burden. We are happy to plan and implement appropriate designs for you. If until now you have not declared taxable income to the German tax authorities from asset values, which are located abroad, we can help you on the way back to tax compliance. The same is true in cases in which you have obtained black money by way of inheritance and wish to be on good terms with the revenue office through a prompt correction statement.

Your contact persons for enquiries related to asset protection, donating and investing are Atty. Thorsten Franke-Roericht, Atty. Andreas Warkentin and Atty. Stefan Winheller. Please contact us by e-mail (info@winheller.com) or by phone (+49 69 76 75 77 80).