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The German National Pastime: Filing Cease and Desist Orders

What is an „Unterlassungsklage“?

If you start a business in Germany, it is hard to avoid being taken to court by a competitor who files a German cease and desist order lawsuit against you in order to tell you what you are allowed to do and what you are not. Why so?

Germans have a lot of rules. An old saying is „Alles muss seine Ordnung haben“ which means „everything must be in order“. But what good are rules if no one bothers to obey them?

Unlike the Italians and the Greek, who – at least on paper – also have a lot of laws and regulations, which – however – in everyday life no one seems to care about, Germans cannot bear if someone continuously does not play by the rules. There is the cliché of the German pedestrian waiting for the traffic light to turn green at 3 a.m. in the morning with no car in sight.

Getting sued in Germany is a matter of weeks!

That is why an extremely popular litigation tool under German law is the „Unterlassungsklage“, the German version of a cease and desist order application. This is used in all areas of German life, business and private. A neighbor repeatedly parks his car in your driveway? File a cease and desist order to prevent that from happening again. Someone sends you unwanted advertising emails? File a cease and desist order. A business competitor does not comply with German trade regulations on his web shop? File a cease … Well, you get the picture.

Sounds funny, but this can be a serious obstacle for non-German businesses starting up in Germany. We have had cases where a British or US business was confronted with 50+ cease and desist lawsuits by German competitors within the first month of trying to do business in Germany. For more on the German tradition of stress testing any newcomers see this post: Harsh Unfair Competition Rules in Germany

More information on litigation and legal fees in Germany is available in these posts:

For legal advice on German civil procedure and how to successfully litigate in Germany, contact the international litigation experts and trial lawyers of GrafLegal.

Copyright & Disclaimer All posts are copyrighted material. This blog is made available by Graf & Partners for educational purposes as well as to give you general information on German law, not to provide specific legal advice. Simply reading this blog does, of course, not result in any attorney client relationship between you and Graf & Partners. The blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice provided by a licensed professional attorney in a specific legal matter.

 

Mediation before a German High Court Judge

Get the best of both worlds: a professional German judge in a non-public civil proceeding

Parties to civil litigation often fear the public nature of a lawsuit, be it in the USA or in Germany. This is especially true for commercial and corporate cases as well as any litigation involving celebrities. The parties do not want their competitors and the public to learn about confidential business matters or — in case of celebrities — their private lives.

Therefore, many businesses and high profile individuals use arbitration clauses in their contracts to avoid ending up in a court room ful of reporters. However, arbitration is usually significantly more expensive compared to a „normal“ German court case, because the arbitrators are high profile lawyers from big law firms who charge hourly rates north of EUR 500 easily. This is particularly trie in Germany where the statutory court fees are comparatively low (see here).

Furthermore, picking the right arbitrator(s) is difficult and time consuming. The parties need to agree on a competent lawyer who is available in the near future and who’s law office does not have a conflict of interest.

Mediation / Arbitration at German High Courts

In many cases, the ideal solution to this may be to opt for a German „Güterichterverfahren„, an open mediation / arbitration proceeding which takes place before a German high court judge (Güterichter) and to which the basic principles of the German civil procedure rules do apply. However, such a Güteverfahren is entirely confidential and the parties are free to define the scope of the dispute, i.e. they can include additional matters to achieve an overall solution. The German mediation / arbitration hearings in the Güterichterverfahren usually take place at the German court house but behind closed doors. There are official hearing minutes (Protokoll) but they are only available to the parties, not to the public.

What are the advantages of German high court arbitration?

German civil law judges actively encourage the parties to a legal dispute to consider such a court arbitration proceeding, even if a „normal“ civil lawsuit has already been filed, see section 278 para. 5 German Civil Procedure Code. The advantages of this German high court arbitration are:

  • confidentiality, non public procedure
  • experienced professional German judges who are absolutely impartial hear the case; neither party must fear that a private arbitrator (or their law firm) has any hidden stakes in the matter
  • very reasonable costs since the German statutory court fee table does apply
  • in case of a settlement, the judge will issue an enforceable court order
  • if the parties do not reach a settlement, they have not lost anything because they can always go back to the standard civil litigation proceedings (streitiges Zivilverfahren) in which another judge will then hear the case

More information about this Güterichterverfahren (not to be confused with the Gütetermin, which is part of any German civil litigation) is available here and in these posts:

For legal advice on German civil procedure and how to successfully litigate in Germany, contact the international litigation experts and trial lawyers of GrafLegal.

Copyright & Disclaimer All posts are copyrighted material. This blog is made available by Graf & Partners for educational purposes as well as to give you general information on German law, not to provide specific legal advice. Simply reading this blog does, of course, not result in any attorney client relationship between you and Graf & Partners. The blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice provided by a licensed professional attorney in a specific legal matter.

No Process Server Anywhere! How do Germans serve Legal Documents?

Here’s why you can’t find any Process Servers in Germany

So you are a US, Canadian or British lawyer who needs to serve court papers to a party who is resident in Germany? Since you read this post, you have probably already realized that googling „Process Server Germany“ does not really get you anywhere. The simple explanation for why you are having such a hard time to find decent German process service providers on the internet: There aren’t any.

Germany has no tradition of instructing private process servers. No German lawyer would use them to deliver domestic legal documents to anyone who is resident in Germany. Because, under German civil procedure rules, they would simply see no need for it.

This post explains why the process server business sector never caught on in Germany and what German lawyers do in order to prove delivery of their legal papers.

Then how do German Lawyers serve Legal Documents?

Firstly, in German civil litigation, the German civil court usually serves the documents to the respective parties, witnesses and experts. This does not only refer to the court orders, but to all correspondence between the court and parties. While direct service from one party to the other is possible under german civil procedure rules, this is the exception to the rule. Since everyone who lives in Germany must be officially registered with the resident’s registration office (Einwohnermeldeamt), everyone — at least in theory — has an official registered private address and can be served with documents by simply sending those documents to said address.

Secondly, legal documents in Germany are simply sent by post. In most cases even by regular mail, not even registered mail (Einschreiben). In other words: Germans still have complete trust in their postal service.

Believe it or not, even in case of registered mail, the small delivery receipt issued by the German Postal Service is all the party sending the registered mail can show as evidence. To complement this delivery slip, the German paralegal or assistant who sent the registered mail, makes a note in the case file on what day which documents were sent. But all this only proves that the law firm has sent the documents. What the mail man has actually done with the documents is not officially recorded anywhere.

In the rare cases where German civil procedure rules demand formal service by way of personal delivery, these legal documents are delivered by a German bailiff (Gerichtsvollzieher).

How to serve Germans with Court Papers from the USA, Canada or the UK?

In common law jurisdictions, Plaintiffs must usually present to the court as evidence of service a more formal document than a simple delivery slip issued by a courier or the German postal service. For a US or British lawyer who needs to serve an official legal document in Germany, working with a German bailiff may, however, be a frustrating experience because German bailiffs are notoriously slow, hard to reach and do not always speak English. Furthermore, they will not be willing to issue an individual proof of service notice, much less in English. Instead, they will use their rather cryptic German service protocol form (Zustellungsprotokoll). This form will in many case not satisfy the US or British courts because it does not contain the necessary information what exactly the German bailiff has done in order to attempt personal service to the German defendant.

Thus, the options are to try to instruct the local German bailiff, hope that he/she does speak English and is willing to issue an actual letter to you as proof of personal service. The costs are usually around EUR 400 to 800 net, i.e. plus VAT plus disbursements for copies, translations etc.

If instructing a German bailiff does not work, the alternative approach is to contact an English speaking German lawyer in the area where the defendant lives and explain to said lawyer what you need in order to satisfy the US, Canadian or British requirements for serving official documents. If you are lucky, the German law firm will agree to send a reliable paralegal or intern to the address where the defendant lives to effect a personal service by handover of the documents.

Don’t forget Translations, Apostilles etc

Depending on whether the recipient in Germany is known to understand English, the legal documents must also be served together with a certified translation into German. If such a legal requirement to also serve an official translation of the documents is disregarded, the recipient may be entitled to refuse service of the document. But this is for the US or British litigation lawyer to decide whether the domestic court will require evidence that an official translation has been added. The same is true for the question whether documents must be certified and/or legalized (e.g. The Hague Convention Apostille).

Does Graf Partners LLP serve Documents in Germany?

Well, if there is no other way. In some cases, our firm will indeed serve legal documents for our international clients or partner law firms abroad and provide them with official proof of service, but the costs for this are significant. We charge at least EUR 700 net plus disbursements. If an affidavit of service by a German process server is required, the fee is EUR 900 net plus disbursements.

More on serving court papers and other legal documents in Germany is explained in these posts: PROCESS SERVER IN GERMANY and SERVICE OF COURT DOCUMENTS IN GERMANY

Related posts:

For legal advice on German civil procedure and how to successfully litigate in Germany, contact the international litigation experts and trial lawyers of GrafLegal.

Copyright & Disclaimer All posts are copyrighted material. This blog is made available by Graf & Partners for educational purposes as well as to give you general information on German law, not to provide specific legal advice. Simply reading this blog does, of course, not result in any attorney client relationship between you and Graf & Partners. The blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice provided by a licensed professional attorney in a specific legal matter.

How to sue (the right) German Company or Corporation

Avoid the #1 Litigation Blunder: Incomplete or incorrectly spelled Company Names of German Defendants

In corporate litigation, there can be no “close enough” approach when it comes to the designation of the Plaintiff or Defendant. A litigation lawyer who sues a German company must be dead-on with all factual information about the parties. The name of each company, corporation or partnership involved in the German civil procedure must be absolutely precise, complete and up to date.

Otherwise, under German civil procedure rules, you may lose the lawsuit. Simply because you have sued the wrong defendant. The German civil procedure buzzwords for this problem are „falscher Beklagter“ and „fehlende Passivlegitimation“.

Even if the (incorrectly designated) defendant remains entirely passive throughout the German civil lawsuit, i.e. the Defendant does not object to anything and your client is thus awarded a German default judgment (Versäumnisurteil), the client’s joy about the German court judgment will most likely be short-lived, since chances are that the client will soon learn that the judgment is unenforceable.

Why? Because the German bailiff (Gerichtsvollzieher) and the German court competent for seizing assets (Vollstreckungsgericht) will refuse to take any actions of enforcement (Zwangsvollstreckung) based on that judgment as soon as they realize that he Defendant’s name is incorrect or unclear. And they will realize because the Defendant will now object and bluntly state „that’s not me on the German judgment“.

When filing a lawsuit against an German business, be absolutely certain to use the correct company name of defendant

It is, therefore, a rather costly and embarrassing mistake when a foreign, i.e. non-German, litigation lawyer who files a complaint against a German legal entity is a bit careless about the defendant’s legal name or/and business address.

Even if the Plaintiff’s lawyer is not being sloppy, mistakes can easily be made, because many companies only give a short version of their actual company name on their stationary and on their website.

If a lawyer does not verify the full company name with the German company register before filing the lawsuit, the damage is done. Naming the wrong party is particularly dangerous when the Defendant is part of a group structure (in German called “Konzern” or “Unternehmensgruppe”).

Big corporations like Siemens, BMW or Volkswagen, for example, have hundreds of subsidiaries and project companies. Sometimes, those subsidiaries have very similar names and the difference is only one letter, one figure or the added name of a town. So, “XYZ Project GmbH” is not necessarily identical with “XYZ Project GmbH, Munich”.

The ending tells you the legal nature of the German business

Also, the ending of the company name is extremely important because that annex to the company name (which is usually an abbreviation)tells you whether the German business is actually a corporation, a limited liability company, a partnership or some other legal entity. It is extremely easy to make a mistake here!

Don’t miss! One Letter can be a Game Changer

Let’s use my own law firm as an example. On our websites, blogs and brochures, our law firm uses the name “Graf Legal”. This is, however, only the unofficial trade name for our US-German law department. The actual and legally correct name of our law office, as filed with the German company register, is this:

Graf & Partner Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB

The above business is, however, an entirely different entity compared to:

Graf & Partner Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbH

Did you even notice the difference between the two? The diffference is only in the last letter. With regard to the first entity, i.e. in “Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB”, the “mbB” stands for “mit beschränkter Berufshaftung”, i.e.  „limited professional liability“, which means that the entity is a German partnership of professionals (in this case lawyers) and damage claims based on malpractice against these lawyers are capped. For any other claims and debts, all law firm partners remain fully liable with their entire fortune.

In contrast, “Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbH” is something entirely different, because “mbH” stands for “mit beschränkter Haftung” which means that this is not a partnership, but a company and the entire liability of the company is limited, regardless of what the claim against the company may be based on. Thus, one single letter (B or H) makes the difference whether you sue a German limited liability partnership of natural persons or a German company.

How to research the correct name of a German business

As shown above, you cannot rely on the defendant’s website or stationary. Instead, you must do a proper search on the German company register (Handelsregister) in order to find out the official legal name of the company you want to sue, i.e. the legal name under which it has been incorporated and is officially registered with the German company register. Also, you should use the Germany company’s official registration number in the petitions to the German court.

The first step would be a basic online name search, which is explained below. In larger cases, you should obtain a complete extract on the company from the German company register (Handelsregisterauszug). These German company register documents show you the company history with regard to directors, shareholders, office addresses etc. In addition, you can check the financial history of the company by inspecting their annual financial reports. This does not work for all German businesses, however, only for companies, corporations and certain partnerships.

We explain how to read a German company register extract in this post here.

Another Example

In order to practice an online search, let’s use the example of the German company which uses “airstage” as the trade name on their website. The contact informatiuon they give on their website looks like this:

 

Now, if you take the information on their website at face value, you will probably file a lawsuit against a German business by the name of “airstage”. But is that their actual legal name? You can research this for yourself by visiting the official German company register website Unternehmensregister.  Big surprise: The search for “airstage” in the official company register comes up empty:

 

 

If you then do some more research on the company, either by using their address or the company number, you will find that the official company register record of the defendant shows that the actual name of the company is “Effekt-Technik GmbH”. The term „airstage“ does not appear in the official records at all.

This detail is extremely important because if you rely on the website and sue against “airstage”, all the German the court documents as well as the final court order will also name “airstage” as the Defendant. This will most certainly create procedural problems later on, either when it comes out during the civil procedure or when you wish to enforce the court order, because it is simply not the correct company name and no company by the name “airstage” does exist.

Now, if the name issue comes up during the ongoing civil procedure, the German Defendant will probably not be able get away with arguing that the lawsuit does not refer to them, because they use this name on their official website http://airstage.de/kontakt/ Still, even if it would cause merely a procedural hiccup by generating a query from the German court, this may costs a few weeks.

The problem is indeed greater if the court has actually already handed down a judgment which designates the defendant with an incorrect name and this judgment has already become binding. Then chances are, you have obtained an entirely useless judgment because it will not be enforceable.

In order to avoid all such confusion, the Plaintiff’s litigation lawyer, in the above example, should use the following company details, especially the company register number:

Effekt-Technik GmbH, a limited liability company established under the laws of Germany, registered with the German Company Register kept at District Court (Amtsgericht) Stuttgart under the company register no. HRB 225042. The official company address is: Nürtinger Str. 64, 72667 Schlaitdorf, Germany. The company is being represented by their company directors (Geschäftsführer) Mr Rainer Mugrauer and Mr  Günther Mugrauer.

If the petition to the German court specifies the company like this, there is no room for error whatsoever.

Long Story short

Before filing a complaint in a German civil lawsuit, make absolutely sure that you have researched the complete and accurate company name as well as their correct current address and the correct names of the current partners or company directors.

 

Related posts:

For legal advice on German civil procedure and how to successfully litigate in Germany, contact the international litigation experts and trial lawyers of GrafLegal.

Copyright & Disclaimer All posts are copyrighted material. This blog is made available by Graf & Partners for educational purposes as well as to give you general information on German law, not to provide specific legal advice. Simply reading this blog does, of course, not result in any attorney client relationship between you and Graf & Partners. The blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice provided by a licensed professional attorney in a specific legal matter.

How to File for Divorce in Germany

Checklist for (uncontested or contested) Divorce Proceedings in Germany

The German statutes dealing with the divorce of a marriage and the substantive requirements for the same are s. 1564 to 1568 German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB). The specific civil procedure rules applicable to divorce cases in Germany are contained within s. 133 FamFG (German Code on Family Matters) which also refers to certain sections of the German Code of Civil Procedure.

Different sets of procedural rules apply to the various aspects of a German divorce (e.g. rules for the divorce itself, for maintenance, property separation, pension redistribution, child custody etc.). This makes it somewhat tricky to identify the correct set of rules, even for German lawyers if they are not experts in family law matters. In case you think we make German divorce procedure rules sound overly complicated, here is a typical Family Procedure statute. Check it out for yourself:

Section 113  Application of Provisions from the Code of Civil Procedure

(1) In marital matters and in family dispute matters, sections 2 through 22, 23 through 37, 40 through 45, 46 sentences 1 and 2, sections 47, 48, and 76 through 96 shall not be applicable. The general provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure and the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure concerning proceedings before the Regional Courts shall be applicable mutatis mutandis.

(2) In family dispute matters the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure concerning proceedings on claims arising from a deed, proceedings on claims arising from a bill of exchange, and proceedings for payment orders, shall apply mutatis mutandis.

(3) In marital matters and family disputes, section 227 (3) of the Code of Civil Procedure shall not be applicable.

(4) In marital matters, the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure in respect of: 1.  the consequences of ignoring or refusing to provide explanations of facts; 2.  the prerequisites for modification of the lawsuit; 3.  the determination of the form of procedure, an early first court hearing, preliminary proceedings conducted in writing, and the statement of defence; 4.  a conciliation hearing; 5.  the effect of admissions before a court; 6.  acknowledgment; 7.  the consequences of ignoring or refusing to provide explanations concerning the authenticity of documents; and 8.  waiver of placing the opponent, witnesses, or experts under oath shall not be applicable.

(5) Upon application of the Code of Civil Procedure, in place of the term: 1.  “procedure” or “legal dispute” the term “proceeding,” 2.  “complaint/action” the term “application,” 3.  “plaintiff” the term “applicant,” 4.  “defendant” the term “respondent,” 5.  “party” the term “participant”  shall be used.

As you can see, a German family lawyer must apply many different procedural rules, depending on what exact claim he or she is making. Rules of evidence may be different, as may terminology and the options to appeal a decision.

Why are German divorce procedure rules so complicated?

Up until the introduction of the FamFG in 2009, German divorce matters fell under the rules of the German Civil Procedure Code (Zivilprozessordnung, in short ZPO). While there was a special section in the German ZPO dealing with divorce, the underlying „spirit“ of the German ZPO was considered to be too aggressive and confrontational for family court matters.

In order to change this and make divorces (and other family law matters more „civil“), the new set of rules introduced by the German FamFG strives to make a divorce and everything that comes with it (maintenance and support obligations, separation of family assets, child custody and child visitation issues) less of a legal battle between „parties to a civil lawsuit“ but more of a constructive process of finding consensual solutions wherever possible.

This is also the reason for the different legal terminology in German divorce cases compared to normal civil litigation (participant instead of party, application instead of complaint etc.). So, if the spouses are still on reasonable speaking terms, a German divorce can be very quick and relatively stress free. This is especially true if both parties, or — to use the correct terminology — both participants to the divorce are willing to agree on the financial issues, as well as on child custody and visitation rights issues in a separate side agreement, called a Trennungs- und Scheidungsfolgenvereinbarung (Separation Agreement, Marital Settlement Agreement).

If the spouses are willing to take that route, then pretty much the only thing that remains for the German family court (Familiengericht) to do is to issue the divorce decree itself, i.e. the final court order on divorce. In German, this is called the Scheidungsbeschluss, s. 1564 German Civil Code  and , s. 142 para. 1 FamFG), or — in old terminology prior to the FamFG  — it was called Scheidungsurteil. Such an „amicable“ or uncontested divorce in Germany will take about 4-8 months.

If, however, the spouses — for whatever reason — can’t agree on all divorce related aspects amicably, the German divorce proceedings will take significantly longer, because statute s. 142 FamFG regulates that the divorce decree shall not be issued until all divorce related family matters have been sorted out, either by the participants or by the court. Therefore, our German family law experts always stress the fact that — wherever possible — the spouses should not make a divorce any more aggressive and confrontational than it has to be.

 

Checklist: Necessary Steps of a German Divorce

1. Legal Grounds for Divorce under German Law:

In 1976, Germany abolished the fault-divorce principle (Verschuldensprinzip). Since then, German substantive law (s. 1565 para. 1 German Civil Code) applies a no-fault divorce system and only knows one single ground for divorce, the failure (i.e. breakdown) of the marriage. The German expression is „Scheitern der Ehe“ (failure of marriage), also called „Zerrüttungsprinzip“.

According to the definition contained in s. 1565 para. 1 sentence 2 German Civil Code, the marriage has irretrievably broken down (failed) if the marital community of the spouses (eheliche Gemeinschaft) no longer exists and it cannot be reasonably expected that the spouses will restore it, i.e. that they will reconcile. It is up to the German Family Law judge (Familienrichter, usually just one judge) to assess the state of the marriage and to make a prediction as to the chances of any reconciliation. In practice, of course, a judge has no way of knowing how a husband and wife really feel. Thus, German law provides for and German courts do apply two rules in order to determine the fate of a marriage. The irretrievable breakdown of a German marriage shall be presumed (conclusive presumption, in German „unwiderlegliche Vermutung“), if:

There are thousands of German court rulings on the issue of when und under which conditions exactly a couple has been genuinely separated. A German couple can be „legally separated“ while still living in the same house or even apartment (s. 1567 German Civil Code). The decisive factor is whether they „live together“ or not. In practice this means, that they must not have meals together, one spouse should not do the other spouses laundry etc. Obviously, they must not share the same bedroom if they want to convince the German family court judge that they have split up for a full year already, in spite of having lived in the same property.

A highly debated legal issue is also whether a brief attempt to reconcile the marriage does set back the clock (usually, they do not). So, even if the two — a few months into being separated — try to live together again but after a few days or even weeks find out that they still hate each other, they do not have to start the one year term from the beginning.

If a spouse wants a quicker divorce, i.e. does not want to wait out the one year (or three year) separation period, that spouse can claim one of three statutory exceptions to the principle of a mandatory separation period. These hardship clauses (Fälle der Unzumutbarkeit) which allow for a quicker divorce, for instance in cases of physical or psychological abuse, are laid down in s. 1565 para. 2 and s. 1568 German Civil Code. The requirements are rather strict though and German family courts are reluctant to grant spouses such a fast track divorce.

2. Prepare and Execute the Marital Settlement Agreement

Wherever possible, the spouses (and their respective German legal counsels) should negotiate the terms of a Scheidungsfolgenvereinbarung (Marital Settlement Agreement). Ideally, this agreement contains all aspects that need to be dealt with: financial matters, child custody, visitation rights etc. There are certain restrictions under German law which prevent the spouses to waive all their rights. Therefore, German law also requires such a separation agreement to be recorded before a German notary public.

This German Marital Settlement Agreement can be signed at a very early stage, i.e. well before the parties even file for divorce. Taking care of these child custody and financial matters early on removes much of the tension and is thus a great way to keep on good speaking terms. It also spares the children having to watch their parents quarrel for months.

But in some case, the spouses are simply not willing or able to come to an amicable solution. In such a case, the German family court will have to decide on every single issue, from maintenance and asset separation to  pension splits and everything child related. This, obviously, can take months or even years.

3. Filing for Divorce in Germany (Divorce Petition)

Either spouse may file for divorce with the competent German Family Law Court (Familiengericht) in the court district where the couple has (had) their residence. Unless the divorce is based on a hardship clause, the application shall be filed approximately two months before the separation period ends, i.e. after about 10 years of living separate. According to s. 133 FamFG, the divorce application (divorce petition) must contain at least the following information:

  • marriage certificate
  • name(s) and date(s) of birth of minor children and their place of usual residence; birth certificate(s)
  • a statement whether the spouses have reached agreement on the issues of parental custody, visitation, child support, maintenance payments to spouse, the marital home and household property
  • whether there are any unresolved legal matters pending.

At least one spouse must be duly represented by a qualified German legal counsel

4. Divorce Decree (Final Judgment of Divorce)

Once all aspects surrounding the separation and divorce have been resolved and the judge is convinced of the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, the German Family Law Court hands down the divorce decree (Scheidungsbeschluss, or Scheidungsurteil in old terminology). This divorce decree is, however, not immediately binding. Unless both spouses waive their right to appeal the decision (Verzicht auf Rechtsmittel), the divorce only becomes legally binding (rechtskräftig) two weeks from the day the written court order has been served to the parties.

 

Our law firm specialises in U.S.-German and Anglo-German legal matters. This includes drafting pre-nuptial agreements for German-American and German-British couples. We also advise and represent international couples with regard to separation and divorce in Germany. In case you are in need of an English speaking German family lawyer, don’t hesitate to call or send us an email. 

More information on litigation and legal fees in Germany is available in these posts:

For legal advice on German civil procedure and how to successfully litigate in Germany, contact the international litigation experts and trial lawyers of GrafLegal.

Copyright & Disclaimer All posts are copyrighted material. This blog is made available by Graf & Partners for educational purposes as well as to give you general information on German law, not to provide specific legal advice. Simply reading this blog does, of course, not result in any attorney client relationship between you and Graf & Partners. The blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice provided by a licensed professional attorney in a specific legal matter.

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