THE FIRM
Online legal advice: your lawyer in Cologne
You are looking for a lawyer for inheritance or family law and wondering whether that means travelling to Cologne. In most cases the answer is no. I advise in person at my office at Jakordenstrasse 8 in Cologne, by video or on the phone, throughout Germany and in English. I am Dr Hanna Schmidt, attorney at law at DR. SCHMIDT LEGAL.
Online legal advice or an appointment at the office
The initial consultation takes place wherever it does your case the most good. For matters with a lot of documents, or where you first want to form an impression, an appointment at Jakordenstrasse 8 is the first choice. Appointments run Monday to Thursday until 7 pm and Friday until 5 pm, and later by arrangement.
Online legal advice runs by video or phone and saves you the journey. It suits initial consultations just as well as follow-up appointments, and clients from the area around Cologne just as well as clients in other federal states or abroad. You submit documents digitally, and meetings are summarised in writing. Appointments can be arranged across time zones.
How to arrange an appointment
A call or an e-mail
You call or write an e-mail and describe in two sentences what it is about and how urgent it is. If a deadline is running, that urgency is taken into account when the appointment is scheduled.
A proposed appointment and documents
You receive a proposed appointment and, together with the confirmation, the list of documents that make sense for your subject. If something is missing, that is no obstacle.
The initial consultation
The initial consultation is billed by time. At the end there is an assessment: what the legal position is, which options there are, what the next step is.
Your decision
You then decide whether and how far I act for you. How the work runs in detail is set out under the practice areas: inheritance law, family law, law for business owners, and international inheritance and family law.
Reach: Cologne, the surrounding area and the whole of Germany
From Cologne and the immediate surrounding area, clients come from Bergisch Gladbach, Bruehl, Huerth, Kerpen, Frechen, Pulheim, Leverkusen, Dormagen, Langenfeld, Solingen and Monheim am Rhein. For them the office is quickly reached by car or on the S-Bahn, and many appointments run by video anyway.
Beyond that I advise and represent clients throughout Germany, wherever the court happens to sit: before the family and probate courts and before the higher regional courts. Only the Federal Court of Justice requires a separate admission, which I do not hold. I advise in German and English, in speech and in writing. What you tell me stays between us.
YOUR QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
Scheduling depends on urgency and on the time available. If a deadline is running, for instance the six-week deadline for disclaiming an inheritance, say so straight away and it is best to call. Appointments run Monday to Thursday until 7 pm and Friday until 5 pm, and later by arrangement.
You describe your situation, I ask specific questions and set out the legal position. By the end of the appointment you know which options there are and what the next step is. The initial consultation takes place at Jakordenstrasse 8 in Cologne, by video or on the phone, and is billed by time. A written summary follows afterwards on request.
I bill by time, at an hourly rate of 280 euros plus 19% VAT, and the statutory fees under the German Lawyers' Fees Act (RVG) form the minimum. The first conversation is legal advice too and is billed by time. Billing through legal expenses insurance is possible. As a rule the insurer only pays the statutory fees; you bear the difference to the hourly fee.
Yes. Advice by video or phone is open to clients throughout Germany and from abroad, in German or in English. You submit documents digitally, and meetings are summarised in writing. In court I represent you throughout Germany before the family and probate courts. Where a notarial recording is required, I arrange the appointment with a notary's office near you.
The firm handles four areas: inheritance law, covering wills, estate administration and the compulsory share; family law, covering divorce, maintenance and custody; family and inheritance law for business owners; and international inheritance and family law. Which subject is at the centre of your case is something we clarify in the initial consultation. You can name the relevant area directly, or simply describe your situation and I will place it.
Arrange an appointment, in person or online
Call or write two sentences about what it is about and how urgent it is. You will receive a proposed appointment and the list of documents. Appointments at Jakordenstrasse 8 in Cologne, by video or by phone.