I am Dr Hanna Schmidt, attorney at law in Cologne, and I run DR. SCHMIDT LEGAL. I advise and represent clients in inheritance law and family law, with an emphasis on cases involving a business, substantial assets or a foreign element. I worked in commercial law firms for twelve years. Since January 2026 I have been in practice on my own account. I handle every case myself.

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Dr Hanna Schmidt, attorney at law in Cologne

Background: twelve years in commercial law, my own firm since January 2026

For twelve years I worked in large commercial law firms, mostly on cases involving balance sheets and company valuations. That was a good school, but with time too narrow a one: the questions that interest me only ever came up at the margins. What happens to the shares when a shareholder separates? Who inherits the business, and what does that do to the family?

In January 2026 I founded DR. SCHMIDT LEGAL in Cologne, with precisely those questions as its programme. Admission as a lawyer carries with it membership of the Bar Association. I hold no further titles. Whether I am right for your case is something you will notice in the first conversation.

My areas of focus

Inheritance law

Inheritance law runs in both directions: arranging matters during your lifetime with a will or a contract of inheritance, and the administration afterwards with the community of heirs, the compulsory share and property in the estate.

Family law

In family law I deal with separation and divorce, maintenance and the equalisation of accrued gains, prenuptial agreements and divorce settlement agreements, and custody and contact matters.

Family law for business owners

Family law for business owners is the area where my background has the most direct effect: divorce for business owners, prenuptial agreements for shareholders, succession and the compulsory share in business assets. Where a case moves into company law or tax law, I bring in the appropriate specialists and coordinate them.

International inheritance and family law

In international inheritance and family law the first questions are almost always the same: which law applies, which court has jurisdiction, and whether a decision will be recognised in the other state.

What has stayed with me from twelve years in commercial law

The figures

I read balance sheets and annual accounts myself, and I do not have to take a company valuation as given: I can ask which assumptions are built into it. That is exactly where proceedings on the equalisation of accrued gains are decided, and exactly where ground is often given too early.

Working up the facts

Before I formulate a position, the case is set out on paper: chronology, documents, open points, weaknesses on both sides. That takes longer at the start and saves submissions later.

Negotiating

In transactions a contract has to stand that both sides can live with. In family law that experience is worth more than any appetite for a fight: most separations are better resolved by agreement than in court, but only from a position that holds.

How I work

Advice in German and English

I run cases in German and in English, fluently enough to negotiate in both. If the spouse speaks no German, if an estate account sits with a bank in London, or if a foreign notary wants documents in his own language, that is part of the work and not a special case.

Appointments until 7 pm, and later by arrangement

Opening hours are Monday to Thursday from 9 am to 7 pm and Friday from 9 am to 5 pm, and later by arrangement. Early evening appointments are planned for and not an exception. Anyone tied up during the day does not have to take a day off for a conversation.

Discretion

What is discussed in my office stays there. On this website you will find no cases from my work, no names and no figures that could be traced back with a little effort. If visiting a law firm is uncomfortable for you, just say so and we will find another way.

Cologne as the base, video and phone throughout Germany

Appointments take place on Jakordenstrasse or by video and phone. I can represent you throughout Germany, wherever the court happens to sit. In family law for business owners in particular, enquiries come in regularly from outside the Rhineland.

YOUR QUESTIONS

Frequently asked questions

Twelve years in large commercial law firms, and since January 2026 a firm that works exclusively in inheritance and family law. The emphasis is on cases involving a business, substantial assets or a foreign element: divorce for business owners, the equalisation of accrued gains with business assets, succession, estates in two states. Apart from my admission as a lawyer I hold no further titles. I will handle your case myself.

For the time spent, not by the value of the matter. The statutory fees depend on that value, and in children's matters it is low, while for the parents the question is when they get to see their child. Conversely, nobody in proceedings with a high value should pay for work that was never done. What that costs is set out under Costs and fees.

Yes, I run cases in German and in English, fluently enough to negotiate in both. That covers the advisory conversations, the correspondence with the other side and with foreign banks, notaries and authorities. German court proceedings are conducted in German. Where a party speaks no German, I arrange an interpreter for the hearing and brief you in English beforehand.

Yes. Being based in Cologne is not a limit on the work: I act throughout Germany. In-person appointments take place in Cologne, and the catchment area reaches into the surrounding region. Representation throughout Germany meets its limit only at the Federal Court of Justice: a separate admission is required there, which I do not hold. If a matter goes that way, we choose a lawyer admitted there together.

You describe to me in a few sentences what it is about, and I tell you whether the subject falls within my areas. Once a case is running there are fixed points at which you decide and not I: whether an offer from the other side is accepted, whether an application is made to the court. Before each of those steps you learn what it may cost.

An initial consultation with Dr Hanna Schmidt

Whether I am right for your case is decided in conversation and not on this page. For a written enquiry, the facts in a few sentences are enough. Appointments are possible at the office or by video, and in the early evening on request.