We work at our own risk when searching for heirs inside and outside Germany. Our fee is due only when assets are actually paid to the authorized heirs. There are no expenses or financial pre-payments whatsoever for heirs and/or contract signatories. We conclude a contract for our fee with the heirs we find. Our fee is based on the difficulty of our research.
If our research is unsuccessful we shall bear all our expenses ourselves.

The requirement for a fee agreement is based on a verdict of the German Federal Supreme Court (BGH, verdict dated September 23rd 1999, III ZR 323/98). According to the verdict heir finders, in order to secure a fee for their services, are obligated to conclude a contract with the heirs, otherwise there is no claim for a fee or reimbursement of expenses. We are sure that you understand that disclosure of our research results can only be made after a contract has been signed by the potential heirs.
In addition, the fee agreement, which is based on successs and is thus completely free of risk for the heirs, ensures that others do not benefit at no cost from our results which are often obtained through labor intensive, expensive and time consuming efforts.

German law does not provide for a set fee schedule for heir finders. Historically, fees from 20% to 30% (plus sales tax) from the net domestic estate have become the norm in our business and are considered acceptable by the courts. A percentage fee ensures that payment and expenses are always in relation to your portion of the inheritance. Heir finders' fees are described in the following German publications: Joachim/Pohl: Estate Administration (Nachlasspflegeschaft), 3rd edition 2006; Zimmermann: The Estate Administration (Die Nachlasspflegeschaft), 2001).

Several European and German courts have affirmed commercial fee agreements, e.g.:

Vienna (Austria) Higher Regional Court, verdict dated October 3rd 1996, 1 Ob 2168/96x
Darmstadt (Germany) Court, verdict dated July 29th 2000, 13015/99
Berlin (Germany) Court of Appeal, verdict dated November 5th 2001, 26 U 10301/100
Berlin Court, verdict dated February 1st 2002, 35.0.423/01
Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris (France), February 11th 2003, 03/80053
Tribunal de Grande Instance de Creteil (France), March 18th 2003, 02/12791/2me Chambre
Ellwangen (Germany) Court, verdict dated May 14th 2003, 5 O 95/03
Berlin (Germany) Court, verdict dated December 19th 2003, 35 O 131/03
Tribunal de Grande Instance de Grasse (France) dated January 27th 2006, RG Nr. 04/07781
Brandenburg (Germany) Higher Regional Court, verdict dated May 20th 2008, 11 U 157/07
Potsdam (Germany) Court, verdict dated Oktober 7th 2008, 6 O 128/08

Our fee is based on the actual estate value which is paid to the heirs. All expenses incurred by our agency are included in that fee, including the German sales tax which will be listed as a seperate item.

When inheritance tax is due our fee is considered a liability of the estate so that a considerable portion of our service is counterbalanced by saving part of the inheritance tax.