{"id":30610,"date":"2008-04-01T07:57:27","date_gmt":"2008-04-01T05:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fiala.de\/?p=30610"},"modified":"2026-06-22T21:42:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T19:42:09","slug":"asset-protection-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fiala.de\/en\/asset-protection-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Asset Protection Done Right: Your Lawyer for Safeguarding Wealth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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What Does Asset Protection Mean?<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Asset protection, or Verm\u00f6gensschutz in German, comprises a wide range of legal strategies and measures designed to shield the assets<\/em> of an individual or a company from creditors, litigation and other risks. Put simply, the aim is to secure property and assets so that they are not lost through unforeseen events.<\/div>\n
The principal purpose of asset protection is to create a legal environment in which wealth<\/strong> is reliably shielded from external threats. This frequently involves establishing family companies and family foundations, as well as the international diversification of assets and income sources. The same applies to tax arrangements and succession planning, which are often used to protect assets in good time from creditors and inheritance claims.<\/div>\n
Our experts provide comprehensive information<\/strong> and individual advice across every area of asset protection. Whether it concerns setting up a garnishment-protection account (Pf\u00e4ndungsschutzkonto) or structuring gifts, we are your reliable partner. When it comes to asset protection, there are many techniques and instruments available to ensure the greatest possible security for your wealth.<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Fig. 1: The single-family home is rather unsuitable as an investment; prices are beginning to climb exponentially, which is hardly surprising given the expansion of the money supply. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\nProtecting Your Assets from Creditors, Ex-Spouses, Forced Heirs or the Tax Office<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Wealth can be threatened by a variety of factors, including entrepreneurial activity, financing arrangements, divorces or inheritance events. Such circumstances increase the risk that creditors, ex-spouses, forced heirs (Pflichtteilsberechtigte) or the tax office may reach your assets. Entrepreneurs, managing directors and board members must be aware that, in the worst case, they can be held personally liable.<\/div>\n
To protect both business assets and personal private wealth from liability claims, it is essential to put suitable precautions in place at an early stage. These measures are grouped together under the term \u201casset protection\u201d. Asset protection encompasses a range of legal and tax structures and requires the interplay of specialised lawyers, certified specialist lawyers (Fachanw\u00e4lte) and tax advisors.<\/div>\n
Effective strategies for protecting your wealth include family-law structures such as prenuptial agreements or the creation of a family foundation or family company. In addition, tax-structuring measures as well as the use of non-attachable assets and garnishment-protection accounts can enhance the protection of your wealth. International diversification of assets and income sources can likewise serve as an additional safeguard.<\/div>\n
When implementing these asset-protection measures, however, the applicable legal framework must always be observed in order to avoid the voidability and criminal liability of asset transfers. Speak with your specialised lawyer to ensure that your wealth is legally and securely protected from access by creditors, ex-spouses and other claimants.<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Options for Asset Protection<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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In the field of legally safeguarding assets, numerous options are available to protect one’s wealth effectively and to structure it in a legally secure manner. The aim of such measures is to preserve assets from access by creditors, ex-spouses, forced heirs or the tax office.<\/p>\n

The structuring and arrangement of assets plays an important role here. This includes, among other things, the establishment of family foundations and family companies. These not only offer tax advantages but also enable the targeted administration and transfer of assets within the family. Protection can additionally be reinforced through the use of non-attachable assets, such as a garnishment-protection account.<\/p>\n

Tax-structuring opportunities are likewise a central aspect of asset protection. Through targeted gifts and succession planning, wealth can be optimally distributed and protected during one’s lifetime. Furthermore, the international diversification of assets and income sources can offer considerable protection against risks.<\/p>\n

It is important to have comprehensive information about the legal framework and the many options for asset protection. Every financial situation is unique, which is why sound advice from an experienced asset-protection lawyer provides the best basis for developing tailored solutions and implementing them effectively. Our goal is to protect your wealth in a legally secure manner and to structure it optimally.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Family-Law Structures, Family Foundation, Family Company<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Family law<\/strong> offers specific instruments for protecting your assets<\/strong> effectively. A key instrument is the family foundation<\/strong> (Familienstiftung), which is designed to secure the assets<\/strong> of the founder and his family<\/strong>. If established professionally and in good time, the family foundation<\/strong> can prevent creditors or other claimants from gaining access to the assets<\/strong>. This method, however, requires a careful weighing of advantages and disadvantages, as well as clearly defined long-term objectives.<\/div>\n
A further asset protect<\/em>ion option lies in the use of family companies, also known as a family pool. Here, private wealth is contributed into a company in order to shield it from access by others. Provisions can be built into the articles of association to make it more difficult for creditors, the tax office or in-laws to reach the assets<\/strong>. Corporate-law rules on termination and severance make it almost pointless for an individual family member to cash out.<\/div>\n
An experienced lawyer<\/strong> can assist you in designing such protective mechanisms. It is important that both the legal and the tax aspects are taken into account in order to ensure optimal protection and financial efficiency. If you are interested in a family foundation<\/strong> or a family company, our lawyer<\/strong> will competently support you.<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Non-Attachable Assets and the Garnishment-Protection Account<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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In the field of asset protection, it is crucial to identify certain assets that are legally non-attachable. For example, rights of residence can, with appropriate structuring, be protected from access by creditors. Converting or newly creating such assets can therefore represent an efficient means of asset protection.<\/p>\n

Another important instrument for asset protection is the garnishment-protection account, the Pf\u00e4ndungsschutzkonto (P-Konto). If account garnishment threatens in the event of a liability claim, the P-Konto allows essential obligations to continue to be met. The garnishment-protection account provides protection against attachment pursuant to \u00a7 899 ZPO<\/a> (German Code of Civil Procedure) up to the basic exemption amount of EUR 1,340 per calendar month (as of 1 July 2022). It makes no difference whether the money in the account derives from salary, profits or social benefits. Under certain circumstances it is also possible to increase the attachment-exempt amount (\u00a7 902 ZPO<\/a>).<\/p>\n

For several years now, the self-employed have been able to place a private pension beyond the reach of creditors. This applies to products that are paid out as a lifelong annuity no earlier than age 60 or in the event of occupational disability (Berufsunf\u00e4higkeit). The insured person must have no option for early surrender, and only surviving dependants may be named as beneficiaries in the event of death. For all questions concerning the reliable protection of your assets, our experienced lawyers will competently support you.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Tax Structuring<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Consistent tax structuring is an essential component of any effective asset-protection plan. Our experienced team of lawyers helps you to structure your wealth optimally in order to make full use of tax advantages and to minimise your tax burden. In doing so, we pay particular attention to the specific features of business assets in entrepreneurial activity, as well as of real-estate assets.<\/div>\n
Through strategically considered tax structuring, substantial tax savings can be achieved, particularly in the area of inheritance and gift tax. Our lawyers work closely with you to develop individual solutions that both meet the statutory requirements and take your personal and business objectives into account.<\/div>\n
The tax optimisation of your wealth can help to avoid unwanted interventions on the part of the tax authorities and to minimise legal risks. Rely on our expertise in tax law and work together with us to create a sustainable and secure asset structure.<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Gifts<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Gifts are a proven instrument of asset protection for securing wealth in good time against potential liability claims. By transferring assets to family members, such as spouses or descendants, you can considerably hinder creditors’ access to your wealth. Particular attention should be paid to structuring the gifts in the proper form in order to avoid challenges and to safeguard the protection of assets.<\/div>\n
When structuring gifts, the grounds for avoidance, the possible attachability of the donor’s claims for restitution, and criminal-law prohibitions must all be carefully observed. The legally secure structuring of these asset transfers requires comprehensive legal expertise and individual advice. Our goal is to offer you tailored solutions for your asset protection, so that you can look to the future safe and secure.<\/div>\n
We support you in drawing up and implementing gifts as part of your comprehensive asset-protection plan. With our experience in wealth structuring, we help you to develop the optimal strategy to protect your wealth, in a legally secure manner, from access by third parties. Contact us to learn more about the options for the secure transfer and long-term safeguarding of your wealth.<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Succession-Law Structures<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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An inheritance event can bring considerable risks to a family’s wealth. Succession-law conflicts, the compulsory-share claims (Pflichtteil \/ forced heirship) of disinherited relatives, as well as unfavourable wills and inheritance tax, represent significant challenges. To ensure legally secure asset protection, careful and comprehensive succession planning is indispensable. Such planning takes account of both tax and economic aspects while at the same time addressing the unique family and interpersonal dynamics.<\/p>\n

Succession-law structures include various instruments and measures that serve to protect wealth. These comprise wills, inheritance contracts and waivers of the compulsory share, but also gifts as well as corporate-law and foundation-law arrangements. These measures serve to structure the estate in a targeted manner and to minimise potential risks.<\/p>\n

Special succession-law structures are necessary in particular cases, for example wills in favour of over-indebted heirs or to avoid the claims of divorced spouses. In such cases, prior and subsequent heirship instruments (Vor- und Nacherbschaft), combined with permanent execution of the will, can be deployed to protect the estate as effectively as possible and to optimise asset protection.<\/p>\n

Through strategic planning and the right legal structuring, wealth can be secured for the long term and passed on to the next generation. As your asset-protection lawyer, we stand by you with our comprehensive expertise and experience to ensure optimal asset protection.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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International Diversification of Assets<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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The international diversification of assets is a decisive building block within asset protection. When assets are spread across different countries, risks can be minimised and possible access by third parties to the entire estate made more difficult. This is particularly important for protecting your wealth against unforeseen legal and economic challenges. A carefully planned international diversification of assets offers not only additional protection against local economic fluctuations and uncertainties, but also tax advantages that can vary from country to country. To ensure that your strategies for asset diversification and asset protection are legally sound and efficient, advice from an experienced lawyer is indispensable. Our firm supports you in developing an individual and tailored solution that takes into account both your personal and your business objectives. In doing so, we attach great importance to ensuring that the international aspects of diversifying your assets comply with the respective applicable national and international provisions. A well-considered diversification of assets not only creates security but also contributes to the long-term preservation and growth of value. <\/p>\n

Asset protection therefore also means turning to further considerations: for example, diversifying part of one’s wealth geopolitically and, indeed, holding part of it outside the EU. To understand this, one simply has to grasp that the law of enforcement (including of private claims that have been reduced to an enforceable title) is a sovereign function which is, in principle, confined to the state’s own territory. Owing to EU rules, however, it is also readily possible to enforce within European states (that is, across borders). In practice, such enforcement takes only a few weeks, even where the assets concerned are real estate located elsewhere in Europe.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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International Diversification of Income Sources<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Fig. 2: Germany in demographic transition. The declining number of pension contributors makes the pension system increasingly fragile. State recourse to real-estate assets in the event of a burden-sharing levy (Lastenausgleich)<\/a> is becoming ever more likely.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The international diversification of income sources is an essential component of effective asset protection. By diversifying international income sources, you can protect your assets from unforeseeable risks and economic uncertainties. This approach makes it possible to spread wealth across different countries and thereby reduce dependence on a single market or economy. The advantage is that the various legal systems and economic conditions can be harnessed to secure assets and optimise them for tax purposes. It is important here to observe the international legal framework in order to ensure that all asset-protection steps are legally compliant and secure. <\/p>\n

The example of pensions in particular shows that the situation in Germany does not look very rosy. In many other European countries, pensions are considerably higher and can amount to more than 100% of final income, whereas in Germany they are usually below 50%. This will further aggravate the problem of old-age poverty in Germany in the coming years. Further figures, such as the lowest home-ownership rate for real estate, support this assessment. <\/p>\n

Inflation is calculated by the state, but set in a way far removed from reality; real inflation is far higher than the federal government’s flattering figures. The late Professor Brachinger from Lake Constance examined the actual circumstances of a retired couple and of a typical four-person household, and then introduced the concept of so-called perceived inflation: corresponding charts can be found online, demonstrating that reality more often exhibits double-digit annual inflation rates. Pension increases are then only a fraction of that each year, so that life as a pensioner means increasing impoverishment over time. Read more on this topic in our article “Loss of Purchasing Power, Demographics and Low Interest Rates Are Destroying Pension Dreams”
[https:\/\/www.fiala.de\/kaufkraftverlust-demographie-und-niedrigzins-zerstoeren-versorgungstraeume\/]\n

On the one hand, this may mean securing part of one’s provision through pension systems abroad, but it also means, more generally, not putting all one’s eggs in one basket. One can certainly cover part of one’s retirement provision through the statutory pension, but should also consider other options. This follows precisely the principle of risk diversification: not betting everything on a single horse, and deliberately pursuing suitable options both at home and abroad.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Voidability and Criminal Liability of Asset Transfers<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Legal certainty in asset protection is of fundamental importance, particularly with regard to the voidability and criminal liability of asset transfers. Every asset transfer carries the risk of avoidance under the Anfechtungsgesetz (German Avoidance Act) and the InsO (German Insolvency Code). These statutory provisions protect creditors against being disadvantaged by asset transfers. Should an asset transfer objectively disadvantage creditors, there is the possibility of avoidance. A distinction is drawn here between avoidance for intent (10 years) and avoidance of gifts (4 years).<\/div>\n
For legally secure asset protection, all measures should be carried out in conformity with the applicable laws. In particular, \u00a7 129 InsO<\/a> (German Insolvency Code), \u00a7 3 AnfG<\/a> and \u00a7 4 AnfG<\/a> (German Avoidance Act) must be taken into account. Anyone who, for example, attempts to spirit away assets shortly before a specific liability event in order to disadvantage creditors exposes themselves to the risk of criminal prosecution. Such acts may constitute breach of trust (Untreue), fraud or criminal bankruptcy and not infrequently lead to criminal consequences for all those involved.<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Asset protection comprises legal strategies that shield the wealth of individuals and companies from creditors, litigation and other risks – securing property against unforeseen events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":30608,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_title":""},"categories":[492],"tags":[585,488,531,921,485],"class_list":["post-30610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-veroeffentlichungen-en","tag-glaeubigerschutz-en","tag-haftung-en","tag-steuer-en","tag-vermoegensschutz","tag-asset-management"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiala.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiala.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiala.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiala.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiala.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30610"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiala.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30663,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiala.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30610\/revisions\/30663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiala.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiala.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiala.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiala.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}