PRACTICE AREA
Your lawyer for family law in Cologne
Anyone looking for a family law practice has usually already made a decision. My name is Dr Hanna Schmidt, I run DR. SCHMIDT LEGAL on Jakordenstrasse in Cologne and handle your case myself, from the first assessment to the final order. It is rarely only about the divorce, but also about maintenance, accrued gains and the children.
TOPICS
The topics in family law:
where I advise you in detail
/01
Divorce
The course from the year of separation to the final order.
/02
Prenuptial Agreement
What can be agreed, and what holds.
/03
Divorce Settlement Agreement
Settling the consequences by contract.
/04
Custody and Contact
Residence, care, contact with the child.
/05
Maintenance
Post-marital maintenance in its various forms.
/06
Uncontested Divorce
Agreed on the divorce, open on the assets.
/07
Separation of Unmarried Couples
Property, care maintenance, cohabitation agreements.
/08
Parentage and Adoption
Legal parenthood.
/09
Property in a Divorce
Who stays, who pays, buy-out or sale.
Family law in Cologne: what this practice is built for
01
Assets and business income
Where a shareholding, a rented property, a securities portfolio or a professional practice is involved, a separation turns into a question of valuation and liquidity. Balance sheets, profit statements and valuation reports were my working material for twelve years.
02
Billing by time rather than by amount in dispute
This is not a question of price but of incentives. The statutory value in dispute is set low in children's matters, while for parents the issue is existential. Someone who bills by time can work on a contact case properly instead of closing it quickly.
03
One contact person, and discretion
Your case will not be handed on to a lawyer you have never met. Appointments are available Monday to Thursday until 7 pm, and later by arrangement. Advice by video or telephone is possible, representation before family courts and higher regional courts throughout Germany.
04
Fluent in English
Binational marriages, a move abroad, a prenuptial agreement in English: I conduct such cases in both languages, orally and in writing.
How I help you
Divorce and separation
The year of separation normally comes before the divorce petition. An earlier divorce is only possible where the continuation of the marriage would be an unreasonable hardship for the petitioner (section 1565(2) German Civil Code). That exception is construed narrowly. The petition is filed by a lawyer with the family court, and the court carries out the pension rights adjustment of its own motion.
I first clarify with you what belongs before the petition and what comes after it: separation maintenance, use of the home, account authorisations, tax classes. Where both sides are able to negotiate, I bring the consequences together in a divorce settlement agreement instead of letting them be fought out in three separate sets of proceedings. Where that is not possible, the proceedings are conducted.
Maintenance: separation maintenance, spousal maintenance, child maintenance
Maintenance comes in three layers. From the point of separation the economically stronger spouse owes separation maintenance. Once the divorce becomes final a different standard applies, because from then on each person must in principle provide for themselves and post-marital maintenance needs a ground, such as caring for a young child. Child maintenance runs alongside, with the Duesseldorf Table as the point of reference.
Each of these layers stands or falls with income, and there is a right to information about it, supported by documents. For the self-employed, profits over several years count, adjusted for items that are permissible for tax purposes but not deductible under maintenance law. I work this through before negotiating, and have the results recorded in enforceable form.
Equalisation of accrued gains and the division of assets
Anyone who marries without a prenuptial agreement lives in the community of accrued gains. On divorce, a comparison is made of what each spouse gained during the marriage. Whoever achieved the greater gain pays out half the difference in money. Two cut-off dates decide the outcome: initial assets at the date of marriage, final assets at service of the divorce petition. Both sides must provide information and produce documents.
It becomes complicated where assets are not liquid. What is a shareholding worth, which valuation method suits the business, what notional entrepreneur's salary is deducted, how do latent taxes come in. And where is the money for the equalisation payment to come from if the value sits inside the company. I work on these questions with figures rather than assertions, and with my own valuation report where necessary.
Custody and contact
Joint parental custody remains in place after a separation as a matter of principle. Disputes are rarely about custody as a whole, but about parts of it, above all the right to determine the child's residence, the choice of school or a planned move. The standard is the child's best interests, not the hurt between the parents.
With contact, reliability counts for more than any debate about principle: fixed weekdays, holiday arrangements, handover places, rules for cancellations. I negotiate such arrangements out of court first, document how matters develop, and go to court where unilateral decisions by the other side make it necessary, in urgent cases by way of interim proceedings.
Typical situations
01
One spouse is a shareholder and managing director of a GmbH
The other cared for the children and has not worked for some time. On paper there is substantial wealth, yet almost none of it is available. The first questions are then documents and cut-off dates, followed by the valuation method and whether the equalisation payment is deferred or converted into instalments.
02
Different nationalities, assets in two countries
Before any question of substance comes the question of which court has jurisdiction and which law applies. Under the Rome III Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 1259/2010) the applicable divorce law can be chosen within limits, and that choice can decide more about maintenance and the division of assets than any negotiation afterwards.
03
Changing lawyers mid-proceedings
You already have a lawyer, proceedings are under way, and you have heard nothing for weeks. Changing lawyers in the middle of proceedings is possible and sometimes right. I then review the file and tell you what can still be corrected and what is already settled.
How we work together
01
Initial consultation
On Jakordenstrasse in Cologne, by video or by phone. I listen, put the facts in order and tell you which claims are realistic and which are not.
02
Taking stock
Now come the documents: proof of income for the last twelve months, for the self-employed profit statements and tax assessments covering several years, land register extracts and loan agreements, articles of association and annual accounts. Where you do not have documents, I request them.
03
Strategy
We decide the order of play. Maintenance is often secured first because it runs continuously, and only then are the accrued gains negotiated. You decide the objective of the negotiation and where the limit lies.
04
Negotiation or proceedings
Agreements only hold if they are enforceable, which means notarially recorded or entered as a court settlement. If it comes to proceedings, I represent you before the family court at the Cologne Local Court.
Did you know?
01
Without a prenuptial agreement, the community of accrued gains applies automatically
Separation of property does not arise through marriage, nor through separate accounts, but only through a notarial agreement.
02
The pension rights adjustment happens automatically
The court divides the pension entitlements acquired during the marriage even if neither party applies for it. An exception applies to very short marriages, which has to be examined case by case.
03
The cut-off date for final assets is service of the divorce petition
Not the day of moving out, and not the day the marriage failed. Years can pass between moving out and service, years in which assets appear or disappear.
04
Moving out does not end your liability for the mortgage
The bank relies on the contract, not on what the spouses agreed between themselves. Anyone who wants to move out has to settle the loan as well.
Your contact
Dr Hanna Schmidt, attorney at law. Twelve years with large national and international commercial law firms, own practice since January 2026, at Jakordenstrasse 8 in 50668 Cologne. Advice and representation in German and English, in Cologne and the surrounding area from Bergisch Gladbach through Leverkusen to Bruehl, online on request and throughout Germany.
What you tell me stays between us. That includes the fact that you were here at all. More on background and working method on Dr Hanna Schmidt's profile.
YOUR QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
I bill by time, at an hourly rate of 280 euros plus 19 per cent VAT, but at least according to the statutory fees under the German Lawyers' Fees Act (RVG). The advantage of this model shows in matters with a low procedural value, for example in contact cases. 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.
As a rule yes: the family court will only dissolve the marriage once the spouses have lived apart for a year. A divorce before that year has run is only an option where the continuation of the marriage would be an unreasonable hardship for the petitioner (section 1565(2) German Civil Code). You can also live apart within one home, provided the household and finances are genuinely separate.
That depends above all on the pension rights adjustment and on how contested the consequences are. The court has to obtain details of both spouses' pension entitlements from every pension provider, and those replies set the pace of the proceedings. There is no honest flat answer. A good deal can be accelerated beforehand: complete documents, completed questionnaires for the pension rights adjustment, and agreement on maintenance, property and accrued gains outside the proceedings.
Your spouse does not receive shares in the company, but as a rule a claim for payment in money. If you lived in the community of accrued gains, the value of the shareholding flows into your final assets and half the difference in gains has to be equalised. Disputes almost always arise at three points: the valuation method, the notional entrepreneur's salary, and the question of where the liquidity for the payment is to come from.
Family matters in Cologne are decided by the family court at the Cologne Local Court, and appeals against its decisions go to the Cologne Higher Regional Court. Which family court has local jurisdiction follows statutory rules. Where there are minor children in common, it regularly depends on where they live. Where there is a foreign element, the first question is whether a German court decides at all.
Putting your situation in order, calmly
A separation does not improve by waiting, and is rarely as expensive as when decisions are taken before anything has been examined. Describe your case to me and I will tell you what needs to be settled first.
PRACTICE AREA
Your lawyer for family law in Cologne
Anyone looking for a family law practice has usually already made a decision. My name is Dr Hanna Schmidt, I run DR. SCHMIDT LEGAL on Jakordenstrasse in Cologne and handle your case myself, from the first assessment to the final order. It is rarely only about the divorce, but also about maintenance, accrued gains and the children.
TOPICS
The topics in family law:
where I advise you in detail
/01
Divorce
The course from the year of separation to the final order.
/02
Prenuptial Agreement
What can be agreed, and what holds.
/03
Divorce Settlement Agreement
Settling the consequences by contract.
/04
Custody and Contact
Residence, care, contact with the child.
/05
Maintenance
Post-marital maintenance in its various forms.
/06
Uncontested Divorce
Agreed on the divorce, open on the assets.
/07
Separation of Unmarried Couples
Property, care maintenance, cohabitation agreements.
/08
Parentage and Adoption
Legal parenthood.
/09
Property in a Divorce
Who stays, who pays, buy-out or sale.
Family law in Cologne: what this practice is built for
01
Assets and business income
Where a shareholding, a rented property, a securities portfolio or a professional practice is involved, a separation turns into a question of valuation and liquidity. Balance sheets, profit statements and valuation reports were my working material for twelve years.
02
Billing by time rather than by amount in dispute
This is not a question of price but of incentives. The statutory value in dispute is set low in children's matters, while for parents the issue is existential. Someone who bills by time can work on a contact case properly instead of closing it quickly.
03
One contact person, and discretion
Your case will not be handed on to a lawyer you have never met. Appointments are available Monday to Thursday until 7 pm, and later by arrangement. Advice by video or telephone is possible, representation before family courts and higher regional courts throughout Germany.
04
Fluent in English
Binational marriages, a move abroad, a prenuptial agreement in English: I conduct such cases in both languages, orally and in writing.
How I help you
Divorce and separation
The year of separation normally comes before the divorce petition. An earlier divorce is only possible where the continuation of the marriage would be an unreasonable hardship for the petitioner (section 1565(2) German Civil Code). That exception is construed narrowly. The petition is filed by a lawyer with the family court, and the court carries out the pension rights adjustment of its own motion.
I first clarify with you what belongs before the petition and what comes after it: separation maintenance, use of the home, account authorisations, tax classes. Where both sides are able to negotiate, I bring the consequences together in a divorce settlement agreement instead of letting them be fought out in three separate sets of proceedings. Where that is not possible, the proceedings are conducted.
Maintenance: separation maintenance, spousal maintenance, child maintenance
Maintenance comes in three layers. From the point of separation the economically stronger spouse owes separation maintenance. Once the divorce becomes final a different standard applies, because from then on each person must in principle provide for themselves and post-marital maintenance needs a ground, such as caring for a young child. Child maintenance runs alongside, with the Duesseldorf Table as the point of reference.
Each of these layers stands or falls with income, and there is a right to information about it, supported by documents. For the self-employed, profits over several years count, adjusted for items that are permissible for tax purposes but not deductible under maintenance law. I work this through before negotiating, and have the results recorded in enforceable form.
Equalisation of accrued gains and the division of assets
Anyone who marries without a prenuptial agreement lives in the community of accrued gains. On divorce, a comparison is made of what each spouse gained during the marriage. Whoever achieved the greater gain pays out half the difference in money. Two cut-off dates decide the outcome: initial assets at the date of marriage, final assets at service of the divorce petition. Both sides must provide information and produce documents.
It becomes complicated where assets are not liquid. What is a shareholding worth, which valuation method suits the business, what notional entrepreneur's salary is deducted, how do latent taxes come in. And where is the money for the equalisation payment to come from if the value sits inside the company. I work on these questions with figures rather than assertions, and with my own valuation report where necessary.
Custody and contact
Joint parental custody remains in place after a separation as a matter of principle. Disputes are rarely about custody as a whole, but about parts of it, above all the right to determine the child's residence, the choice of school or a planned move. The standard is the child's best interests, not the hurt between the parents.
With contact, reliability counts for more than any debate about principle: fixed weekdays, holiday arrangements, handover places, rules for cancellations. I negotiate such arrangements out of court first, document how matters develop, and go to court where unilateral decisions by the other side make it necessary, in urgent cases by way of interim proceedings.
Typical situations
01
One spouse is a shareholder and managing director of a GmbH
The other cared for the children and has not worked for some time. On paper there is substantial wealth, yet almost none of it is available. The first questions are then documents and cut-off dates, followed by the valuation method and whether the equalisation payment is deferred or converted into instalments.
02
Different nationalities, assets in two countries
Before any question of substance comes the question of which court has jurisdiction and which law applies. Under the Rome III Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 1259/2010) the applicable divorce law can be chosen within limits, and that choice can decide more about maintenance and the division of assets than any negotiation afterwards.
03
Changing lawyers mid-proceedings
You already have a lawyer, proceedings are under way, and you have heard nothing for weeks. Changing lawyers in the middle of proceedings is possible and sometimes right. I then review the file and tell you what can still be corrected and what is already settled.
How we work together
01
Initial consultation
On Jakordenstrasse in Cologne, by video or by phone. I listen, put the facts in order and tell you which claims are realistic and which are not.
02
Taking stock
Now come the documents: proof of income for the last twelve months, for the self-employed profit statements and tax assessments covering several years, land register extracts and loan agreements, articles of association and annual accounts. Where you do not have documents, I request them.
03
Strategy
We decide the order of play. Maintenance is often secured first because it runs continuously, and only then are the accrued gains negotiated. You decide the objective of the negotiation and where the limit lies.
04
Negotiation or proceedings
Agreements only hold if they are enforceable, which means notarially recorded or entered as a court settlement. If it comes to proceedings, I represent you before the family court at the Cologne Local Court.
Did you know?
01
Without a prenuptial agreement, the community of accrued gains applies automatically
Separation of property does not arise through marriage, nor through separate accounts, but only through a notarial agreement.
02
The pension rights adjustment happens automatically
The court divides the pension entitlements acquired during the marriage even if neither party applies for it. An exception applies to very short marriages, which has to be examined case by case.
03
The cut-off date for final assets is service of the divorce petition
Not the day of moving out, and not the day the marriage failed. Years can pass between moving out and service, years in which assets appear or disappear.
04
Moving out does not end your liability for the mortgage
The bank relies on the contract, not on what the spouses agreed between themselves. Anyone who wants to move out has to settle the loan as well.
Your contact
Dr Hanna Schmidt, attorney at law. Twelve years with large national and international commercial law firms, own practice since January 2026, at Jakordenstrasse 8 in 50668 Cologne. Advice and representation in German and English, in Cologne and the surrounding area from Bergisch Gladbach through Leverkusen to Bruehl, online on request and throughout Germany.
What you tell me stays between us. That includes the fact that you were here at all. More on background and working method on Dr Hanna Schmidt's profile.
YOUR QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
I bill by time, at an hourly rate of 280 euros plus 19 per cent VAT, but at least according to the statutory fees under the German Lawyers' Fees Act (RVG). The advantage of this model shows in matters with a low procedural value, for example in contact cases. 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.
As a rule yes: the family court will only dissolve the marriage once the spouses have lived apart for a year. A divorce before that year has run is only an option where the continuation of the marriage would be an unreasonable hardship for the petitioner (section 1565(2) German Civil Code). You can also live apart within one home, provided the household and finances are genuinely separate.
That depends above all on the pension rights adjustment and on how contested the consequences are. The court has to obtain details of both spouses' pension entitlements from every pension provider, and those replies set the pace of the proceedings. There is no honest flat answer. A good deal can be accelerated beforehand: complete documents, completed questionnaires for the pension rights adjustment, and agreement on maintenance, property and accrued gains outside the proceedings.
Your spouse does not receive shares in the company, but as a rule a claim for payment in money. If you lived in the community of accrued gains, the value of the shareholding flows into your final assets and half the difference in gains has to be equalised. Disputes almost always arise at three points: the valuation method, the notional entrepreneur's salary, and the question of where the liquidity for the payment is to come from.
Family matters in Cologne are decided by the family court at the Cologne Local Court, and appeals against its decisions go to the Cologne Higher Regional Court. Which family court has local jurisdiction follows statutory rules. Where there are minor children in common, it regularly depends on where they live. Where there is a foreign element, the first question is whether a German court decides at all.
Putting your situation in order, calmly
A separation does not improve by waiting, and is rarely as expensive as when decisions are taken before anything has been examined. Describe your case to me and I will tell you what needs to be settled first.
PRACTICE AREA
Your lawyer for family law in Cologne
Anyone looking for a family law practice has usually already made a decision. My name is Dr Hanna Schmidt, I run DR. SCHMIDT LEGAL on Jakordenstrasse in Cologne and handle your case myself, from the first assessment to the final order. It is rarely only about the divorce, but also about maintenance, accrued gains and the children.
TOPICS
The topics in family law:
where I advise you in detail
/01
Divorce
The course from the year of separation to the final order.
/02
Prenuptial Agreement
What can be agreed, and what holds.
/03
Divorce Settlement Agreement
Settling the consequences by contract.
/04
Custody and Contact
Residence, care, contact with the child.
/05
Maintenance
Post-marital maintenance in its various forms.
/06
Uncontested Divorce
Agreed on the divorce, open on the assets.
/07
Separation of Unmarried Couples
Property, care maintenance, cohabitation agreements.
/08
Parentage and Adoption
Legal parenthood.
/09
Property in a Divorce
Who stays, who pays, buy-out or sale.
Family law in Cologne: what this practice is built for
01
Assets and business income
Where a shareholding, a rented property, a securities portfolio or a professional practice is involved, a separation turns into a question of valuation and liquidity. Balance sheets, profit statements and valuation reports were my working material for twelve years.
02
Billing by time rather than by amount in dispute
This is not a question of price but of incentives. The statutory value in dispute is set low in children's matters, while for parents the issue is existential. Someone who bills by time can work on a contact case properly instead of closing it quickly.
03
One contact person, and discretion
Your case will not be handed on to a lawyer you have never met. Appointments are available Monday to Thursday until 7 pm, and later by arrangement. Advice by video or telephone is possible, representation before family courts and higher regional courts throughout Germany.
04
Fluent in English
Binational marriages, a move abroad, a prenuptial agreement in English: I conduct such cases in both languages, orally and in writing.
How I help you
Divorce and separation
The year of separation normally comes before the divorce petition. An earlier divorce is only possible where the continuation of the marriage would be an unreasonable hardship for the petitioner (section 1565(2) German Civil Code). That exception is construed narrowly. The petition is filed by a lawyer with the family court, and the court carries out the pension rights adjustment of its own motion.
I first clarify with you what belongs before the petition and what comes after it: separation maintenance, use of the home, account authorisations, tax classes. Where both sides are able to negotiate, I bring the consequences together in a divorce settlement agreement instead of letting them be fought out in three separate sets of proceedings. Where that is not possible, the proceedings are conducted.
Maintenance: separation maintenance, spousal maintenance, child maintenance
Maintenance comes in three layers. From the point of separation the economically stronger spouse owes separation maintenance. Once the divorce becomes final a different standard applies, because from then on each person must in principle provide for themselves and post-marital maintenance needs a ground, such as caring for a young child. Child maintenance runs alongside, with the Duesseldorf Table as the point of reference.
Each of these layers stands or falls with income, and there is a right to information about it, supported by documents. For the self-employed, profits over several years count, adjusted for items that are permissible for tax purposes but not deductible under maintenance law. I work this through before negotiating, and have the results recorded in enforceable form.
Equalisation of accrued gains and the division of assets
Anyone who marries without a prenuptial agreement lives in the community of accrued gains. On divorce, a comparison is made of what each spouse gained during the marriage. Whoever achieved the greater gain pays out half the difference in money. Two cut-off dates decide the outcome: initial assets at the date of marriage, final assets at service of the divorce petition. Both sides must provide information and produce documents.
It becomes complicated where assets are not liquid. What is a shareholding worth, which valuation method suits the business, what notional entrepreneur's salary is deducted, how do latent taxes come in. And where is the money for the equalisation payment to come from if the value sits inside the company. I work on these questions with figures rather than assertions, and with my own valuation report where necessary.
Custody and contact
Joint parental custody remains in place after a separation as a matter of principle. Disputes are rarely about custody as a whole, but about parts of it, above all the right to determine the child's residence, the choice of school or a planned move. The standard is the child's best interests, not the hurt between the parents.
With contact, reliability counts for more than any debate about principle: fixed weekdays, holiday arrangements, handover places, rules for cancellations. I negotiate such arrangements out of court first, document how matters develop, and go to court where unilateral decisions by the other side make it necessary, in urgent cases by way of interim proceedings.
Typical situations
01
One spouse is a shareholder and managing director of a GmbH
The other cared for the children and has not worked for some time. On paper there is substantial wealth, yet almost none of it is available. The first questions are then documents and cut-off dates, followed by the valuation method and whether the equalisation payment is deferred or converted into instalments.
02
Different nationalities, assets in two countries
Before any question of substance comes the question of which court has jurisdiction and which law applies. Under the Rome III Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 1259/2010) the applicable divorce law can be chosen within limits, and that choice can decide more about maintenance and the division of assets than any negotiation afterwards.
03
Changing lawyers mid-proceedings
You already have a lawyer, proceedings are under way, and you have heard nothing for weeks. Changing lawyers in the middle of proceedings is possible and sometimes right. I then review the file and tell you what can still be corrected and what is already settled.
How we work together
01
Initial consultation
On Jakordenstrasse in Cologne, by video or by phone. I listen, put the facts in order and tell you which claims are realistic and which are not.
02
Taking stock
Now come the documents: proof of income for the last twelve months, for the self-employed profit statements and tax assessments covering several years, land register extracts and loan agreements, articles of association and annual accounts. Where you do not have documents, I request them.
03
Strategy
We decide the order of play. Maintenance is often secured first because it runs continuously, and only then are the accrued gains negotiated. You decide the objective of the negotiation and where the limit lies.
04
Negotiation or proceedings
Agreements only hold if they are enforceable, which means notarially recorded or entered as a court settlement. If it comes to proceedings, I represent you before the family court at the Cologne Local Court.
Did you know?
01
Without a prenuptial agreement, the community of accrued gains applies automatically
Separation of property does not arise through marriage, nor through separate accounts, but only through a notarial agreement.
02
The pension rights adjustment happens automatically
The court divides the pension entitlements acquired during the marriage even if neither party applies for it. An exception applies to very short marriages, which has to be examined case by case.
03
The cut-off date for final assets is service of the divorce petition
Not the day of moving out, and not the day the marriage failed. Years can pass between moving out and service, years in which assets appear or disappear.
04
Moving out does not end your liability for the mortgage
The bank relies on the contract, not on what the spouses agreed between themselves. Anyone who wants to move out has to settle the loan as well.
Your contact
Dr Hanna Schmidt, attorney at law. Twelve years with large national and international commercial law firms, own practice since January 2026, at Jakordenstrasse 8 in 50668 Cologne. Advice and representation in German and English, in Cologne and the surrounding area from Bergisch Gladbach through Leverkusen to Bruehl, online on request and throughout Germany.
What you tell me stays between us. That includes the fact that you were here at all. More on background and working method on Dr Hanna Schmidt's profile.
YOUR QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
I bill by time, at an hourly rate of 280 euros plus 19 per cent VAT, but at least according to the statutory fees under the German Lawyers' Fees Act (RVG). The advantage of this model shows in matters with a low procedural value, for example in contact cases. 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.
As a rule yes: the family court will only dissolve the marriage once the spouses have lived apart for a year. A divorce before that year has run is only an option where the continuation of the marriage would be an unreasonable hardship for the petitioner (section 1565(2) German Civil Code). You can also live apart within one home, provided the household and finances are genuinely separate.
That depends above all on the pension rights adjustment and on how contested the consequences are. The court has to obtain details of both spouses' pension entitlements from every pension provider, and those replies set the pace of the proceedings. There is no honest flat answer. A good deal can be accelerated beforehand: complete documents, completed questionnaires for the pension rights adjustment, and agreement on maintenance, property and accrued gains outside the proceedings.
Your spouse does not receive shares in the company, but as a rule a claim for payment in money. If you lived in the community of accrued gains, the value of the shareholding flows into your final assets and half the difference in gains has to be equalised. Disputes almost always arise at three points: the valuation method, the notional entrepreneur's salary, and the question of where the liquidity for the payment is to come from.
Family matters in Cologne are decided by the family court at the Cologne Local Court, and appeals against its decisions go to the Cologne Higher Regional Court. Which family court has local jurisdiction follows statutory rules. Where there are minor children in common, it regularly depends on where they live. Where there is a foreign element, the first question is whether a German court decides at all.
Putting your situation in order, calmly
A separation does not improve by waiting, and is rarely as expensive as when decisions are taken before anything has been examined. Describe your case to me and I will tell you what needs to be settled first.