THE FIRM
Costs and fees: your lawyer in Cologne
My advice costs 280 euros plus 19% VAT per hour. That figure is at the top of the page because it is the first thing that decides whether we work together. I bill for the time spent, in every area I handle. This page sets out how the fee is made up, when the statutory fees under the German Lawyers’ Fees Act (RVG) apply, and what drives the effort up.
The hourly rate: 280 euros plus 19% VAT
What you pay is determined by the actual work involved. Every task is recorded individually, with its date, a description and the time taken. The invoice lists them item by item, so that you can see what the time was spent on. Reading the file, drafting a submission, a call with the other side, a court hearing.
Why the effort counts, and the value of the proceedings only exceptionally
Statutory remuneration under the RVG depends on the value of the matter or of the proceedings. In my fields that frequently produces a lopsided result. In children’s matters the value of the proceedings is low, while for the parents everything depends on it. Anyone billing on that basis can hardly work on a contact case as thoroughly as it demands and still make it pay.
In order nonetheless to reflect the economic significance of the matter and the liability risks that come with it, I charge at least the statutory remuneration under the RVG. That minimum only applies in cases where it exceeds the actual hourly fee. For work before the courts this already follows from the statute; for out-of-court work we agree it in advance.
The statutory fees under the RVG as a floor
So that the economic significance of your matter and the associated liability risk are not lost sight of, I charge at least the statutory remuneration under the RVG. In court representation, for instance in divorce proceedings, that minimum already follows from the statute. Out of court I record it in the fee agreement.
The floor only applies where it exceeds the hourly fee. Where the hourly fee is higher, the hourly fee applies. On request I will tell you before you instruct me what the costs would be under the statutory fees. You then know your minimum cost exposure before deciding.
The initial consultation: what it costs
I do not offer a short, standardised first conversation at the statutory minimum fees. Every piece of advice from me begins with reviewing your documents and ends with a strategy for your case. Both are billed by time from the outset, on the basis of an individual fee agreement. The first conversation is legal advice too.
An initial consultation sometimes lasts considerably longer than an hour, but at the end we have discussed your situation thoroughly and you do not leave feeling cut short and unable to ask everything you wanted to ask.
A fixed price for a written opinion
If you want one or more specific legal questions answered in writing, we can agree a fixed price for that. The sum is then settled from the outset. There is no fixed price for handling a case as it runs, because how long a dispute takes is partly decided by the other side.
What a case costs, and what drives the effort
There is no single sum that applies to every divorce and every estate. Anyone who names one is guessing. What can be said is which factors drive the number of hours. You can then place your case roughly. On request, and where that is possible in the individual case, I will give you a non-binding estimate.
Legal costs in a divorce
The divorce itself is the smaller part of the work. The effort sits in the ancillary matters: the equalisation of accrued gains, maintenance, the pension rights adjustment, custody and contact arrangements, the shared property, a shareholding in a company. Four things drive the number of hours: how many ancillary matters are settled alongside, how complete your documents are, whether the other side negotiates or blocks, and whether assets have to be valued.
Court costs are added, based on the value of the proceedings. Those do not come to me. One restriction surprises many people in family law: I can only advise one of the two spouses. Advising both sides at once is not permissible because of the conflict of interest, not even where you agree.
Costs in inheritance matters
In inheritance matters the effort depends on how much of the factual picture has to be built up first. An estate consisting of an account and a life insurance policy is quickly recorded. An estate with property, shareholdings and gifts made over the last ten years is not. Information, the schedule of the estate and valuation are separate steps of work, and in the end they decide the amount in dispute.
Anyone asserting a compulsory share or defending against a claim is paying first and foremost for research. The cost of an expert report or of a notarial schedule of the estate is not a legal fee. It arises in addition.
Legal expenses insurance
Billing through legal expenses insurance is possible. As a rule, however, the insurer only pays the statutory fees; you bear the difference to the hourly fee yourself. Whether your policy covers the area in question, and whether out-of-court advice is included, is set out in your insurance terms.
You submit the request for cover yourself. The details of the matter you need for that you get from me.
Appointments in Cologne, cases throughout Germany
Appointments take place at Jakordenstrasse 8 in 50668 Cologne, by video or phone on request. For clients from Cologne and the surrounding area, from Bergisch Gladbach to Pulheim, the journey is short. Beyond that I advise and represent clients throughout Germany, wherever the court happens to sit.
Family matters are decided by the family court, a division of the local court, and estate matters by the probate court, which also sits at the local court. For Cologne that is the Cologne Local Court in each case. Whether we sit opposite each other on Jakordenstrasse or on screen changes nothing about the billing: what is counted is the time.
YOUR QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
With me the first conversation is also billed for the time spent, at 280 euros plus 19% VAT per hour. The statute does cap the fee for a first advisory conversation with a consumer at 190 euros, but only in the absence of an agreement to the contrary (section 34(1) RVG). I conclude such an agreement, because the advice goes beyond a first orientation.
That depends on the effort and not on the value of the proceedings, which is why there is no figure here that applies to everyone. I bill by time, at 280 euros plus 19% VAT per hour. The statutory fees under the RVG form the floor, and court costs are added. The number of hours is driven by the ancillary matters: accrued gains, maintenance, the pension rights adjustment, custody and contact, the property, a shareholding in a company.
By time, with one exception downwards: where the hourly fee falls below the statutory fees under the RVG, I charge the statutory fees. In court proceedings that already follows from the statute; out of court I record it in the fee agreement. The reason is the liability risk: it grows with the economic significance of the matter. Upwards, the hourly fee stands.
In inheritance matters too I bill for the time spent, at 280 euros plus 19% VAT per hour, with the statutory fees as the floor. The effort sits in establishing the facts: what the estate contains, the valuation of property and shareholdings, gifts made over the last ten years. A manageable estate costs correspondingly little; a dispute involving land and a business correspondingly more.
Billing through legal expenses insurance is possible, but as a rule it does not cover the whole fee. Insurers usually only reimburse the statutory fees under the RVG; you bear the difference to the hourly fee yourself. Whether your policy covers inheritance or family law matters, and whether out-of-court advice is included, is set out in your insurance terms. You submit the request for cover yourself.
The figures first, then the conversation
If the hourly rate works for you, tell me in two sentences what it is about, how urgent it is and who the other side is. You will receive a proposed appointment and the list of documents I need for your case.