Own use at a glance

• Cancellation of the rental contract in order to move into the apartment yourself or for family members
• Long notice period to protect the tenant
• Exceptions for hardship cases such as single parents or families with children
• Own requirements in English

Back to the wiki: Real Estate

The probate court – tasks, rights and duties

The probate court is not an independent branch of the court, but only a department of the district court. Nevertheless, the probate court has its own tasks and duties. You can now find out which tasks are included and which probate matters are settled at the probate court!

The functions of the probate court – inheritance and estate

The probate court has a wide variety of duties that it must perform. Even if the probate court is not an independent branch of the court, it still has its own independent tasks. These are regulated in the fifth book of the Civil Code. These include:

• The granting of certificates of inheritance
• The opening of wills
• The receipt and safekeeping of wills
• Securing the estate
• The granting of certificates of executorship
• The identification of heirs

The proceedings in probate cases – regulated at the probate court

A probate court is not an independent branch of court, but a department for probate matters set up at the local courts. Since 1 September 2009, proceedings in probate matters have been defined in the law as follows.
Pursuant to §342 (1) FamFG, probate matters are those proceedings which:

• The special official custody of dispositions of property upon death,
• The safeguarding of the estate, including the guardianship of the estate,
• The opening of dispositions on death,
• Identifying the heirs,
• The receipt of statements required by law to be made to the probate court,
• Certificates of inheritance, certificates of executorship and other certificates to be issued by the probate court,
• Execution of wills,
• The administration of the estate and
• Other functions assigned to the probate courts by law

concern.

To help you find the right address immediately, we have all the probate courts in Germany for you here. All probate courts sorted alphabetically by federal state, starting with the three city states of Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg. More on the subject of real estate inheritance: inheritance certificate to costs.

Berlin

Local court in Berlin Mitte
Littenstraße 12-17, 10179 Berlin

Bremen

Local court in Bremen
Ostertorstrasse 25/31
28195 Bremen

Hamburg

Local court Hamburg
Sievekingplatz 1
20355 Hamburg

Baden-Württemberg

Local court in Aalen
Stuttgart Street 9+7
73430 Aalen

Local court in Heidelberg
Czernyring 22/10-12
69115 Heidelberg

Local court in Karlsruhe
Castle square 23
76131 Karlsruhe

Local court in Constance
Untere Laube 12
78462 Constance

County court in Leonberg
Castle courtyard 7
71229 Leonberg

Local court in Lörrach
Station road 4
79539 Lörrach

Local court in Ludwigsburg
Schorndorfer Street 39
71638 Ludwigsburg

County court in Mannheim
Castle, west wing
68159 Mannheim

Local court in Nürtingen
Neuffener Street 28
72622 Nürtingen

Local court in Tübingen
Doblerstrasse 14
72074 Tübingen

Bavaria

Local court in Aschaffenburg
Erthalstraße 3
63739 Aschaffenburg

Local court in Augsburg
Am Alten Einlaß 1
86150 Augsburg

Local court in Bamberg
Synagogue Square 1
96047 Bamberg

County court in Erlangen
Mozartstrasse 23
91052 Erlangen

Local court in Kaufbeuren
Ganghoferstrasse 9-11
87600 Kaufbeuren

Local court in Munich
Pacelli Street 5
80333 Munich

Local court in Nuremberg
Fürther Street 110
90429 Nuremberg

Local court in Regensburg
Augustenstrasse 3
93049 Regensburg

Local court in Würzburg
Ottostraße 5
97070 Würzburg

Brandenburg

Local court in Potsdam
Jägerallee 10-12
14469 Potsdam

Local court in Cottbus
Vom Stein Street 28
03050 Cottbus

Local court in Frankfurt (Oder)
Eisenhüttenstädter Chaussee 48
15236 Frankfurt (Oder)

Local court in Oranienburg
Berlin Street 38
16515 Oranienburg

Hesse

Local court in Darmstadt
Mathildenplatz 12
64283 Darmstadt

Local court in Frankfurt
Court road 2
60313 Frankfurt am Main

County court in Fulda
Königstraße 38
36037 Fulda

Local court in Gießen
Gutfleischstrasse 1
35390 Giessen

Local court in Kassel
Frankfurter Street 9
34117 Kassel

Local court in Marburg
University Road 48
35037 Marburg

Local court in Offenbach am Main
Kaiserstrasse 16-18
63065 Offenbach on the Main

Local court in Wiesbaden
Court road 2
65185 Wiesbaden

Local court in Wetzlar
Wertherstraße 1 and 2
35578 Wetzlar

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

Local court in Neubrandenburg
Stralsund
Greifswald

Local court in Rostock
Zochstraße 13
18057 Rostock

County court in Schwerin
Demmlerplatz 14
19053 Schwerin

Lower Saxony

Local court in Braunschweig
At the Martini Church 8
38100 Brunswick

Local court in Göttingen
Berlin street 8
37073 Göttingen

Local court in Hanover
Volgersweg 1
30175 Hanover

Local court in Oldenburg
Elisabeth Street 8
26135 Oldenburg

Local court in Osnabrück
Kollegienwall 29/31
49074 Osnabrück

Local court in Salzgitter
Joachim-Campe-Straße 15
38226 Salzgitter

Local court in Wolfsburg
Rothenfelder Street 43
38440 Wolfsburg

North Rhine-Westphalia

County court in Aachen
Adalbertsteinweg 92
52070 Aachen

Local court in Bielefeld
Court road 6
33602 Bielefeld

Local court in Bocholt
Benölkenplatz 2
46399 Bocholt

Local court in Bochum
Viktoriastrasse 14
44787 Bochum

Local court in Bonn
Wilhelmstrasse 21-23
53111 Bonn

Local court in Bottrop
Court Street 24-26
46236 Bottrop

Local court in Brühl
Balthasar-Neumann-Platz 3
50321 Brühl

Local court in Dortmund
Court road 22
44135 Dortmund

Local court in Düsseldorf
Werdener Street 1
40227 Düsseldorf

Duisburg local court
König-Heinrich-Platz 1
47051 Duisburg

Local court in Essen
Zweigertstrasse 52
45130 Essen

Local court in Jülich
Wilhelmstrasse 15
52428 Jülich

Local court in Kleve
Schloßberg 1 (Schwanenburg)
47533 Kleve

Local court in Cologne
Reichenspergerplatz 1
50670 Cologne

Local court in Leverkusen
Gerichtsstraße 9
51379 Leverkusen

Local court in Lippstadt
Lipperoder Street 8
59555 Lippstadt

County court in Meinerzhagen
Court road 14
58540 Meinerzhagen

Local court in Münster
Court Street 2-6
48149 Münster

Local court in Neuss
Wide street 48
41460 Neuss

Local court in Paderborn
At the arch 2-4
33098 Paderborn

Local court in Wuppertal
Isle 2
42103 Wuppertal

Rhineland-Palatinate

Local court in Bingen on the Rhine
Mainzer Street 52
55411 Bingen on the Rhine

Local court in Kaiserslautern
Station road 24
67655 Kaiserslautern

Local court in Koblenz
Carmeliterstrasse 14
56068 Koblenz

Local court in Ludwigshafen
Wittelsbachstrasse 10
67061 Ludwigshafen on the Rhine

County court in Mainz
Diether-von-Isenburg-Strasse
55116 Mainz

Local court in Trier
Justizstraße 2, 4, 6
54290 Trier

Saarland

Local court in Homburg (Saar)
Zweibrücker Street 24
66424 Homburg

Local court in Neunkirchen
Miners’ Road 16
66538 Neunkirchen

Local court in Saarbrücken
Franz-Josef-Röder- Str. 13
66119 Saarbrücken

Saxony

Local court in Chemnitz
Court road 2
09112 Chemnitz

Local court in Dresden
Berlin Street 3-13
01067 Dresden

Local court in Freiberg
Beethovenstrasse 8
09599 Freiberg

Local court in Leipzig
Bernhard-Göring-Strasse 64
04275 Leipzig

Local court in Zwickau
Platz der Deutschen Einheit 1
08056 Zwickau

Saxony-Anhalt

Local court in Dessau-Roßlau
Willy-Lohmann-Strasse 33
06844 Dessau-Roßlau

Local court in Ingolstadt
New building road 8
85049 Ingolstadt

Local court in Halle (Saale)
Platz der Deutschen Einheit 1
08056 Zwickau

Magdeburg local court
Wide way 203-206
39104 Magdeburg

Local court in Stendal
Scharnhorststraße 40
39576 Stendal

Local court in Weißenfels
Friedrichstraße 18
06667 Weißenfels

Schleswig-Holstein

County court in Elmshorn
Bismarckstrasse 8
25335 Elmshorn

Local court in Flensburg
Südergraben 22
24937 Flensburg

Local court in Kiel
Deliusstrasse 22
24114 Kiel

Local court in Lübeck
Am Burgfeld 7
23568 Lübeck

Local court in Neumünster
Boostedter Street 26
24534 Neumünster

Local court in Norderstedt
Town Hall Avenue 80
22850 Norderstedt

Thuringia

Local court in Arnstadt
Längwitzer Street 26
99310 Arnstadt

County court in Erfurt
Rudolfstraße 46
99092 Erfurt

Local court in Gera
Rudolf-Diener-Strasse 1
07545 Gera

Gotha county court
Justus-Perthes-Strasse 2
99867 Gotha

Local court in Jena
Rathenaustrasse 13
07745 Jena

Local court in Weimar
Ernst-Kohl-Strasse 23a
99423 Weimar

Divorce without separation year – hardship divorce in special exceptions

When a marriage is divorced, one fact is a basic requirement: the separation year. This is required by law to prevent hasty and ill-considered decisions and to protect the institution of marriage. However, in special exceptions, a divorce without a separation year is possible. Which exceptions are these, what they have for requirements and how such a divorce proceeds, you will now learn!

• Tip. Our guide for house and apartment: Selling real estate after divorce.

The most important at a glance

• The law regulates divorces in regular and exceptional cases. The exceptions refer to the hardship regulation and the hardship clause.
• Exceptional cases are to be avoided by the law and are to be used only in absolute emergencies
• The separation year is intended to protect against hasty decisions. The year should be used by the spouses to think through the decision to divorce thoroughly and to make a rational decision.
• A hardship divorce does not follow any precise legal guidelines. Whether there is a reason for a hardship divorce is always decided in the individual case.
• There are certain requirements that can help judges make a decision
• Before a hardship divorce is decided by a judge, other alternatives may be considered. One possibility is court-ordered mediation, which attempts to resolve conflicts in advance and eliminate the reason for the hardship divorce.

Divorce according to the law – regular and exceptional cases

The law regulates divorces in two regular and two exceptional cases. The first rule is the acceptance of a failed marriage after both spouses have filed for divorce after a year of separation or one spouse agrees to the divorce petition of the other spouse. The second rule case describes the situation after one spouse has filed for divorce but the other does not consent to it. Here, the law states that after three years of separation, the consent of both partners is no longer required and divorce can be granted as it can no longer be assumed that the marriage is salvageable. In both cases, it is irrefutably presumed that the marriage has failed.

The family court now knows two exceptional cases from the regular cases of divorce. The hardship clause describes the early divorce, before the end of the separation year and the hardship clause describes the maintenance of the divorce in the interest of the common children or because of the special situation of the spouse.

• The law regulates divorces into regular and exceptional cases
• Exceptional cases are to be avoided by the law and are to be used only in absolute emergencies

The separation year – the meaning and purpose

However, the hardship divorce is the absolute exception. The legislator sees marriage as a contractually binding relationship that both parties have entered into consciously and permanently. The separation year is intended to prevent divorces that are entered into lightly and to create time to think through this important decision thoroughly. Thus, dissolution of marriage is only possible after the separation year has expired and even then only with the consent of both spouses. If one continues to see a chance of reconciliation, the divorce can only be carried out after three years without the consent of both partners. The legislator thus understands the hardship divorce as an absolute exception and the separation year as a necessity and rule.

• The separation year should protect against hasty decisions
• The year should be used by the spouses to thoroughly think through and rationally make the decision to divorce.

The requirements – the founders for hardship cases

There are no binding guidelines for a hardship divorce and the rulings are always individual decisions. However, the starting point must be the special situation that justifies a hardship divorce. The applicant must therefore be able to present and also prove important founders for the case of hardship from the very beginning. Some requirements that must nevertheless be observed as a general rule:

The failed marriage

Even in the case of a hardship divorce, the family court judge must formally examine in advance whether the marriage has failed. An equation of a failure to restore the marriage and the unreasonableness of the marriage must be avoided in this context.

The spatial separation

The separation must also be established as such by the family court judge. In this case, it is expedient if the spouses live spatially separated. As a rule, living in the joint marital home speaks against the hardship divorce.

The important reason in the person of the other spouse

The important reason justifying the hardship situation must always lie in the person of the other spouse. If, for example, one spouse only wants a divorce in order to marry his/her new partner, there is no important reason in the person of the current spouse and the reason is not sufficient for a hardship divorce.

The detailed description of the reason

The important reason for the hardship divorce must be described in detail by the spouse. A simple assertion is not sufficient here. The unreasonable hardship of the situation must relate to “continuing to be married to each other” and not only to an irrelevant situation. The duration of the marriage is irrelevant and has no influence on the result.

Whether a case of hardship exists or not must therefore always be decided depending on the individual situation. For a better understanding, cases that were rejected for a hardship divorce help. No hardship cases are therefore present if:

• Mere difficulties, disagreements or needs exist, as they do in every marriage from time to time.
• Constant friction, repeated absences or a lack of understanding of each other’s concerns are present.
• There is a desire on the part of one spouse to enter into a new marriage
• Household management is neglected or jealousy scenes are constantly coming from one partner without reason
• A marriage of convenience exists and was only entered into in order to obtain a residence permit for the foreign spouse.
• Marital fidelity has been breached or if one spouse is living in a marital relationship with another partner.

When it comes to hardship divorces, it is often a tightrope walk. The individual situation is decisive for the decision of the family court. Depending on the reason, different judges have already made different decisions. Whether a situation is therefore grounds for a hardship situation cannot be answered across the board.

• A hardship divorce does not follow precise legal guidelines
• Whether there is a reason for a hardship divorce is always decided in the individual case.
• There are certain requirements that can help judges make a decision

Alternatives to hardship divorce – court-ordered mediation

However, there are other alternatives besides a hardship divorce. One of these is a court order to attend mediation. The judge can order the spouses to attend a free information session on mediation, either individually or jointly, and to provide a certificate for this.

Mediation is a means of peaceful conflict resolution that is designed to help spouses resolve problems. A neutral third party helps the couple resolve difficult conflicts and find a new way forward. This alternative is often used when joint children are involved in the divorce. With the help of this alternative, the court hopes for a peaceful resolution of the problems and to avoid a hardship divorce.

• Before a hardship divorce is decided by a judge, there are other alternatives that can be considered
• An alternative is court-ordered mediation, which attempts to resolve conflicts in advance and eliminate the reason for the hardship divorce.

Divorce: guide, help and tips

Divorce is complex, it’s true. But you are not alone! Many let themselves separate and in fact, a large part always finds a good solution. Only a small part ends in a quarrel. So that you can prepare well, you will find here our small guides and tips on divorce, family, money and real estate.

• Divorce: Guide