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Notaries are organs of the preventive administration of justice. They are appointed by the state and hold a public office. Their work serves to create legal certainty and avoid disputes. To a certain extent, they act as "judges in advance". While judges only come into play when there is already a legal dispute, it is the task of notaries to prevent disputes.

For particularly important matters in life, the legislator prescribes going to a notary. In doing so, the legislator is following the principle that "prevention is better than cure". It is better to seek legal advice in advance than to end up in a dispute later due to ignorance and legal errors. This is because the costs of a later legal dispute are usually significantly higher than the notary's fees. Disputes are also psychologically stressful.

In the worst case, a mistake in economically significant transactions such as buying a house can also mean financial ruin. Notaries should therefore create legal certainty and legal peace by advising the parties involved and drawing up a legally flawless contract for them.

Notarization or certification is always required if the law prescribes it. The most important notarial responsibilities lie in real estate law, inheritance and family law as well as company law.

In real estate law, notaries are particularly responsible for contracts for the purchase and sale of real estate as well as the creation, termination and amendment of rights in rem to real estate (in particular land charges or usufruct). In family law, marriage contracts (including agreements on the consequences of divorce) and adoptions in particular require notarization. In inheritance law, the notary is responsible for notarizing inheritance contracts as well as inheritance and compulsory portion waiver agreements. Wills can be drawn up before a notary or handwritten, although a notarized will has several advantages. You can also have applications for certificates of inheritance notarized by a notary. In corporate law, various transactions require notarization, in particular the formation of a GmbH, UG (haftungsbeschränkt) and AG as well as amendments to the articles of association of these companies (in particular capital increases). Furthermore, all transformation measures require notarization (also for partnerships). Registrations in the commercial, association, partnership and cooperative registers must always be notarized.

Notaries are appointed by the state and are holders of a public office. In this respect, they are more like judges than lawyers. Unlike judges - and like lawyers - notaries advise the parties involved. Unlike lawyers, however, notaries are obliged to remain neutral. Notaries therefore provide impartial advice and have the interests of all parties in mind. Their task is to work towards balanced regulations. Lawyers, on the other hand, represent interests. Anyone who wants to assert their interests unilaterally against the other side and possibly even take legal action must consult a lawyer. Notaries are responsible for preventing such disputes from arising in the first place.

You are free to choose which notary you visit. You are not obliged to choose a notary in your home town. It also does not matter whether the matter is related to the city in which the notary has his office.

However, notarizations (i.e. the reading out, explanation and signing of the deed) can generally only take place in the notary's so-called official area. The official area is the district of the local court in which the notary is based. For me as a notary in Erlangen, the official area is the area of the city of Erlangen as well as the area of the city of Baiersdorf and the area of the municipalities or market towns of Bubenreuth, Buckenhof, Eckental, Heroldsberg, Kalchreuth, Marloffstein, Möhrendorf, Spardorf and Uttenreuth. In this area, if necessary (e.g. limited mobility or illness), notarizations or certifications can also be requested at your home.

However, as long as the notarization takes place in the notary's office, it is irrelevant where you live, where the property is located, where the company has its registered office, etc. The principle of free choice of notary applies.

Reading aloud during notarization ensures that you are fully aware of the content of the transaction and the scope of your declarations. Experience has shown that questions often arise when the deed is read out, which the notary will then answer. Regardless of your questions, the notary will also explain the most important content again when reading out the deed. If necessary, final changes are made to the text. By following this procedure, you can be sure that everything is exactly what you want when you sign the contract.

In principle, the parties must appear in person at the notary's office for the notarization. This also makes sense, as the content of the deed is then read out to them (see above for the importance of being read out), you can listen to the notary's explanations and any final questions can be clarified.

However, it often happens that individual parties are prevented from appearing in person, for example because they live far away. In such a case, a party can also be represented at their request. If possible, the parties involved should be represented by a trusted person (e.g. a family member or a lawyer). Representation by a non-authorized representative (representative without power of attorney) is also possible. This can be the other party to the contract and possibly also a notary's employee. In this case, you must subsequently approve the declarations of this unauthorized representative. As a rule, this subsequent approval must be notarized, especially in the case of a house purchase. However, you can then choose a notary in your area to notarize the signature.

Unlike an appointment for notarization, a meeting can also be arranged online or by telephone. Please do not hesitate to contact us.

Since August 1, 2022, video notarizations and certifications can be carried out in company law. This applies to the notarization of the formation of a GmbH or UG (haftungsbeschränkt) as well as all applications to the commercial, cooperative and partnership register. The Federal Chamber of Notaries has created a specially secured video communication system for this purpose (further information at https://online-verfahren.notar.de). Video notarization is an additional option. Of course, you can still obtain advice on site.

In other cases, the notarization must still take place in person. However, appointments can always be made online or by telephone on request. Please do not hesitate to contact us.

If necessary, for example due to physical limitations, we can also make appointments away from Erlangen, for example at your home, in hospital or in a care home. Appointments outside of Erlangen are only possible in exceptional cases with special justification.

For appointments away from home, an additional fee of 50 euros per half hour or part thereof is charged by law. A special rule applies to wills and powers of attorney: In this case, the fee is a flat rate of 50 euros, regardless of the duration of the appointment.

When notarizing a signature, the notary only verifies the identity of the person signing the text using a photo ID. However, the notary does not check the content of the text unless this is expressly requested. Therefore, no legal advice is given. The content of the text does not have to be read out, which is why appointments for signature notarization are usually short.

When certifying a copy, the notary certifies that the copy of a deed (= copy) corresponds to the original submitted.

A notarization, on the other hand, covers the entire content of the deed. It is associated with comprehensive legal advice from the notary. The text of the deed must be read out in full (see above for the meaning of reading out).

In most cases, a consultation with a notary is free of charge. If the consultation results in a draft or notarization, the consultation is covered by the draft or notarization fee. This applies regardless of how many consultations the notary has held or how many hours he has worked on the matter. The fees therefore remain the same, even if you make use of a further consultation or request changes to the draft. There is a standard fee for the draft or notarization, which is generally determined by the value of the matter (see above). The consultation fees are therefore included in the draft or notarization fee, i.e. "inclusive".
Advisory fees are only incurred for isolated advice, i.e. if the notary does not prepare a draft and does not carry out notarization. The amount of the consultation fee then depends on the effort and complexity as well as the assets of the parties involved. General legal information from the notary, on the other hand, is free of charge.