Complete Family Office Operations Audit in GermanyRegulated wealth tools, EU legal claritytax-efficient structuring

Family Office in Germany: A Strategic Base for Multigenerational Wealth

Why Germany attracts global family offices

Germany stands as one of the most trusted and regulated jurisdictions in Europe for family office operations. Its appeal lies in a combination of legal predictability, mature financial infrastructure, and geopolitical stability. For high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) families, Germany offers a secure and efficient base to manage complex wealth portfolios, consolidate multigenerational assets, and coordinate international family governance.

From Berlin to Frankfurt, the country hosts a wide array of banks, tax consultants, fund administrators, and legal specialists who serve international families and private wealth entities. Germany also serves as a Schengen-access hub for residence, education, and asset protection, enabling families to structure wealth within the European Union while benefiting from reliable rule of law and institutional continuity.

Legal structures and regulatory framework

Germany provides several legally sound vehicles for family offices to operate, hold, and invest assets. The most widely used include:

• GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung): A flexible private limited company structure often used to consolidate real estate, securities, and business holdings.
• Stiftung (Private Foundation): A civil-law foundation used for succession, charitable giving, and asset preservation outside of inheritance rules. Widely favored for legacy planning.
• Vermögensverwaltende GmbH: A special variation of GmbH designed for capital management. It enables more favorable tax treatment for families managing portfolios or rental income.
• Holding structures through EU subsidiaries: German structures can operate through layered EU subsidiaries, allowing mobility, optimization, and cross-border expansion.

Family offices managing their own assets are generally exempt from BaFin licensing requirements, as long as they do not handle third-party funds. However, if asset management becomes commercialized or external, certain licenses may apply. Germany is a member of the European Economic Area and adheres to MiFID II and AIFMD frameworks, offering transparency and legal protection for compliant operations.

Taxation, confidentiality, and asset protection

Although Germany is not considered a low-tax jurisdiction, it allows for effective tax optimization when structured correctly. For family offices, a combination of tax residence, entity selection, and long-term planning can reduce the overall tax burden. Key features include:

• Reduced tax rate for passive income via a Vermögensverwaltende GmbH, particularly on interest, dividends, and capital gains.
• Inheritance and gift tax exemptions for close relatives, with progressive thresholds depending on relationship and amount.
• Comprehensive double taxation treaties with over 90 countries, reducing cross-border tax liabilities.

Germany's privacy laws are among the strictest in Europe. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ensures confidentiality of personal and financial data, while professional secrecy laws protect communications with lawyers, banks, tax advisors, and fiduciaries. Unlike offshore jurisdictions, asset protection here is based not on opacity but on legal robustness.

Wealth structures in Germany can integrate with trusts or offshore entities in compliant jurisdictions, provided proper disclosure and legal alignment. The goal is not secrecy, but protection, legacy, and access to international investment platforms.

Private banking, advisors, and fund services

Germany’s financial sector is sophisticated, with a broad range of institutions catering to family offices and private wealth. Frankfurt is the country’s financial capital, home to both the European Central Bank and private banking divisions of global institutions. Munich, Hamburg, and Düsseldorf also host elite advisory firms.

Services relevant to family office clients include:

• Private banks with tailored asset management, wealth planning, and family trust services
• Tax advisors (Steuerberater) for complex multi-jurisdictional structuring and annual reporting
• Legal firms with inheritance, foundation, and corporate structuring expertise
• Independent fund administrators and auditors for private equity, real estate, and venture portfolios

In addition, Germany allows families to create Special Investment Funds (Spezialfonds), which are tax-optimized vehicles designed for institutional and semi-institutional investors. These are often used to pool family capital for diversified investments with regulatory flexibility.

Residency, real estate, and family integration

Germany offers multiple residence options for non-EU nationals. Although it does not operate a formal “golden visa” program, it grants residence permits to financially independent individuals, company founders, investors, and property owners under specific conditions. A residence permit allows full access to the Schengen Area and is typically granted for 1–3 years with renewability.

Key residency advantages include:

• Residence for business owners or shareholders of a German GmbH
• Property-based ties (for high-value real estate investors)
• Study and dependent visas for children enrolled in German or international schools

Germany’s real estate market offers long-term capital preservation and rental yields, especially in cities like Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munich. Families relocating to Germany benefit from access to international education, public and private healthcare, cultural institutions, and stable public infrastructure.

Family governance and succession planning

Germany has a deeply developed legal culture around inheritance, succession, and intergenerational transfer. Family offices operating in Germany typically engage in the following planning instruments:

• Private foundations (Stiftungen) for inheritance bypass, family vision alignment, and philanthropic strategies
• Testamentary structures and powers of attorney to align German succession law with the family’s objectives
• Shareholder agreements within family-owned GmbHs for managing voting rights, profit distributions, and business continuity

Specialist firms and notaries ensure compliance with German civil code (BGB) and inheritance tax law, while also integrating cross-border succession mechanisms where necessary. VelesClub Int. works with experts who offer bilingual legal guidance and long-term governance frameworks tailored to complex family dynamics.

Comparison with other jurisdictions

Germany is often compared to Switzerland, Luxembourg, and the UK for family office setup. While it lacks the banking secrecy of Switzerland or the ultra-low-tax tools of Luxembourg, Germany offers something else: long-term legal certainty, EU alignment, and institutional reliability that appeals to conservative, multigenerational wealth strategies.

Unlike jurisdictions that may come under international scrutiny for secrecy, Germany positions itself as a compliant, sustainable location for serious family wealth planning. It is particularly attractive to those who prioritize legacy, European presence, and integrated access to education, health, and cultural infrastructure.

How VelesClub Int. supports your family office setup

VelesClub Int. provides comprehensive advisory services for establishing and operating family offices in Germany. Whether you are relocating assets, setting up a legal entity, managing succession, or acquiring real estate, our team ensures full regulatory alignment and high-level execution.

We connect families with trusted tax advisors, lawyers, bankers, and fund administrators in Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin. Our process includes entity formation, residence coordination, KYC/AML support, and long-term strategy planning—from portfolio design to generational governance.

Germany may not offer shortcuts—but for those building a durable legacy, it provides unmatched legal and financial grounding. With VelesClub Int., your family office in Germany becomes a secure, compliant, and future-ready center for global wealth.