Privacy

Data on this website is processed by the website operator. You will find their contact details in the section “Controller” in this privacy policy.

Some of your data is collected because you give it to us. This can be data you enter in a form, for example. Other data is collected automatically by our IT systems when you visit the website. This is mainly technical data such as the browser, the operating system or the time of the page view. This data is collected automatically as soon as you enter this website.

Some of the data is collected to ensure the website is provided without errors. Other data we evaluate statistically in order to improve what we offer. What you send us through a form we process in order to handle your inquiry and to prepare a possible engagement.

You have the right at any time to receive information free of charge about the origin, recipients and purpose of your stored personal data. You also have the right to request that this data be corrected or erased. If you have given consent to data processing, you can withdraw that consent at any time with effect for the future. You also have the right, under certain circumstances, to request that the processing of your personal data be restricted. Furthermore, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority. You can contact us at any time about this and any other questions on data protection.

The provider is IONOS SE, Elgendorfer Str. 57, 56410 Montabaur (hereinafter IONOS). When you visit our website, IONOS collects various log files including your IP address. For details, see the IONOS privacy policy: ionos.de/terms-gtc/terms-privacy.

The use of IONOS is based on Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR. We have a legitimate interest in our website being displayed as reliably as possible.

We have concluded a data processing agreement for the use of the service named above. This is a contract required by data protection law which ensures that the provider processes the personal data of our website visitors only on our instructions and in compliance with the GDPR.

We take the protection of your personal data seriously. We treat your personal data confidentially and in accordance with the statutory data protection regulations and this privacy policy.

Please note that data transmission over the internet, for example when communicating by email, can have security gaps. Complete protection of data against access by third parties is not possible.

This website also appears in English and Spanish. The translations are there to help you understand. Only the German version of this privacy policy is authoritative; where the versions differ, the German version applies.

Unless a more specific storage period is stated in this privacy policy, your personal data remains with us until the purpose of the processing no longer applies. If you make a justified request for erasure or withdraw consent to data processing, your data will be erased unless we have other legally permissible reasons for storing it, such as retention periods under tax or commercial law; in the latter case, erasure takes place once those reasons no longer apply.

If you have consented to the processing, we process your personal data on the basis of Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR, and for special categories of data under Article 9 (1) GDPR additionally on the basis of Article 9 (2) (a) GDPR. If you have consented to the storage of cookies or to access to information on your device, the processing is additionally based on § 25 (1) TDDDG. Consent can be withdrawn at any time.

If your data is required to perform a contract or to carry out pre-contractual measures, we process it on the basis of Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR. We also process your data if this is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, on the basis of Article 6 (1) (c) GDPR. The processing may also be based on our legitimate interest under Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR.

In the course of our business, we work with various external parties. We only pass personal data on to external parties if this is necessary to perform a contract, if we are legally obliged to do so, for example when passing data to tax authorities, if we have a legitimate interest under Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR in passing it on, or if another legal basis permits it. When we use processors, we only pass on personal data on the basis of a valid data processing agreement.

Many data processing operations are only possible with your express consent. You can withdraw consent you have already given at any time. The lawfulness of the processing carried out until the withdrawal remains unaffected.

In the event of breaches of the GDPR, data subjects have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the member state of their habitual residence, their place of work or the place of the alleged breach.

You have the right to have data that we process automatically on the basis of your consent or in performance of a contract handed over to you or to a third party in a common, machine-readable format. If you request the direct transfer of the data to another controller, this will only be done to the extent technically feasible.

Within the applicable statutory provisions, you have the right at any time to free information about your stored personal data, its origin and recipients and the purpose of the processing, and, where applicable, a right to have this data corrected or erased.

You have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data, in particular while the accuracy of disputed data is being checked, or if you need the data instead of erasure to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

For security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, this site uses SSL or TLS encryption. You can recognize an encrypted connection by the browser’s address bar changing from “http://” to “https://” and by the padlock symbol in your browser bar.

This website sets no cookies. Neither we nor any third party places an identifier in your browser when you open a page; the audience measurement also works without one, see section 6.

The website stores a few things locally in your browser. None of it leaves your device before you send a form, and we have no access to it. These entries remain until you delete the site data in your browser (localStorage):

• Your choice of a light or dark appearance. You make it yourself in the menu or in the footer; without storing it, it would be forgotten the next time you open a page.
• The interim state of the divorce intake form and the marital agreement form. While you are filling one of them in, your browser remembers the values you have entered, which sections you have completed and which one was open last, so that you can pause and continue later. When you send the form, the interim state is deleted. The notes on these forms on other pages only read from it how many sections have been started.
• A separation date from the blog. If you transfer the date from the separation year calculator to the intake form, it is then stored in the form’s interim state.
• That you have closed the cookie notice. Otherwise it would appear again on every page.

Your browser keeps two things only in the storage of the open tab (sessionStorage). When you close the tab or window, they are deleted.

• Name, address and contact details after sending a form. If you have sent the divorce intake form or the marital agreement form, the appointment request fills these details into its empty fields, so that you do not have to type them again.
• The assistant’s history. Your questions and its answers, so that the conversation stays in place when you switch to another page. More on this in section 11.

The provider of these pages automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which your browser automatically transmits to us. These are:

• browser type and browser version
• the operating system used
• the referrer URL
• the host name of the accessing computer
• the time of the server request
• the IP address

This data is not merged with other data sources. The data is collected on the basis of Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR. We have a legitimate interest in the technically error-free display and the optimization of our website.

Four fields: what it is about, your name, a phone number or an email address, and your message. We store your details in order to handle the inquiry and in case of follow-up questions.

What it is about, whether a deadline is running, the time you would like, your name, your address, phone number and email address, how you would like to speak and what we should know beforehand. For the further process and the storage period, see the section on requesting an appointment online.

Once the appointment is confirmed, the server records the day and time a second time, so that the same time is not given out again. This list contains no name and no link to your request, only a date and a time. If we cancel or move the appointment, the entry is removed. Our appointment management only shows this list, the free times and which times have been requested, no details from your request.

This form is intended for fellow lawyers. It collects your name and contact details, the law firm, the court and the hearing with the case number, the names of the parties and of the opposing law firm and, if you wish, the state of the case. We need the parties’ names to check for conflicts of interest before we agree.

The most extensive of the five. What it collects and how long the details are kept is set out in section 8.

The details we need to advise on and draft a marital agreement. What it collects and how long the details are kept is set out in section 9.

The processing is based on Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR if your inquiry is related to the performance of a contract or is necessary to carry out pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, it is based on our legitimate interest in handling the inquiries addressed to us effectively (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).

The data you enter remains with us until you ask us to erase it, withdraw your consent to storage or the purpose of storage no longer applies, for example once your inquiry has been handled. Mandatory statutory provisions, in particular retention periods, remain unaffected.

To prevent the forms from being misused for advertising, the server allows five submissions per internet connection per hour. For this purpose, it stores the time of each submission under a checksum of your IP address, not under the address itself; the entry expires after one hour. The confirmation of receipt goes to the same email address at most three times a day; for this, a checksum of the address stays on the server for one day. If a submission triggers the spam protection, the server’s error log records the IP address. The legal basis is Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR, our interest in trouble-free operation.

If you contact us by email, phone or fax, your inquiry, including all personal data arising from it, is stored and processed by us for the purpose of handling your request. We do not pass this data on without your consent. The same paragraph as for the forms applies to the legal basis and storage period.

As lawyers, we are bound by professional secrecy under § 43a (2) BRAO and § 2 BORA. An email is not encrypted end to end on its way between the providers involved and is therefore less protected against being read by others than a letter.

If you write to us by email or give an email address in a form as the way to reply, you open that channel yourself. We understand this as your consent within the meaning of § 2 (2) BORA and reply through the same channel. You can withdraw this consent at any time; just let us know informally, and we will reply by phone or by mail.

For video calls we use Zoom. What the provider processes and what the transfer to the USA is based on is set out in section 7. We may involve providers who perform technical services for us under § 43e BRAO. We choose them carefully and bind them to confidentiality in text form, with information on the criminal consequences of a breach. If you would rather speak without such a provider, come to our office or give us a call.

The appointment request collects:

• what it is about and whether a deadline is running
• first and last name and address
• phone number and email address
• the date and time of the appointment you would like, or your note that any time suits you
• whether you would like to speak at our office or by Zoom
• what we should know before the consultation
• the status of your request (open, suggested, confirmed, canceled or declined) and, where we add one when confirming or declining, a short internal note about this appointment

The processing serves to plan and manage appointments and to communicate in connection with the appointment agreed. If the first consultation takes place, we also use your name and address for the invoice for the consultation. The legal basis is Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR, the carrying out of pre-contractual measures and of the consultation contract.

The request is kept on our server so that the links in our email with which we confirm, move or cancel an appointment still know later what they refer to. It is erased automatically 90 days after receipt or after the appointment, whichever is later. After that, the content only exists in our office email and is subject there to the periods in section 3.

The calendar on the appointment page loads the free times from our own server. This request sends nothing about you and contains no details of appointments already given.

Umami stores no cookies in your browser and does not store your IP address. There is therefore no access to your device, and consent under § 25 TDDDG is not required.

We run Umami on our own server, so that all analytics data stays with us and is not passed on to third parties.

The data collected with Umami is erased after six months.

You can prevent the analysis at any time by blocking the analytics script in your browser, for example with a content blocker or a corresponding browser setting. The website remains fully usable.

If you speak with us by video or audio conference, your personal data is collected and processed by us and by the provider of the conference tool. This includes what you provide in order to use it, that is, email address and phone number, as well as the duration of the conference, the start and end of your participation, the number of participants and other contextual information about the communication.

The provider also processes all technical data required to run the call. This includes in particular IP addresses, MAC addresses, device IDs, device type, operating system type and version, client version, camera type, microphone or speaker, and the type of connection.

Please note that we do not have full control over the provider’s data processing operations. Our options depend largely on the provider’s company policy.

The conference tool is used to communicate with prospective or existing contractual partners or to offer certain services to our clients (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR). Its use also serves to simplify and speed up communication with our office (legitimate interest within the meaning of Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).

The data collected directly by us is erased from our systems as soon as you ask us to erase it, withdraw your consent to storage or the purpose of storage no longer applies. We have no influence on the storage period of data that the operator stores for its own purposes; for details, please contact the operator directly.

The provider is Zoom Communications Inc., 55 Almaden Boulevard, 6th Floor, San Jose, CA 95113, USA. For details, see the Zoom privacy statement.

The transfer of data to the USA is based on the standard contractual clauses of the EU Commission. The company is certified under the “EU-US Data Privacy Framework” (DPF), an agreement between the European Union and the USA intended to ensure compliance with European data protection standards when data is processed in the USA. For further information, see dataprivacyframework.gov.

We have concluded a data processing agreement for the use of the service named above.

The form has around 100 fields in twelve sections. They cover the details that § 133 FamFG requires for the Scheidungsantrag (divorce petition):

• personal data of both spouses: first names, family name, name at birth, date and place of birth, nationality, address, phone and email
• financial details: occupation, employer, monthly net income, assets at the time of the marriage and today, real estate, debts
• details of the marriage: the wedding, the registry office, the marriage register, a marital agreement, the last shared address
• details of the separation: the date, the living situation, attempts at reconciliation, the other side’s consent
• details of up to three joint minor children: name, date and place of birth, where the child lives, contact, involvement of the youth welfare office
• maintenance, pension insurance numbers and pension rights, ongoing proceedings and the documents available
• in the last section, if you wish, a time for the first consultation and whether you would like to speak at our office or by Zoom; with a time, an appointment request is created as described in the section on requesting an appointment online

The form does not ask for data on criminal offenses or complaints (Article 10 GDPR) or for special categories under Article 9 (1) GDPR, such as religious affiliation or health data.

We process these details to review your inquiry, prepare the engagement and, if you hire us, draft the Scheidungsantrag (divorce petition). The legal basis is Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR, the carrying out of pre-contractual measures and the performance of the attorney engagement contract. At the end of the form, you expressly confirm that we may use your details to prepare the first consultation.

The Scheidungsantrag (divorce petition) requires the data of both spouses, even if only one side hires us. You therefore provide data about a person who has not given it to us themselves. For this person, the duty to inform under Article 14 GDPR applies: we are the controller with the details given above, the categories of data and the purposes are set out in this section, and the source is the other side’s divorce intake form. We comply with this duty as soon as we contact the other side, at the latest within one month. It does not apply to the extent that the details are subject to attorney confidentiality under Article 14 (5) (d) GDPR, for example if merely informing the other side of the intended petition would jeopardize the pursuit of your rights.

The person concerned has the same rights as you: information, correction, erasure, restriction, data portability and complaint to a supervisory authority. Section 3 describes them in detail.

While you are filling in the form, your browser stores the interim state exclusively and locally on your device, so that you can pause and continue later. Before you send it, no data leaves your device; we have no access to this interim state. It is deleted when you send the form. You can remove it yourself at any time by deleting the site data in your browser.

After you send the form, the appointment request fills in your name, address and contact details while the tab remains open, see section 4.

The form you send is transmitted encrypted to our own server and placed there into an email to our office. It does not remain on the server itself. It is not passed on to third parties.

If no engagement results, we erase your details as soon as the inquiry has been handled. If an engagement results, they become part of the case file and are subject to the professional retention period of six years after the end of the calendar year in which the engagement ended (§ 50 BRAO); retention periods under tax and commercial law remain unaffected.

The form has around 60 fields in ten sections:

• personal data of both partners: first names, family name, name at birth, date of birth, place of birth with registry office and register number, nationality, address, occupation, net income and marital status, plus your phone number and email address
• details of the marriage: whether you are already married, date and place of the wedding, the previous matrimonial property regime, an existing marital agreement or choice of law with date and content, the number of previous marriages
• details of up to three children, joint and from previous relationships: name, date of birth and whose child it is, and whether you would like to have children together
• what the agreement should settle regarding assets, maintenance after a divorce, pensions, and inheritance and provision for the future, with your comments
• existing documents, your timeline and anything else you tell us
• in the last section, if you wish, a time for the first consultation and whether you would like to speak at our office or by Zoom; with a time, an appointment request is created as described in the section on requesting an appointment online

We process these details to review your inquiry, prepare the consultation and, if you hire us, draft the agreement. The legal basis is Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR, the carrying out of pre-contractual measures and the performance of the attorney engagement contract. At the end of the form, you expressly confirm that we may use your details to prepare the consultation.

The question whether you would like to have children together is optional. The answer may belong to the special categories under Article 9 (1) GDPR. We therefore process it only with your express consent at the end of the form (Article 9 (2) (a) GDPR), which you can withdraw at any time with effect for the future.

The form asks for the data of both partners, even if only one of them fills it in. For the other person, the duty to inform under Article 14 GDPR applies: we are the controller with the details given above, the categories of data and the purposes are set out in this section, and the source is the form. That is why the form asks for the other person’s email address. We write to them within one month, or earlier if we contact them before then. They have the same rights as you; section 3 describes them in detail.

While you are filling in the form, your browser stores the interim state exclusively and locally on your device, so that you can pause and continue later. Before you send it, no data leaves your device; we have no access to this interim state. It is deleted when you send the form. After that, the appointment request fills in your name, address and contact details while the tab remains open, see section 4.

The form you send is transmitted encrypted to our own server and placed there into an email to our office. It does not remain on the server itself. It is not passed on to third parties.

If no engagement results, we erase your details as soon as the inquiry has been handled. If an engagement results, they become part of the case file and are subject to the professional retention period of six years after the end of the calendar year in which the engagement ended (§ 50 BRAO); retention periods under tax and commercial law remain unaffected.