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.

You give us some of your data yourself, for example in a form. Our IT systems collect other data automatically as soon as you visit this website. This is mainly technical data such as your browser, your operating system or the time you opened the page.

Some of the data is collected to make sure the website works without errors. We analyze other data statistically to improve what we offer. We process what you send us through a form 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 can also ask us to correct or erase this data and, under certain circumstances, to restrict its processing. If you have given consent to data processing, you can withdraw that consent at any time with effect for the future. In addition, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority. You can contact us at any time about these rights 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. Data protection law requires this contract. It 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 privacy policy is a translation of the German original and is there to help you understand it. Only the German version 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 your consent to data processing, we erase your data. If we have other legally permissible reasons for storing it, such as retention periods under tax or commercial law, we erase it only 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 receive data that we process automatically on the basis of your consent or to perform a contract, or to have it handed over 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 information, free of charge, 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 does not set cookies. Neither we nor any third party places an identifier in your browser when you open a page, and our audience measurement works without one too (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 this choice yourself in the menu or in the footer. Without storing it, the site would forget it the next time you open a page.
• Your progress in 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 saved progress is deleted. Pages that point to these forms read from it only how many sections you have started.
• A separation date from the blog. If you carry the date over from the year of separation calculator into the intake form, it is then stored in the form’s saved progress.
• A record that you have closed the cookie notice. Otherwise the notice would appear again on every page.

Your browser keeps only one thing in the storage of the open tab (sessionStorage). When you close the tab or window, it is 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 provider of these pages collects and stores, in server log files, information that your browser automatically transmits to us. This is:

• 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.

The form has 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.

This form collects what your request 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 what happens next and how long we keep the data, see the section on requesting an appointment online.

Once the appointment is confirmed, the server records the day and time a second time in a separate list, so that the same time is not booked twice. 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 divorce intake form is the most extensive of the five. What it collects and how long the details are kept is set out in section 8.

The form collects the details we need to advise on and draft a marital agreement. Which details these are and how long they 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.

The server allows five submissions per internet connection per hour, so that the forms cannot be misused for advertising. To do this, it stores the time of each submission under a checksum of your IP address, not under the address itself. The confirmation of receipt goes to the same email address at most three times a day, and for this the server also stores a checksum of the address. The server deletes both entries once they are older than one day and the next form comes in. 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, we store and process your inquiry, including all personal data arising from it, in order to handle your request. We do not pass this data on without your consent. The same legal basis and storage period apply as for the forms.

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.

Under § 43e BRAO, we may involve providers who perform technical services for us. We choose them carefully and bind them to confidentiality in text form, with information on the criminal consequences of a breach.

For video calls we use Zoom. Zoom has not specifically committed to confidentiality toward us in this form. If you would like to speak by Zoom or choose “Either suits me,” you therefore confirm with a separate checkbox in the request that you agree and expressly waive these requirements (§ 43e (6) BRAO). What Zoom processes and what the transfer to the USA is based on is set out in section 7. If you would rather speak without Zoom, 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 none of the times offered suits you
• whether you would like to speak at our office or by Zoom and, if Zoom is an option, your consent to it
• what we should know before the consultation
• the status of your request (open, suggested, confirmed, canceled or declined)
• whether we may ask you for a review after the consultation

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 we can still confirm, move or cancel an appointment later through the links in our email. It is erased automatically 90 days after receipt or after the appointment, whichever is later. After that, the content exists only in our office email, where the periods in section 3 apply.

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.

In your appointment request you can tick a box allowing us to ask you for a review. We then send you one email a day after the first consultation with a link to our Google profile. For this we use your name, your email address and the language of your request. The legal basis is your consent under Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR. The same applies if you have given us your consent in writing in another way.

We store no further data for the request; your appointment request is erased as described above. In addition, the server keeps a checksum of your address with the day it was sent, so that no one is asked twice, and erases it after two years. The checksum is created with a secret key; without it, no one can link it to an address.

You can withdraw your consent at any time: before the email is sent by writing to info@karcher-rechtsanwaelte.de, afterwards by replying briefly to our email. You submit the review itself on Google, and Google's privacy policy applies to it.

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, we and the provider of the conference tool collect and process your personal data. 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). We also use it to make communication with our office simpler and faster (legitimate interest within the meaning of Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).

We erase the data we collect directly 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 provider stores for its own purposes; for details, please contact the provider 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 eleven sections. They cover the details that § 133 FamFG requires for the Scheidungsantrag (divorce petition):

• your personal data: first names, family name, name at birth, date and place of birth, nationality, address, how long you have lived in your country of residence, phone, email and monthly net income
• the other side’s data: first names, family name, name at birth, date and place of birth, nationality, address or country, monthly net income and their lawyer, if any
• details of the marriage: the date, place and country of the wedding, the last shared address, a marital agreement and a Scheidungsfolgenvereinbarung (divorce settlement agreement) with the notary and the deed number, a choice of law and whether it is your first marriage
• details of the separation: the date, the living situation, moving out, attempts at reconciliation and whether the other side consents; if they do not, since when they have known about the separation and how the date can be proven
• details of up to three joint minor children: name, date and place of birth, where the child lives, visitation, existing arrangements, involvement of the youth welfare office
• maintenance, the home and assets: what you have already agreed on, an existing maintenance order, whether you receive social benefits, real estate and both sides’ assets today
• both sides’ pension insurance numbers, the type of pension rights, the pension providers and whether either side already draws a pension
• other family proceedings with the court and case number, whether you need Verfahrenskostenhilfe (legal aid), your message to us and which documents you already have
• 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 your consent if by Zoom. If you choose a time, this creates an appointment request 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 review your matter and get back to you.

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. Under Article 14 (5) (d) GDPR, the duty does not apply to the extent that the details are subject to attorney confidentiality, 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 saves your progress only locally on your device, so that you can pause and continue later. Before you send the form, no data leaves your device, and we have no access to this saved progress. 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, which places it in 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 your consent if by Zoom. If you choose a time, this creates an appointment request 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. So that we can meet this duty, 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. The other person has the same rights as you; section 3 describes them in detail.

While you are filling in the form, your browser saves your progress only locally on your device, so that you can pause and continue later. Before you send the form, no data leaves your device, and we have no access to this saved progress. 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, which places it in 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.