Florian Enders.

Iadvise entrepreneurial families and international private clients on the parts of the German tax system that hurt most when they are handled too late: inheritance tax, gift tax, succession structures and the strategic use of holding companies.

The work happens at the intersection of family law and tax law. In Germany the two domains are separated, which creates blind spots: a will that is perfect under § 2269 BGB can still create a six-figure tax liability that nobody saw coming. I work alongside notaries, civil lawyers and other tax advisers as a second opinion or sparring partner — not as a replacement.

Where I focus

• Inheritance tax (Erbschaftsteuer) — German Erbschaftsteuer is the tax most often miscalculated by families with German assets. Allowances under § 16 ErbStG (Freibetraege) and the discount under §§ 13a/13b ErbStG (Verschonungsabschlag) for business assets are the two largest levers.
• Gift tax (Schenkungsteuer) — Lifetime giving with the right structure (Niessbrauch, ten- year frequency under § 14 ErbStG) reduces effective taxation far more than post-mortem optimisation.
• Holding structures — German holding companies with the participation exemption (Schachtelprivileg under § 8b KStG) shelter 95 percent of dividends from tax. Useful for international families with German operating assets.
• Cross-border cases — Inheritance and gift situations spanning Germany and the UK, the US, France, Switzerland or other EU member states. The EU Succession Regulation (Brussels IV) interacts with German domestic tax law in non-obvious ways.
• Exit taxation — When German tax residents relocate abroad with substantial shareholdings, § 6 AStG triggers a fictitious sale. Planning this years in advance is the difference between a manageable deferral and a liquidity event.

Background

Trained as a German Steuerberater (tax adviser, comparable to a chartered tax accountant in the UK or an Enrolled Agent + CPA combination in the US, but with broader statutory authority in tax matters). Partner at tietze enders & Partner mbB, a firm founded in 1988 in Frankfurt and Liederbach am Taunus.

Additional certifications: Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and Certified Cryptocurrency Forensic Examiner (CCFE). Author of a German-language book on cybercrime and tax investigation (ISBN 978-3-65622-923-0).

Working languages: German, English, French. International clients with German assets are roughly a third of the practice.

Advisory model

I do not replace your existing tax adviser, notary or lawyer. I am the second view that asks the questions your in-house team has stopped asking, runs the numbers on the alternative your home-jurisdiction adviser cannot price, and connects the dots between civil law, tax law and the strategic intent your family carries forward.

Mandates typically start with a 30-minute first consultation (free of charge), followed by a written assessment, then a structured project at a fixed fee or hourly rate depending on scope. International cases are handled in cooperation with a network of foreign counsel — notably in France through cooperation with notaire Jérôme Poltorak (Toulouse).