For Iranians in Germany, succession and family matters are still governed by a treaty from 1929.

The 1929 treaty Iranian law

Art. 8 (3) of the Establishment Treaty between the German Reich and the Empire of Persia of 17 February 1929 provides that nationals of each State remain subject, in the territory of the other, to the law of their home State in matters of personal status, family law and succession. The final protocol expressly includes matrimonial property and the marriage gift. Its continued force was confirmed in 1955.

The treaty prevails over the EU Succession Regulation (Art. 75(1) EuErbVO) and over autonomous German conflict rules (Art. 3 no. 2 EGBGB). The habitual-residence connecting factor that would otherwise apply does not operate.

Who it covers — and who it does not German law

Iranian nationality only: the treaty applies. Dual German-Iranian: under Art. 5(1) EGBGB German nationality prevails, and the treaty does not apply for German legal purposes. Iranian plus a third State: the effective nationality decides.

Recognised Convention refugees: under Art. 12(1) Refugee Convention personal status attaches to habitual residence. If even one spouse’s status is determined that way, the treaty rule — which attaches solely to Iranian nationality on both sides — no longer applies.

The limit: ordre public German law

Even where Iranian law applies, a German court will not apply it in so far as the result would be manifestly incompatible with fundamental principles of German law (Art. 6 EGBGB). In practice this concerns unequal shares and grounds of exclusion. The test is applied to the outcome in the individual case, not to the rule in the abstract.

Residence, passport and the law of succession German law

The German residence title — temporary permit, settlement permit, Blue Card — does not change the applicable succession law. The passport decides. The one exception is refugee status.

Applicable law and scope Iranian law

Where an Iranian national dies in Germany, Iranian succession law governs — on the prevailing view for movable and immovable property alike. A choice of law is, on the prevailing view, excluded under the treaty.

Iranian law substantially limits testamentary freedom: only part of the estate can be disposed of, and statutory heirs cannot be disinherited. A will drafted on a German template that chooses a law or excludes heirs is ineffective to that extent.

Certificate of inheritance and probate court Both

The German probate court issues the certificate of inheritance; its content — who inherits and in what share — is determined by Iranian law. How the court establishes that content is a matter of procedure: as a rule a written opinion on Iranian law is obtained.

For the estate located in Iran a German certificate is of no use. There, heirship is established through the Iranian determination-of-heirs procedure, and no asset is transferred without the Iranian inheritance tax clearance.

Wills Both

Form follows the place of execution: a will validly executed in Germany under German formal requirements is formally valid. Its content is still measured against Iranian law — where choice-of-law clauses and disinheritance regularly fail.

Inheritance tax German law

The German inheritance tax assessment — liability, allowances, credit for foreign tax, notification duties — is German tax law and is handled by a tax adviser. I supply the Iranian side: which asset forms part of the estate under Iranian law, on what evidence, and what tax has already been levied in Iran.

Mahr before German courts Both

Under Art. 1082 Iranian CC the mahr becomes the wife’s property upon marriage and is at her free disposal. The Federal Court of Justice treats it as a marital-contract promise by the husband obliging him to pay (BGH XII ZR 107/08) and holds the claim enforceable without German notarial form (BGH XII ZR 265/02).

The conflict-of-laws classification remains contested — general effect of marriage, matrimonial property, or consequence of divorce. Three points decide the case in practice: whether the 1929 treaty applies (only where both spouses are exclusively Iranian nationals), how the amount is evidenced, and whether an excessive amount fails at the ordre public limit.

Recognition of an Iranian divorce German law

A divorce obtained abroad takes effect in Germany only once the Land judicial administration has found it recognisable (§ 107 FamFG). That finding binds every German court and authority. Only spouses who at the time held exclusively Iranian nationality are exempt from the procedure — dual nationals are not.

Divorces preceded by court proceedings under the Iranian Family Protection Act 2013 are recognisable as judicial decisions (§ 109 FamFG). A repudiation registered at a divorce notary office is classified as a private divorce and tested not against recognition law but against conflict rules — and often fails.

Pension rights adjustment German law

Pension rights adjustment is not displaced by Art. 8(3) of the treaty unless both spouses are exclusively Iranian nationals. It can also be pursued separately (§§ 217 et seq. FamFG) where it was not dealt with together with the divorce.

Children Both

Hezānat and velāyat are governed separately in Iranian law and do not map onto German custody. Iran is not a party to the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention, so no return application under that Convention is available.

Why an Iranian connection automatically triggers the second tier German law

Obliged entities must apply enhanced due diligence where a business relationship or transaction involves a third country classified as high risk by the European Commission (§ 15(3) no. 2 GwG). Iran is additionally on the Financial Action Task Force list calling for countermeasures — the most severe category.

Specifically, § 15(5) GwG requires establishing the origin of the assets, approval at management level, enhanced ongoing monitoring, and extended documentation. That is why every enquiry ends with the sentence many clients read for the first time: please evidence the source of funds.

What the bank actually wants to see Iranian law

Not a statement but a document that carries a specific transaction: the registered purchase deed for a property with the land-register position before and after; the determination of heirs together with the inheritance tax clearance; the shareholders’ resolution on a distribution together with its gazette entry; evidence of professional income from the Iranian tax file.

Account freeze and termination Both

The banking and regulatory dispute with the institution — freeze, termination, requests for information — is run by a German lawyer from the network. My layer remains the Iranian legal and documentary position on which the institution relies, or for which it is waiting.

From Iran to Germany Both

1. Translation of the original by an officially licensed Iranian translator.
2. Pre-certification by the Iranian Ministry of Justice.
3. Certification by the legalisation department of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
4. Substitute legalisation by the German Embassy in Tehran. Documents are accepted through the contracted service provider in Tehran; the examination is carried out by the embassy alone.

From Germany to Iran Both

1. Pre-certification depending on the issuer: notary and president of the regional court for notarial deeds, chamber of commerce for commercial documents, the higher administrative authority for official documents.
2. Legalisation by the Iranian consular mission in Germany.
3. Power of attorney by an Iranian national: drafting and lodging through the Iranian foreign ministry portal, then signature at the consulate.
4. Certificate of good conduct: confirmation by the Federal Office of Justice, then final certification by the Federal Office of Administration.

The demarcation German law

My registration with the Federal Office of Justice covers legal services in Iranian law. German residence, nationality and tax law is not covered. I assess no residence permit, no naturalisation claim and no tax liability — that is done by a lawyer or tax adviser from the network, instructed separately and answering for their own advice.

What I supply Iranian law

Almost every German procedure with an Iranian element fails not on the legal question but on a document: it is missing, not legalised, or it says something different from what the application asserts. That is where I come in — the civil status record, the marriage deed, proof of divorce, evidence of assets or professional activity in Iran.

Specifically: which Iranian document the authority means, how it is obtained and legalised in Iran, what it actually says under Iranian law — and, where its content does not support the application, which Iranian procedure is needed to have it corrected or supplemented.

Typical questions Iranian law

Intestate succession and shares under Iranian law; validity and reach of a testamentary disposition; validity of marriage and divorce; the legal nature, amount and maturity of the mahr; hezānat and velāyat; shareholder standing and signing authority under the articles and the gazette; validity of an arbitration agreement; evidential value and authenticity of an Iranian document.

Form and handling Both

The opinion is delivered in German or English, citing the Iranian provisions relied on in the original wording and in translation, disclosing what is contested or unsettled in Iran, and drawing a clear line between the law as written and the practice of applying it. After submission I remain available for the court’s follow-up questions.