Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 27, 2026

Deutsche Fassung: Datenschutzerklärung

This Privacy Policy explains how we process personal data when you visit www.germaninheritancelaw.us, contact us, book a consultation or become a client. Because we offer our services to persons in the European Union, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies to our processing of your data (Art. 3(2) GDPR), in addition to applicable U.S. law.

1. Controller

Casper Hoesl LLC (German Inheritance Law)
Nicola S. Casper-Hoesl, Rechtsanwältin / U.S. Foreign Legal Consultant
1312 17th Street #1472, Denver, CO 80202, USA
Email: contact@germaninheritancelaw.us
Phone: +1 970 889 3789 (U.S.) · +49 15679 634033 (Germany)

We have not appointed a data protection officer, as we are not required to do so (Art. 37 GDPR).

2. EU representative (Art. 27 GDPR)

As we have no establishment in the European Union, we have designated the following representative in the EU. You may contact our representative on all issues related to the processing of your personal data:

Hösl, Hösl & Dr. Hösl, Rechtsanwälte
Rosenheimer Str. 13, 83714 Miesbach, Germany
Email: kanzlei@raehoesl.de

3. Professional secrecy

As a German Rechtsanwältin, Nicola S. Casper-Hoesl is bound by professional secrecy (§ 43a(2) BRAO, § 203 German Criminal Code) and by the confidentiality rules applicable to U.S. lawyers. Everything you entrust to us in connection with a (potential) engagement is treated as confidential. Service providers who may come into contact with such information are contractually bound to confidentiality (§ 43e BRAO).

4. Visiting our website – server log files

When you visit our website, our hosting provider automatically processes information that your browser transmits: IP address, date and time of the request, the page requested, referrer URL, browser type and operating system. This is technically necessary to deliver the website and to keep it secure. Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (our legitimate interest in a secure, functioning website). Log files are deleted after 14 days unless needed to investigate a security incident.

Hosting provider: GoDaddy.com, LLC, 100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA. GoDaddy processes data on our behalf under a data processing agreement and is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (Art. 45 GDPR).

5. Cookies and consent management

We use the consent management tool Complianz. When you first visit our website, a banner asks for your consent to non-essential cookies and similar technologies (statistics and marketing). Such technologies are only activated after you have given consent (§ 25(1) German Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act – TDDDG; Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). Technically necessary cookies are set without consent (§ 25(2) TDDDG; Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

We store a record of your consent decision (a consent ID, date, time, selected categories and banner version) on our server so that we can demonstrate consent as required by Art. 7(1) GDPR. Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR.

You can change or withdraw your consent at any time with future effect via the “Manage consent” tab on every page or in our Cookie Policy, which also lists all cookies and services in detail.

6. Analytics and advertising (Google)

Subject to your consent, we use the following services of Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland (for users in the EU/EEA) and Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA:

Google Tag Manager – to manage the integration of the services below; the tool itself does not create user profiles.
Google Analytics – to analyse how visitors use our website (pages viewed, time on site, approximate location, device information). IP addresses are shortened by Google.
Google Ads conversion tracking – to measure whether visitors who clicked on one of our Google ads subsequently contact us or book a consultation.

We use Google Consent Mode. As long as you have not consented, Google tags do not set or read cookies; Google may receive limited, cookieless signals (e.g. that a page was loaded) which do not identify you. Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, § 25(1) TDDDG.

Data may be transferred to Google LLC in the USA. Google LLC is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework; transfers are therefore covered by the European Commission’s adequacy decision (Art. 45 GDPR). Further information: https://policies.google.com/privacy.

7. Google reCAPTCHA

Our forms can be protected by Google reCAPTCHA to prevent spam and abuse. reCAPTCHA analyses the behaviour of the visitor (e.g. IP address, mouse movements, time spent) and is only loaded after you have consented to marketing cookies. Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. Provider and transfer: see section 6.

8. Contact forms, questionnaire and email

When you contact us via a form on our website or by email, we process the data you provide (e.g. name, email address, phone number, country, your message and, in the German Citizenship Eligibility Questionnaire, information about you and your ancestors such as names, dates and places of birth and citizenship history). We use this data to answer your inquiry and to assess whether and how we can assist you.

Form submissions are stored in the database of our website and forwarded to us by email.

Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (steps prior to entering into a contract), and otherwise Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (our interest in answering inquiries). Where you provide information about third parties (e.g. relatives or ancestors), please only do so to the extent necessary; our legitimate interest in assessing your matter is the legal basis for processing their data (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR), and our professional secrecy applies.

Inquiries that do not lead to an engagement are deleted after 6 months unless statutory retention obligations apply.

9. Booking a consultation (Calendly)

You can book a consultation via Calendly. When you click “Schedule your Call”, you are taken to Calendly’s website, which is operated by Calendly LLC, 115 E Main St, Ste A1B, Buford, GA 30518, USA. Calendly processes the data you enter there (e.g. name, email address, answers to booking questions, selected date) on our behalf. Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR. Calendly LLC is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (Art. 45 GDPR). Calendly’s privacy notice: https://calendly.com/privacy.

10. Video consultations (Zoom)

We conduct consultations via Zoom (Zoom Communications, Inc., 55 Almaden Blvd, Suite 600, San Jose, CA 95113, USA). Zoom processes connection data, meeting metadata and, during the meeting, audio and video. We do not record meetings without your prior express consent. Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR. Zoom is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (Art. 45 GDPR). Zoom’s privacy statement: https://zoom.us/privacy.

11. Client engagement

When you engage us, we process the personal data required to handle your matter, including data about the estate, heirs, family members, assets, tax matters and communications with courts, authorities and other parties. Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (engagement contract) and Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR (professional and tax retention obligations).

12. Recipients

Where necessary for your matter, we share data with German probate courts, tax offices, notaries, German co-counsel (including Hösl, Hösl & Dr. Hösl, Miesbach), U.S. counsel, CPAs, translators and banks – in each case only as instructed by you or as legally required. We also use IT and software service providers (e.g. hosting, email, case management and scheduling software) who process data on our behalf and are bound to confidentiality. We do not sell personal data.

13. International transfers

We are located in the United States. Personal data you provide to us is therefore processed in the United States. Where we engage service providers in the U.S., transfers are based on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (Art. 45 GDPR) or, where a provider is not certified, on the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses (Art. 46(2)(c) GDPR). Where you engage us for a cross-border matter, transfers to courts, authorities and counsel in Germany or the U.S. may also be necessary for the performance of our contract with you (Art. 49(1)(b) GDPR).

14. Retention

We store personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes described above. Client files are kept for at least six years after the end of the engagement (§ 50(1) BRAO) and in accordance with applicable U.S. professional and tax retention rules; accounting records for up to ten years. Consent records are kept for as long as we need to be able to demonstrate consent.

15. Your rights under the GDPR

You have the right to access (Art. 15), rectification (Art. 16), erasure (Art. 17), restriction of processing (Art. 18), data portability (Art. 20) and to withdraw consent at any time with future effect (Art. 7(3) GDPR). Please note that our professional secrecy may limit the right of access where information concerns third parties.

Right to object (Art. 21 GDPR): Where we process your data on the basis of our legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR), you may object at any time on grounds relating to your particular situation. Where we process data for direct marketing, you may object at any time without giving reasons.

To exercise your rights, contact us at contact@germaninheritancelaw.us or use the data request form on our website.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority, in particular in the EU member state of your habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement (Art. 77 GDPR).

16. Colorado residents

Without conceding that the Colorado Privacy Act applies to us, we grant Colorado residents the following rights: to confirm whether we process their personal data and access it, to correct inaccuracies, to delete personal data, to obtain a portable copy, and to opt out of targeted advertising, the sale of personal data and profiling. We do not sell personal data. You may opt out of targeted advertising at any time via “Manage consent” or by declining marketing cookies. Requests: contact@germaninheritancelaw.us. We respond within 45 days. If we decline your request, you may appeal by replying to our decision; if the appeal is denied, you may contact the Colorado Attorney General.

17. Children

Our website is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16 without the consent of a parent or guardian, except where the child is part of an estate matter we handle on behalf of their legal representative.