Inheritance law: lawyer or notary? How to explain the difference on your website

Why clients ask “lawyer or notary?”

People who inherit a house, want to write a will or argue with their siblings about the compulsory share (Pflichtteil) rarely have experience with either profession. Friends say “go to a notary” one day and “get yourself a lawyer” the next. On top of that comes uncertainty about the costs and the worry of paying twice by going to the wrong profession. The search for “erbrecht anwalt oder notar” is therefore not a question about professional rules but about orientation: who can help me in my situation, and what will it cost?

For your website this is an opportunity. Hardly any law firm or notary office answers the question openly; most pages only describe their own services. If you instead explain honestly when to go to a lawyer and when to a notary, you seem more credible, filter out unsuitable enquiries and are found for exactly this search. This applies to both sides: the law firm shows when it is the right place to go; the notary office explains what it is responsible for and where its impartiality ends.

The difference in one sentence: party or impartial

The most important distinction is the same in both countries. Lawyers represent the interests of their clients, including against other heirs. Notaries hold a public office and are obliged to be impartial towards everyone involved; in Germany this is stated expressly in § 14(1) BNotO. This leads to a simple rule of thumb you can give your visitors: if the aim is to record something jointly and with legal certainty, the notary office is often the first place to go. If there is a dispute or conflicting interests, those affected need their own legal representation.

The table is deliberately simplified, and that is exactly how it may appear on your website: as orientation, not as a textbook. What matters is that it is correct and that it describes the limits of both professions fairly. A law firm that pretends nobody needs a notary loses trust just as much as a notary office that keeps promising “advice for everyone involved” when there is a dispute.

In Austria: court commissioner, forms of will and the 2017 reform

In Austria a notary is almost always involved after a death, whether the relatives look for one or not. Under the Gerichtskommissärsgesetz (GKG, Court Commissioners Act), notaries carry out the recording of the death and the further steps of the probate proceedings on behalf of the district court. Which notary office is responsible is decided by the court's allocation of cases, not by the family. Many relatives don't know this and therefore ask whether they “still need a lawyer”.

The honest answer is: often not, sometimes definitely. If the heirs agree and the will is clear, many proceedings manage without legal representation. If there are conflicting declarations of acceptance of the inheritance, doubts about the validity of a will, compulsory share claims or a business in the estate, separate representation helps. As court commissioner, the notary acts for the court and cannot represent either side.

• Forms of will: A handwritten will is written and signed entirely by the testator (§ 578 ABGB). Since 1 January 2017, a will written by someone else (fremdhändiges Testament) must be signed in the presence of three witnesses present at the same time, with a handwritten addition stating that the document contains the testator's last will (§ 579 ABGB). There is also the public will made before a court or a notary.
• 2017 inheritance law reform: The Erbrechts-Änderungsgesetz 2015 applies to deaths from 1 January 2017. Among other things, it tightened the formal requirements, abolished the parents' compulsory share, and introduced a care legacy (Pflegevermächtnis) for relatives who provide care and an extraordinary right of inheritance for unmarried partners. Reviewing older wills written by someone else is therefore a good reason for a consultation.
• Registration: Notary offices register wills in the Austrian Central Register of Wills (Österreichisches Zentrales Testamentsregister), law firms in the Register of Wills of Austrian Lawyers (Testamentsregister der österreichischen Rechtsanwälte). Both ensure that the will is found in the probate proceedings.
• Gifts and transfers: Gifts without actual handover require a notarial deed (Notariatsakt). Transfer agreements (Übergabeverträge) with actual handover can also be drawn up by law firms; if the contract contains a gift without actual handover (for example with a retained usufruct), that part needs the notarial deed; the land register requires certified signatures.

In Germany: certificate of inheritance, notarial will and probate court

In Germany no notary office conducts the probate proceedings; the probate court (Nachlassgericht) at the local court is responsible. It opens wills and, on application, issues the certificate of inheritance (Erbschein, § 2353 BGB). Heirs can file the application, together with the required statutory declaration, at the probate court or with a notary. For many families this is their first contact with a notary office after a death.

In Germany the strongest argument for a notarial will is a practical one: a public will together with the record of its opening is usually sufficient proof of succession for the land registry (§ 35(1) GBO), and according to the case law of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), banks may not demand a certificate of inheritance across the board. This saves the heirs time and the cost of the certificate. A handwritten will is cheaper to make, but more often leads to proceedings for a certificate of inheritance. Visitors want to understand this trade-off before they book an appointment.

• Notary office: notarises wills and inheritance contracts, arranges official safekeeping and registration in the Central Register of Wills of the Federal Chamber of Notaries, records applications for certificates of inheritance, certifies disclaimers of inheritance and notarises the division of estates that include real estate.
• Law firm: advises on drafting wills and inheritance contracts, represents clients in disputes about a will, a certificate of inheritance, the compulsory share or the division of a community of heirs. Only lawyers who meet the requirements of the Specialist Lawyers' Regulations (FAO) may use the title “Fachanwalt für Erbrecht” (specialist lawyer for inheritance law).
• Compulsory share: In Germany, descendants, spouses and in some cases parents are entitled to a compulsory share (§ 2303 BGB). In Austria, parents have had no compulsory share since 2017. One sentence on this prevents misunderstandings for families with ties to both countries.

How to explain the difference on your website

The difference doesn't belong in a paragraph on the “Services” page, but on its own, easy-to-find page or in its own section of your inheritance law page. Phrase the heading the way people search: “Inheritance law: lawyer or notary?” or “Do I need a lawyer after a death?”. A guide on one page per practice area shows how such pages are built in general.

A clear question-and-answer structure also helps with Google and AI assistants: anyone who types “Do I need a lawyer or a notary for an inheritance?” into ChatGPT gets answers assembled from well-structured pages. Test how assistants describe your law firm or notary office today with the AI preview; background is in the guide on visibility in AI search.

Explaining fees without advertising

“Testament Notar Kosten” (will notary costs) and “Erbrecht Anwalt Kosten” (inheritance lawyer costs) are among the most frequent searches on the topic. A short, factual fees page answers them and takes away the fear of the first invoice. What matters is that you only explain and don't advertise: notaries may not highlight discounts or price advantages, and law firms may not make misleading “free” promises.

Only give example amounts if you check them after every tariff change, and state the date. For notaries in Germany, a link to the fee information of the Federal Chamber of Notaries complements your own page. What exactly notaries in Austria and Germany may do here is described in the guides Advertising for notaries in Austria and Advertising for notaries in Germany.

Estate-planning mandates instead of disputes only

Many inheritance law firms live off disputes: compulsory shares, challenges to wills, divided communities of heirs. These mandates matter, but they are hard to plan and emotionally draining. The counterpart is estate-planning mandates: wills, inheritance contracts, lasting powers of attorney, living wills, the transfer of the house or the business. They arise from deliberation rather than need, can be scheduled and often lead to further work for the same family over years.

On the website this means: alongside the page on inheritance disputes, estate planning needs its own pages, in its own language. Someone thinking about a will isn't searching for “enforcing your claims” but for security for the family. Write for whom planning is particularly important: blended families, unmarried couples, entrepreneurs, people with property in several countries, parents of a child with a disability. The same logic applies to notary offices that show the lasting power of attorney and the will as separate practice pages.

The audience for estate planning is usually older, reads on a tablet or with reading glasses and would rather call than fill in a form. Large type, strong contrast, a phone number right at the top and clear office hours are therefore not design questions; they decide whether people get in touch. What the law requires here and what is good practice is explained in the post Accessibility of the law firm website. How lawyers in general win suitable mandates through their website is covered in the guide Winning clients as a lawyer.

What professional rules allow for both

The leeway differs. Lawyers may provide factual information about their work, in Austria under §§ 47 to 49 RL-BA 2015, in Germany under § 43b BRAO and the BORA. Reviews and client testimonials are possible for lawyers within limits, provided they are genuine and respect confidentiality. Notaries have much narrower limits: in Austria, § 31(6) NO requires factual and truthful information; in Germany, § 29 BNotO prohibits any commercial conduct and any advertising contrary to the office. Both may publish a text that explains the difference between lawyer and notary neutrally, because it is information, not advertising.

Which other content a website needs is described in the guides Website for lawyers and Website for notary offices. You will find the advertising rules for law firms in Advertising for lawyers in Austria and in Germany.