FGvW Strengthens its Succession, Trust, and Tax Law Practice in Hamburg with Dr Georg Tolksdorf and Vanessa Siemer

We continue to expand our practice in the areas of estate planning and business succession, as well as foundation and tax law, with the addition of Dr Georg Tolksdorf as a partner, and Vanessa Siemer as an associate. Both are joining from ADVANT Beiten to FGvW’s Hamburg office.

Dr Tolksdorf provides comprehensive advice to private individuals and entrepreneurs on inheritance and foundation law, as well as on tax-optimized asset succession. A particular focus of his work is on the execution of wills and advising executors, financial service providers, and foundations on issues of asset management, liability, and governance. He has been with ADVANT Beiten since 2021, serving as an equity partner since 2023 and most recently as co-head of the Estate Planning & Foundations Law practice group. Prior to that, Dr Tolksdorf spent over 15 years in estate and foundation management at a major German bank and is also active as a speaker and in a volunteer capacity on foundation boards.

Vanessa Siemer advises private individuals on inheritance law and all matters of asset succession, with a particular focus on lifetime succession planning involving family-owned companies and family foundations from a tax perspective. Other key areas of her practice include will drafting and the execution of wills.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Dr Georg Tolksdorf and Vanessa Siemer. With their considerable expertise, they are now expanding our existing range of advisory services in the areas of estate law and corporate succession – already available at other locations – to the north as well,” explains Carsten Laschet, spokesman of the firm’s management. “Thanks to their many years of experience in foundation and tax law, they also fit seamlessly into the expansion plan for our Hamburg office.”

Dr Gerrit Ponath, who previously worked successfully with Dr Georg Tolksdorf at ADVANT Beiten and moved to FGvW’s Frankfurt office in December 2025, comments: “I am very pleased to continue the proven and successful collaboration with Dr Tolksdorf here at FGvW. Together, we can now further strengthen and strategically expand our position in this area.”

“With the addition of Dr Georg Tolksdorf and Vanessa Siemer, we are significantly broadening the range of advisory services we offer our clients here in Hamburg, and our areas of overlap, particularly in tax law, will serve as a strong driver for the further expansion of the office,” says Marc Tepfer, who opened FGvW’s Hamburg office with his team in early 2024.

“The colleagues’ deep professional expertise across the entire spectrum of legal advice, as well as the firm’s entrepreneurial culture, have convinced us that we can offer our clients integrated succession planning advice of the highest caliber here. Against this backdrop, we are very much looking forward to actively shaping the further development of FGvW’s Hamburg office together and thus contributing to the firm’s sustainable growth,” comments Dr Georg Tolksdorf. In total, there are now 8 partners, 3 local partners, and 7 associates working in the nationwide practice group for inheritance law, business succession, foundation law, and tax law at FGvW.