I am a practising solicitor (England and Wales) in Essen, Germany and a qualified South African attorney. I specialise in providing expert legal advice on wills, and the administration of cross border estates. I also assist clients to deal with German-speaking inheritance authorities.
I am a STEP TEP (Trusts and Estates Practitioner), and adhere to STEP's Code of Professional Conduct.
I take a pragmatic approach to my work, focusing my advice and services on your priorities.
Feel free to contact me for a consultation, in person or remote.
My Areas of Expertise
- Creation of bespoke Wills
- Cross-border estates
- UK, South African and Ireland Administration of deceased estate
- Cross-border succession planning
- Powers of Attorney
What do my clients say?
A year ago, a member of my (English) family died intestate while living in Germany. My recent experience of the legal profession wasn't great, having had to chivvy British solicitors along (house sale, will) who were slow to get back to us and were often vague about what stage our case was at. I therefore wasn't looking forward to dealing with a solicitor in a foreign country. As things turned out, Mona was different. Right away she got our case moving forward and from then on kept us up to date with each new development, needing no prompting from me. Knowing that someone reliable was now dealing with things meant I could largely forget about our case and concentrate on other things.
Mona always replied to my questions and requests promptly, sometimes within minutes of me firing them off, sometimes outside normal office hours. Her emails, while friendly, were concise and to the point, keeping the amount of information I needed to absorb to a minimum, which was how I wanted it. And having a genuinely bilingual solicitor made everything easier, as there was never a danger we'd get our lines crossed. Occasionally she presented me with a set of options on how I wanted to proceed and when I couldn't decide, she would give sensible advice.
German bureaucracy moves at a glacial pace and after a year of exchanging emails we got to know each other a little and Mona turned out to be not only efficient but also nice, taking a friendly interest in our family. So while my experience of other solicitors was that we were often just faceless clients, that was never the case with Mona.
Finally, though I only have the aforementioned British solicitors for comparison, I thought her fees (minutely itemized for clarity) were reasonable.
So, in all, highly recommended.
Keith Merrick
Leicester, England
Ms Monadjem prepared my last Will and Testament. I needed someone I could trust and as I had previously used her services before to prepare legal agreements, I asked her to assist. I have ties in multiple countries in Europe and Africa. Ms Monadjem efficiently untangled the issues, and provided me with simplified (non-legal jargon) and logical explanations of the legalities of inheritance and inheritance tax of each country. She determined my domicile and prepared the necessary wills. She guided me through the options I had to ensure I leave my family in a secure situation after my death. I would recommend Ms Monadjem to anyone who needs to prepare or update their Will.
Dr Sara P. (Switzerland/UK/Eswatini)