PERSONAL ADVICE · CAREFUL PREPARATION · PUBLIC NOTARISATION
Important decisions deserve clear legal documents.
Whether forming a company, entering into a marital agreement or planning your estate: we combine personal legal advice with notarial support in the canton of St. Gallen. We discuss your objectives, explain the legal consequences and carefully prepare the necessary documents.
Your notarial contact is Samuel A. Müller, attorney-at-law and notary, registered in the notarial register of the canton of St. Gallen. Notarisation is carried out within the scope of cantonal authority and the statutory formal requirements.
Our notarial services
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Company formation and company law
We assist with the formation of your AG or GmbH and prepare the articles of association, formation documents and public deed of incorporation. We coordinate the commercial register application with the necessary supporting documents; the commercial register office decides on registration.
We also assist with amendments to articles of association, capital measures and dissolution resolutions requiring notarisation. We establish the specific procedure and supporting evidence required in light of your company and the proposed transaction.
A marital agreement governs matrimonial property matters and may be entered into before or during marriage. We advise on the options permitted by law, such as choosing a matrimonial property regime and making permissible adjustments to participation in acquisitions.
We tailor the provisions to your financial circumstances, business interests and mutual protection. The marital agreement, as well as any agreed amendment or termination, requires the prescribed public notarisation.
An inheritance agreement allows several parties to make binding estate arrangements. We advise on benefits, legacies and agreements waiving inheritance, taking account of existing dispositions and statutory limits.
We explain the binding effect and prepare public notarisation with the participation of the two witnesses required by law. Marital and inheritance agreements can be coordinated in substance but remain legally distinct arrangements.
We help you draft and review your last will. For a public will, the notarial officer prepares the document in accordance with statutory requirements and with the participation of two witnesses.
A handwritten will is a different statutory form and does not additionally require notarisation. We explain the differences, assess the appropriate arrangements and discuss safe storage that allows the will to be found. Official opening of wills is not part of our private notarial services.
We advise on and notarise advance care directives, foundation deeds and surety declarations where public notarisation is provided for or required for the particular transaction. We check the form, participants and necessary consents before the appointment.
On request, we assess other declarations and enforceable public deeds in relation to their statutory requirements and our authority to notarise them. Not every declaration can be drawn up as an enforceable deed.
We certify signatures and confirm that copies correspond to the originals presented. For signature certification, you must attend in person with valid official identification; for copy certification, we need the original document.
Certification confirms the authenticity of a signature or that a copy matches the original, rather than providing a general confirmation of the document’s legal validity or substantive accuracy. For use abroad, we discuss any additional requirements imposed by the receiving institution.
Clarify your requirements: We discuss your objectives, check our authority and establish the required form.
Prepare carefully: We review documents, explain the draft and resolve outstanding questions.
Notarise or certify: We verify identity and other requirements. Necessary participants and witnesses are agreed in advance.
Determine the next steps: We discuss executed copies, necessary applications and suitable storage.
The procedure depends on the legal transaction. A straightforward certification generally requires less preparation than a marital or inheritance agreement.
Arrive well prepared
Tell us in advance about your requirements and the intended use of the deed. Depending on the transaction, we may need identification, details of the participants, existing agreements, articles of association or further evidence. We will tell you which documents and whose personal attendance are required.
We discuss the scope of services and costs before you instruct us. Where foreign jurisdictions, translations or special formal requirements are involved, we agree the procedure individually.
