Dr. Caroline I. Esche is a dual-qualified German-American attorney who advises clients from across the United States in inheritance and tax matters related to Germany, and represents them before German authorities and in litigation in German courts.

She is one of the preeminent experts on German estate and tax laws in the United States.

Dr. Esche is the principal of the Transatlantic Estate Law Firm PLLC located in Washington, DC. She is licensed to practice law in Germany and in several US jurisdictions.

Previously, she practiced international trusts and estates law at the Washington DC law firm Rubin Winston Diercks Harris & Cooke LLP. During this time she was also a member of the defense team that represented the Federal Republic of Germany in litigation under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

Caroline has received her JD degree from Columbia University in New York. Prior to that, she received her JD-equivalent German law degree and a doctorate from the University of Münster, Germany. She subsequently clerked for the Düsseldorf Court of Appeals where she also passed the Second State Exam in Law.

Dr. Esche speaks frequently on US, German and international estate and tax laws before bank wealth management departments, bar associations and various international communities both in the United States and in Europe.

Caroline serves as the chair of the International Private Client Committee of the American Bar Association Section of International Law.

Contact: ce@transatlanticestatelaw.com

Phone: +1 202 790-2500

Education

• Juris Doctor: Columbia University, New York, 2012
• PhD: University of Münster, Germany, 2003
• Second State Exam in Law: Düsseldorf Court of Appeals, Germany, 2009
• First State Exam in Law: Hamm Court of Appeals, Germany, 2006
• Diploma in Law (JD-equivalent): University of Münster, Germany, 2006

Admissions

• Germany
• Virginia
• Maryland
• District of Columbia

Memberships

• Munich Chamber of Attorneys (Rechtsanwaltskammer München)
• German Bar Association, Inheritance Law Section (Deutscher Anwaltverein, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Erbrecht)
• German Association for Estate Law and Wealth Succession (Deutsche Vereinigung für Erbrecht und Vermögensnachfolge)
• American Bar Association
  • Section of International Law
    • International Private Client Committee, chair
    • International Tax Committee
  • Real Property, Trusts & Estates Section
• District of Columbia Bar:
  • Taxation Section
  • Estates, Trusts and Probate Law Section
• Maryland State Bar Association
• Montgomery County Bar Association: Estate and Trust Law Section
• Verband der Stipendiaten und Altstipendiaten der Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung
• Deutsch-amerikanische Juristenvereinigung

 Languages

• German
• English
• French