In this memorandum to the Court of Appeal in Vienna Beethoven sets out all the circumstances relating to the court case for the guardianship of his nephew Karl. He sees this memorandum as being a last attempt to "save his nephew".
Beethoven structures the memorandum as follows: pp. 1-6 "Statement about Frau B.-", about his sister-in-law and mother of the nephew Karl, Johanna van Beethoven and her lifestyle; pp. 6-28 "Statement about the guardianship by the Viennese Magistrat"; pp. 28-31 "Statement about my nephew and reports of his studies"; pp. 32-34 "Statement about what I have done for my nephew"; pp. 34-36 "Statement about my nephew's fortune". On pp. 36-40 "Conclusion" Beethoven once again sums up the reasons for the memorandum. On pp. 41-48 he adds a postscript which for the main part describes a disagreement with the parish priest in Mödling, who had sided with Johanna van Beethoven in the guardianship dispute
