In 1998 I started with the administration of estates at a medium-sized accountancy firm, after which I started my own firm in 2006. Inheritance law is a wonderful discipline that is constantly under development and relies on your empathy.

Throughout the settlement of an estate I assist beneficiaries, executors, and their advisers together with my team. Not a single complex estate is the same. In one estate the emphasis is on the (international) legal or tax aspects whilst the other is more about the difficult mutual relationship between the beneficiaries or the extensive and varied composition of the estate.

For highly specific legal and tax issues I can rely on my (inter-)national network of specialists. A network that I built during a period of well over twenty years.

Thomas Janus

In 1998, I came into contact with the notarial profession through a graduation internship of the higher education program in management, economics, and law (HEAO-MER). After my graduation, I continued to work within the notarial profession: the first three years in the registered property department and after that in the law of persons and family law department. After I had completed my Dutch law studies by attending evening classes in 2012, I continued within the notarial profession as a legal expert. I quickly developed a preference for estate settlements.

I consider personal contact and taking away the worries that heirs have during an often difficult period of their lives to be an important part of my job.

Estate practice is highly diverse. It offers variety and challenges. Each estate has its own story, is unique in its own way. I believe it is important to ensure a proper settlement of the estate, an essential element being close contact with those involved. I am also committed to explaining complex information in an accessible way.

Nicole Hamels

I have lived abroad on several occasions throughout my life for extended periods of time. These experiences offered me insights into how complicated it can be to settle estates that involve assets in various countries from a legal perspective. This stimulated me to specialise in International Family and Inheritance Law. I was employed by the Royal Dutch Association of Civil-Law Notaries in The Hague for many years. As senior advisor of the Notarial Legal Desk, I advised notaries on all issues regarding international family law and international inheritance law. In addition, I was affiliated with the universities of Maastricht, Leiden, and of the Netherlands Antilles as a lecturer in (international) family law. Further, I gained judicial experience as a deputy judge.

As an established expert on international family law, my professional services comprise the provision of advice on all matters pertaining to cross-border estates. Tailored to your specific case, I indicate whether foreign inheritance law or Dutch inheritance law applies on the basis of the rules of international private law. In instances where foreign inheritance law applies, my expert opinion report will detail the ramifications of the law(s) in question.

Brigitte Lhoëst