Preventing conflicts

Inheritance Advice

If you are afraid that your estate will lead to conflicts, it is better to hire an estate mediator in advance. We will then work with you to ensure that everything is clear well before you die. That way, there is no need to argue about the inheritance afterwards. You have a number of options:

Making arrangements in advance during a family meeting

For example, you can organize a meeting to quietly agree on the inheritance together with your loved ones. This can prevent the necessary grief. During such a meeting you can also tell what your loved ones have meant to you or how you have experienced life.

We can prepare and guide this meeting with you. If you wish, we can also discuss certain taboos or sensitivities to clear the air. It is nice if you can contribute to this yourself.

Establishing agreements in a family statute

You can also officially record the arrangements you make together in a family statute. In this written agreement, you as a family or household lay down how you will proceed with assets and interests. This could be a family business, real estate, assets or anything else of value. We can help you draw up this statute.

What can you document in a family charter?

• the rules and standards for family members involved in these possessions
• interrelationships and asset management
• the vision and mission of the family business or asset
• succession, distribution and responsibilities of family members
• decision-making processes, ownership structures, conflict resolution and communication
• and other issues you want to capture

As you can imagine, a clear family status ensures more pleasant cooperation between your family members and a smoother transition of assets.

Providing your will with an enlightening introduction

Instead of making arrangements together with your loved ones, you can also choose to provide the will with a personal introduction. This is called “a preamble. In it, you explain in your own words what you have in mind, because the will itself is often rather legally worded. We will assist you in drafting this introduction.

A clear introduction has several advantages. You write it yourself and do not have to enter into discussions with your family members. The will is open to only one interpretation because of the introduction; this saves arguments and long legal disputes afterwards. If litigation does occur after your death, the judge can still make good use of your explanation. Another important advantage is that when drafting the introduction, you have the opportunity to think carefully about what you are aiming for with the will and what you want to include in it.