Private Wealth Law

Deloitte Legal is "one of the top firms in Belgium" and has a team of trusted advisers to wealthy families and business owners.  It handles a comprehensive range of estate and tax planning, family governance, conflict management and litigation mandates.

The firm is praised for its overall ability to advise high net worth clients. One source notes: "They combine an extremely strong emotional intelligence with the technical know-how," while another adds: "All of them are great advisers." A wealth expert further remarks: "They are amazingly good civil lawyers."

Alain Laurent Verbeke is described as "a very highly qualified private client adviser with a focus on civil law," by a source, who also adds that "he is a professor in civil inheritance law." A market commentator states: "One of his main merits is that he flagged private clients as an important legal area in Belgium." An impressed source notes that it is "rare to meet someone who has such high intelligence," adding: "He combines this with his technical competence and large experience."

Bart Verdickt regularly advises high net worth individuals, wealthy families and family offices on a broad spectrum of domestic and international wealth planning matters, including estate and gift tax planning. "Bart ranks among the best," says a market insider, while another source adds: "Bart is a true professional. He combines profound knowledge with the ability to really listen to his customer." A third source agrees, saying: "He is very competent technically but he is also very human with clients. He explains concepts to them well and that is really important."

Mathieu Ex is valued for his experience assisting high net worth individuals and family business owners with complex tax planning issues, and he has an excellent reputation among interviewees for his client-handling skills. "He can anticipate our needs very well," says a commentator,while another source reports that he "provides creative solutions to difficult problems and is committed to his client's cause." The same source notes that "he is exceptionally bright," before continuing: "He is highly proficient in the law, but also able to give good, solid, practical advice."