The lawyers of the Family Law & Divorce practice group have years of experience acting in all facets of Wills and Estates, including:

• Wills;
• Executors Responsibilities and Commissions;
• Challenging a Will and Estate Litigation;
• Family Provision;
• Guardianship and Administration;

If you have questions with regard to Wills and estates in the Dutch jurisdiction, it is crucial to obtain expert legal advice. Our lawyers can provide you with advice at a crucial time and liaise with the executing notary.

Further information

For additional information please feel free to contact our Wills and estates contact person. Your comments and questions are always welcome.

Willemijn graduated from the Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2010 with a degree in private law and
was admitted to the bar in 2011.

Willemijn is part of the Labour & Employment Law practice group, where she is primarily engaged in individual and collective dismissal law. She also provides advice on employment contracts, non-competition clauses, co-determination law, employer liability and ill employees.

Memberships & Affiliations

• Rotterdam Bar
• Netherlands Bar Association

Education

Willemijn Lenders graduated from the Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2010.

Languages

• Dutch
• English

Attorney profile

Cornélie graduated from Leyden University in 2010 with a degree in private law and
was admitted to the bar in 2011.

She forms part of the Transport & International Trade practice group, where among other things she focuses on advising and litigating for national and international companies with regard to (international) contract law and (product) liability in particular. In addition, Cornélie is active in advising and litigating in the ship arrest matters.

Memberships & Affiliations

• Rotterdam Bar
• Netherlands Bar Association

Education

Cornélie graduated from the University of Leyden in 2010.

Languages

• Dutch
• English
• German
• French

Attorney profile

Marja Verdult joined our firm in 2011. She is an experienced litigator, practicing primarily in family law. Before joining Kernkamp Advocaten Marja was a senior clerk at the Court of Appeal in ‘s-Hertogenbosch specialising in alimony calculations for appeal court rulings. Thereafter, Marja practiced as an attorney-at-law at a firm in Dordrecht.

Her expertise includes:

• Divorce and separation
• Property division and spousal maintenance
• Child-related matters, such as custody guardianship, access and child support
• Multi-jurisdictional issues and conflicts of laws

Memberships & Affiliations

• Rotterdam Bar
• Netherlands Bar Association
• Rotterdam Young Bar Association

Education

Marja graduated from Tilburg University in 2005.

Languages

• Dutch
• English

When a personal matter such as divorce, questions about custody, or any other matter surrounding marriage dissolution is in question, and proceedings are likely to take place in the Dutch jurisdiction, it is vital that you have experienced legal representation by a Dutch divorce lawyer who deals with International Divorce Cases on a daily basis and who is familiar with the challenges the expatriate faces under such conditions.

Netherlands Divorce Attorneys

The divorce laywers of the Kernkamp Advocaten Family Law Practice Group are there to protect the interests of our clients and pursue the outcome they want. As every individual is unique, so is every family law matter. On top of that every international divorce case has its own challenges, with issues like jurisdiction, service of process, conflict of laws, international conventions and foreign law, foreign pre-nuptial contracts. Our divorce laywers use their experience in the Courtroom and understanding of the system to deal with those aspects.

It is a fact that divorces with international components do present divorce lawyers with uniqe challenges and opportunities. But apart from these challenges, the assistance of our divorce lawyers is not all that different from the assistance you would expect in your own jurisdiction.

Some divorces are amicable, and the two parties are able to determine how they want to divide assets, support matters and how custody will be managed. Others involve matters that are contentious and no resolution is possible through negotiations and the court must decide. Our team of Dutch divorce lawyers is prepared to evaluate your personal situation and provide the skilled legal support that is required to bring the matter to a resolution.

For additional information you can click on one of the articles on the right of your screen. Your comments and questions are always welcome.

Talk to a Netherlands Divorce Lawyer Today

Please feel free to contact our Family Law Practice Group contact person.

The Kingdom of The Netherlands has implemented the (revised) European Transfer of Undertaking Directive (2001/23/EC). On the basis of Articles 7:662-666 of the Dutch Civil Code, the rights and obligations arising from the contracts of employment of the enterprise's employees are transferred to the new owner, but for one year after the date of transfer the old employer remains severally liable for obligations already existing at the time. The above rule applies both to enterprises in the market sector and to non-profit-making organizations. It does not apply to the distribution of an enterprise's assets as a result of the owner's bankruptcy .

The take-over of private and public limited companies through the buying and selling or exchange of shares, which occurs very frequently in the Netherlands, does not fall within the scope of these Civil Code provisions, since in that case there is no change of employer.

What is a transfer of undertaking?

The defenition of a transfer of undertaking is set out in the EU Directive. Article 1(b) states that a transfer has taken place when "there is a transfer of an economic entity which retains its identity, meaning an organised grouping of resources which has the objective of pursuing an economic activity, whether or not that activity is central or ancillary".

Transfer of undertaking is not defined by Dutch labour law. Based on European and national Case Law it can be derived that a transfer of undertaking exists where an economic entity is transferred and retains its identity.

The European Court of Justice has ruled that to determine whether an economic entity retains its identity after a change in ownership, it is necessarily to consider all the facts characterizing the transaction in question, including:

• the type of undertaking or business;
• whether or not the tangible assets of the business, such as buildings and movable property, were transferred;
• the value of its tangible assets at the time of the transfer;
• whether or not the majority of the employees was taken over by the new employer;
• whether or not the customers were transferred;
• the degree of similarity between the activities carried on before or after the transfer period; and
• the period, if any, for which those activities were suspended.

According to the European Court of Justice these factors cannot be considered in isolation – they are simply part of the overall assessment that must be made and cannot therefore be considered in isolation. It is for the national court to make the necessary factual appraisal, in the light of the cirteria for interpretation set out by the European Court of Justice.

Dutch law

Under the Dutch implementation of the directive the transferee, by virtue of law, becomes party to the existing employment relationships with employees of the undertaking subject to the transfer. This means that this transferee will have to respect all conditions of employment existing with the transferor at the time of the transfer.

At the time of a transfer of undertaking, it is not possible to agree upon deviations in employment terms.
The transferee is under an obligation to offer the employees a benefits package identical to the package that the employee had with the transferor. It is not advisable to renegotiate employment terms at the time of the transfer of undertaking, as these alternative terms will be held to be invalid. Hence, alternative terms should be offered at a later occasion, when the transferor has all the possibilities the transferee previously had.

Protection against Dismissal

The transfer of an undertaking, business or part of an undertaking or business does not in itself constitute grounds for dismissal by the transferor or the transferee. However, dismissals may take place for economic, technical or organisational reasons entailing changes in the workforce.

Further information

The consequences of a transfer of undertaking can be complex. Our firm has ample experience in advising and supporting our clients during the process. For further information regarding our services, please contact our contact person of the Labour and Employment Law Practice Group.

The Rotterdam Guarantee Form is traditionally used by Dutch maritime lawyers to put up security in shipping in the Netherlands. The form was created by the Commission Rotterdam Guarantee Form to prevent unnecessary delay due to discussions on wording, each time a vessel is arrested. The Rotterdam Guarantee Form is usually considered to be an acceptable form of security and thus generally contributes to a quick release form arrest. A copy of the form is embedded in this page.

For further information, please feel free to contact our Transport and International Trade contact person.

European Antitrust and Competition Law

The European antitrust area covers two prohibition rules set out in the European Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

• First, agreements between two or more firms which restrict competition are prohibited by Article 101 of the Treaty, subject to some limited exceptions. This provision covers a wide variety of behaviours. The most obvious example of illegal conduct infringing Article 81 is a cartel between competitors (which may involve price-fixing or market sharing).
• Second, firms in a dominant position may not abuse that position (Article 102 of the Treaty). This is for example the case for predatory pricing aiming at eliminating competitors from the market.

The European Commission is empowered by the EU Treaty to apply these prohibition rules and enjoys a number of investigative powers to that end (e.g. inspection in business and non business premises, written requests for information, etc). It may also impose fines on undertakings who violate EU antitrust rules. Since 1 May 2004, all national competition authorities are also empowered to apply fully the provisions of the Treaty in order to ensure that competition is not distorted or restricted. National courts may also apply these prohibitions so as to protect the individual rights conferred to citizens by the EU Treaty.

Dutch Antitrust and Competition Law

The Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) enforces the Dutch Competition Act, which came into effect on 1 January 1998. The Dutch Competition Act is based on and closely linked to European law. The Act is based on a prohibition system very similar to that of Articles 81 and 82 of the EU Treaty.

The services of our antitrust and competition lawyers include:

• civil antitrust litigation;
• merger filings, investigations and litigation;
• other civil government investigations;
• antitrust counseling and compliance.

For further information regarding our services, please contact our contact person.

For more than 30 years, the lawyers of Kernkamp Advocaten have focused on serving public and private sector clients operating in the many facets of the transportation industry.

The lawyers of our Transport and International Trade Practice Group assist multimodal carriers, trucking companies, logistics providers and insurers, with a full range of legal services, with regard to issues like:

• transportation agreements
• equipment leasing, pooling, repair and maintenance and management agreements
• freight forwarder agreements
• warehousing agreements
• cargo loss and damage
• Liability under the CMR-convention
• Issues of Dutch national road transport law (book 8 DCC)

If the case at hand is transportation related, your legal needs require assistance of our specialized team of Dutch lawyers who understand the industry and are able to advise on a wide range of legal issues.

Further information

For additional information please feel free to contact our Transport and International Trade Practice Group contact person.

There is no such thing as a Dutch Franchise Act. The laws of The Netherlands do not contain a specific act with repect to franchise and distribution agreements. Hence, a franchise agreement under Dutch law is governed by the rules of general civil law, together with specific rules that are applicable to specific parts of the contract.

A franchise agreement is a Contract by which the franchisor licenses its trade name and/or business system and practices for a fee to an independent company (the franchisee). The licensed rights can include the licensed right to use trademark names, secret commercial know-how and other distinguishing features, in the sale of products or services. The use of franchise agreements is widely spread in The Netherlands, but beware that specific arrangements can be prohibited by EU and national competition law.

The lawyers of our firm represent clients who are interested in entering or exiting their franchise relationship on their own terms. For individuals seeking to invest in a particular franchise opportunity, we will review the terms and conditions set forth in your franchise documents and provide advice and counsel regarding material provisions, including:

• financial obligations;
• the length/term of the agreement;
• choice of venue and choice of law with respect to disputes;
• renewal rights;
• territorial exclusivity;
• requirements for remodelling or refurbishing the location;
• the goodwill associated with the franchisor's trademarks;
• restrictions on transfer;
• default/termination provisions.

For franchisees looking to exit their franchise relationships, our attorneys are skilled and experienced in drafting and negotiating all of the legal documents required to effectuate the sale of your franchise investment.

Further information

For additional information please contact us. Your comments and questions are always welcome. Please feel free to contact our contact person.