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Understand your position, gather the right documents and explore the next step for your situation.
Find explanations for your situation · 50 Articles
Disputes and urgent help
Shareholder dispute: when do you need a business lawyer?
A dispute between shareholders or a deadlocked Dutch company? Prepare your legal position, evidence and urgent decisions for a business lawyer.
Read article →Dutch lawPersonally pursued as a company director: what should you do?
A creditor, insolvency trustee or the Dutch Tax Administration is pursuing you personally? Identify the legal basis and prepare for a lawyer.
Read article →Dutch lawRemoving a director or facing removal: review the decision and contract together
Removing a director of a Dutch BV? Check authority, the meeting, hearing and advisory rights, and the employment contract before deciding.
Read article →Dutch lawEnterprise Chamber inquiry: does your Dutch company need investigation?
Concerned about company policy? Prepare eligibility, specific objections, the investigation question and possible urgent measures with a lawyer.
Read article →Dutch lawBusiness invoice unpaid: when should you instruct a lawyer?
A business customer has not paid? Check the order, due date and defence, then choose a targeted reminder, collection or court route.
Read article →Dutch lawPrecautionary attachment in a business dispute: secure recovery or lift a freeze
Worried a business debtor will dispose of assets, or has your account been frozen? Have the claim, necessity and attachment risks assessed promptly.
Read article →Dutch lawUrgent business proceedings: which decision really cannot wait?
Urgency over delivery, access or a commercial injunction? Prepare the need for speed, evidence and a workable interim claim with a lawyer.
Read article →Dutch lawApplying for a business’s bankruptcy: assess the conditions and consequences
A customer will not pay, or your own business cannot continue? Distinguish a creditor’s petition, your own filing and a defence, and seek help promptly.
Read article →Dutch lawNeed a business lawyer? Choose help suited to your commercial problem
A shareholder dispute, liability demand or important contract? Prepare your choice, initial instruction and business lawyer’s costs purposefully.
Read article →Dutch lawChallenging a decision of your BV: annulment, evidence and urgency
Are you disadvantaged by a shareholder or board decision? Check the grounds for annulment, the expiry period and protective measures before implementation.
Read article →Dutch lawSuspending a BV director: authority and immediate consequences
Temporarily suspending a director requires an authorised decision, careful preparation and arrangements for access, responsibilities and remuneration.
Read article →Dutch lawSidelined as a minority shareholder: protect your position
Does a fellow shareholder decide without you or harm your interest? Organise voting rights, decisions and evidence, and compare correction, interim measures and withdrawal.
Read article →Dutch lawDispute with a STAK: targeted protection for depositary receipt holders
Is a STAK withholding information or is its board acting against your interest? Examine administration terms, meeting rights and the appropriate legal route.
Read article →Contracts and partnerships
Dissolving a business contract: avoid an invalid termination
A supplier or customer is in breach? Have the legal basis, final deadline, scope of dissolution and financial settlement assessed before stopping.
Read article →Dutch lawEnding a business relationship: what notice and settlement are needed?
Giving notice to a regular supplier or business partner? Examine duration, agreements, dependence and winding-up arrangements before ending the relationship.
Read article →Dutch lawLeaving a Dutch vof: arrange your exit and your exposure to debts
Want to leave a vof partnership? Have notice, continuation, the buyout price and liability reviewed before signing an exit agreement.
Read article →Dutch lawPersonal surety for your business: assess the risk to your own assets
Signing personally for a business loan, or already facing a bank demand? Check the scope, conditions, spouse’s position and release from the surety.
Read article →Dutch lawDrafting a vof agreement: make authority, profits and departure workable
Working together in a vof? Arrange contributions, signing authority, profit allocation, illness and exit before money and customers are committed.
Read article →Dutch lawBusiness terms and conditions in a dispute: when should a lawyer review them?
Were your terms properly used, do purchase terms conflict or is liability excluded? Prepare a targeted legal review.
Read article →Dutch lawReviewing a business contract: which risks should you raise with a lawyer?
Signing a major contract or facing unclear arrangements? Prepare performance, payment, liability and exit for a targeted legal review.
Read article →Dutch lawDisputed business non-compete: may you trade again or approach customers?
A restraint after sale or cooperation? Assess scope, contract context and planned activities before your next step.
Read article →Dutch lawHaving an NDA checked or dealing with a confidentiality breach: when do you need a lawyer?
Sharing sensitive business information or addressing an NDA breach? Prepare agreements, evidence and measures with this guide to commercial confidentiality.
Read article →Dutch lawEnding a management agreement: coordinating the contract and directorship
When ending a management agreement, authority, notice, remuneration and statutory board position must be examined together.
Read article →Dutch lawBusiness payment plans: record instalments, interest and missed-payment consequences
A customer wants to pay in instalments. Assess the debt, feasibility and security before accepting a business payment plan.
Read article →Dutch lawCommercial interest and business collection costs: check basis, period and calculation
Received a business collection letter, or claiming interest? Separate principal, commercial interest and costs, and obtain legal assessment of disputed items.
Read article →Dutch lawBusiness set-off: may you deduct a counterclaim from an invoice?
Offsetting an invoice against damages or another claim? Check parties, maturity, contract and evidence before relying on set-off.
Read article →Dutch lawSuspending business payment or delivery: when is withholding responsible?
Withholding payment over a defect or stopping supply? Examine connection, extent and contract before suspending business obligations.
Read article →Dutch lawInvoking retention of title: which goods can you reclaim?
Customer not paying or bankrupt? Check the clause, identification and trustee before reclaiming goods under retention of title.
Read article →Dutch lawDisputed business loan: check repayment, termination and security
Demanding repayment or disputing an instalment? Organise the agreement, balance and maturity before a demand or new financing arrangement.
Read article →Dutch lawEnforcing or resisting a pledge: check debt, collateral and sale procedure
A financier threatens to sell pledged assets. Examine the pledge deed, default, scope and procedure before sale or urgent proceedings.
Read article →Dutch lawBusiness settlement agreements: what rights do you give up?
Settling a business dispute? Check parties, payment, final release and remaining claims before signing a settlement agreement.
Read article →Shares and management
Transferring bv shares: which arrangements need checking before the notary?
Selling or acquiring bv shares, or transferring after a dispute? Prepare ownership, restrictions and transaction arrangements with appropriate legal help.
Read article →Dutch lawBusiness acquisition review: what must be clear before signing?
Buying or selling a business? Examine contracts, employees, debts and warranties and turn findings into purchase-agreement terms.
Read article →Dutch lawReview your shareholders’ agreement before joining or a dispute arises
Joint owners of a bv? Record control, information, finance and departure and align the shareholders’ agreement with the articles.
Read article →Dutch lawAmending a bv’s articles: when do you need independent legal advice?
New shareholder, different control or disputed amendment? Prepare decisions and notarial formalities with the right documents.
Read article →Dutch lawContract signed by the wrong person: when should you involve a lawyer?
Doubt about signing authority for a business contract? Collect the register extract, power of attorney and correspondence and assess who could bind the business.
Read article →Dutch lawPreparing a shareholders’ meeting: avoid invalid or disputed resolutions
An important bv decision approaching? Check participants, powers, notice, agenda and records before the shareholders’ meeting.
Read article →Dutch lawPaying a bv dividend: when should a director seek legal advice?
Profit does not automatically make a dividend responsible. Prepare decisions, reserves and payment capacity and assess risks before distribution.
Read article →Dutch lawA shareholder dies: arranging shares, control and business continuity
After a shareholder's death, inheritance law, the articles and business operations must align. Prepare authority, valuation and transfer carefully.
Read article →Dutch lawRepaying a shareholder loan: when it falls due and the risks
Want money back from your BV, or is a shareholder refusing repayment? Check the loan, subordination, decision-making and financial consequences before payment.
Read article →Dutch lawDischarge for a director: what is actually settled?
Discharge is not a general indemnity against every management risk. Check the decision, information, period and remaining claims before agreeing.
Read article →Dutch lawAppointing a BV director: prepare the decision, acceptance and registration
Appointing a new director? Check appointment authority, articles, effective date and acceptance before completing registration and working arrangements.
Read article →Dutch lawShareholder information and inspection: make a specific request and choose the right route
Not receiving figures or answers as a shareholder? Establish your information position, formulate focused questions and prepare a proportionate legal next step.
Read article →Dutch lawAllocating board duties and organising supervision: recording responsibility practically
Unclear board portfolios? Record information, decisions and escalation and align allocation of duties with legal supervision arrangements.
Read article →Starting and closing
Choosing or changing legal form: when do you need advice beyond a tax calculation?
Deciding between sole proprietorship, vof and bv? Compare liability, cooperation and transition costs and prepare questions for lawyer, notary and tax adviser.
Read article →Dutch lawIncorporating a bv with sound arrangements: when do you need a lawyer as well as a notary?
Prepare a bv’s incorporation with arrangements for ownership, management and contracts. Identify questions for notary, lawyer and tax adviser.
Read article →Dutch lawDissolving a bv with assets: arrange liquidation and debts carefully
Closing a bv with assets or unfinished matters? Arrange dissolution, liquidation, creditors and tax winding-up.
Read article →Dutch lawPreparing fast-track liquidation: when is a bv genuinely without assets?
Closing a bv quickly? Check absence of assets, financial accountability, fourteen-day deadline and creditor information before deciding.
Read article →Dutch lawA competitor uses your business name: when should you consult a trade-name lawyer?
A similar business name or a cease-and-desist letter? Collect evidence of use, activities and confusion before acting.
Read article →Dutch lawLegal merger or division: prepare decisions, creditors and implementation
Combining businesses or separating operations? Map legal entities, contracts and interests and coordinate the legal route with lawyer and notary.
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