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Wealth planning in Basel is practised by a network of professions: private bankers and their wealth planning departments, independent asset managers, trustees, lawyers, notaries, tax advisers and accountants. The Basel notaries, who are free professionals and, unlike notaries in many other cantons, often also practise as lawyers, play a central role in the drafting of wills, marriage contracts and contracts of succession.¹

The professional association for practitioners of trusts and estates, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, has a branch in Switzerland and members in Basel. Its qualification, the TEP designation, is widely recognised as a standard of expertise in cross-border wealth planning.² The author, who holds this designation, runs a practice in Frankfurt that advises families and companies with connections to Germany, Switzerland and other countries, working with colleagues in Basel on matters that range from the regularisation of the past to the planning of succession.

The adviser who serves an international family must be able to coordinate. No single professional can master the law of succession, the matrimonial property law, the company law and the tax law of every country in which a family has interests. The value that an adviser brings lies in recognising the questions, involving the right colleagues in each jurisdiction and ensuring that the solutions fit together. Basel, with its location at the meeting point of three legal systems and its long tradition of cross-border business, is a good place to learn this discipline.

Notes

On the organisation of the notarial profession in the canton of Basel-Stadt (free notary system, freies Notariat, often combined with practice as an attorney), see the cantonal law on notaries. To be verified. ↩
On the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), founded in 1991, its Swiss branches and the TEP designation, see the publications of STEP. To be verified. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of August 2025.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

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The advisers

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?