Sabīne Zaula-Rode
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About me
I am an attorney-at-law specialising in dispute resolution, with a focus on civil and commercial litigation and insurance disputes, as well as succession and private wealth matters.
In over 10 years of practice, I have represented clients before all three instance courts in Latvia, including in cassation proceedings before the Supreme Court, where a number of the judgments obtained have shaped the subsequent practice of the courts. I act for companies and insurers, as well as for private individuals and families, during both domestic and international disputes.
Inheritance law is where private client advice and litigation meet, and it is to this area I have devoted the largest part of my practice. I advise clients through the full life cycle of a succession: from succession planning and the drafting of wills, to inheritance proceedings before a sworn notary, and court proceedings when a dispute cannot be avoided. A substantial part of this work is cross-border, where either the assets or the heirs are spread across more than one country.
Most inheritance disputes can be traced back to a decision taken years earlier, often without legal advice. Having seen how those disputes unfold in court, I help clients take decisions at the planning stage that hold up years later.
Professional highlights
Succession and private wealth planning. I advise individuals and families on succession and private wealth matters from A to Z. This includes succession planning, drafting wills and inheritance contracts, and representing heirs and creditors of an estate during inheritance proceedings before a sworn notary. I also prepare legal memoranda on questions of succession, including on the inheritance rights of minors. My aim at this stage is to make sure that the client’s interests are properly defended properly ensured and that the decisions taken do not create a dispute later.
Inheritance disputes. It’s rarely the case that an inheritance dispute is just a dispute between the parties to a case. More often it is a dispute within a family, and the strategies used have to account for that. I act during disputes over the validity and interpretation of wills, over whether a person is an heir at all and what share he or she is entitled to, including claims to a compulsory share and questions concerning the rights of a surviving spouse. I also act in disputes over what does and does not belong to the estate, and in other disputes between heirs, or between heirs and estate creditors.
These cases often turn on facts that have to be reconstructed long after the only people who could comment on them are gone, and on questions on which Latvian case law is still developing, which is why several disputes of this kind have gone all the way to the Supreme Court.
Cross-border succession. Successions with an international element are one of my specialisations. I advise clients whose assets or heirs are located in multiple states, both at the planning stage, where the question is how and where a succession should be arranged, and once a succession has opened or a dispute has arisen. I have worked on high-net-worth estates involving EU member states as well as the United States, Monaco, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Russia and other jurisdictions. I have lectured Latvian judges on cross-border succession law and the application of the EU Succession Regulation, and I speak and publish regularly on succession and private international law topics.
Family and matrimonial property matters. I also advise on family matters, in particular on matrimonial relations and matrimonial property, including the division of assets and the property consequences of marriage and marriage dissolution. This work often overlaps with succession planning for business owners and their families.
Civil and commercial disputes. I represent clients during a wide range of civil and commercial disputes, both domestic and international. My work covers contractual claims and debt recovery, damages claims including lost profits, disputes over the validity of transactions, and other civil claims. Where a dispute has an international element, I advise on jurisdiction, applicable law, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. I handle cases from pre-litigation strategy through to cassation and enforcement.
Insurance disputes. Insurance disputes are a regular part of my practice. I act during disputes over the scope of cover and the extent of the indemnity payable, including in large-scale property and liability claims.
Academic background
University of Latvia, Latvia (Mag.iur, Bac.iur)
Utrecht University, the Netherlands (exchange student)
I am a member of
Latvian Bar Association