The company Heresta GmbH was founded in 2016 in Schaffhausen by Patrizia Kraft, Beat Zoller and Kathy Vacher. The name Heresta is a combination of the Latin word «Heres» – which translates as «heir» or «successor» – and the ending «-ta», which was chosen in order to round the name off and give it a pleasant sound.

We are all specialists in Swiss marriage and inheritance law and between us we have 30 years of experience in the field. Whilst we were working together at the inheritance office of the city of Schaffhausen we became aware that there was no private company focused solely on marriage and inheritance law. In those 30 years we handled roughly 1000 cases and saw how important it is to plan your estate in advance. Many problems and conflicts can be avoided by enlisting professional help when writing your last will or inheritance contract.

We also noticed that the heirs regularly required assistance in managing the estate after having lost a loved one. Especially if they didn't have regular contact with the deceased, lived far away or where simply not in a position to deal with all of the paperwork and organisation themselves. The problems became more pronounced in the cases where there we're many heirs who didn't know each other well or at all. In these cases, the heirs were very grateful for a divisional contract created by a neutral and well informed third party or even to be able to leave the entire liquidation and division of the estate to them.

Those are the main reasons we decided to create a company which satisfies these and many more requirements. A company which tailors our services to your needs. A neutral, independent and competent company for everyone who requires help with the planning of their estate or assistance with the management of a loved one's estate. Furthermore, we are the only company in the area that offer all of our services especially with Expats in mind. Not only do we offer our English speaking clients the same quality of service but also a comprehensive translation service and the possibility to leave the arrangements of all the necessary appointments to us.

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