Who we are
Bespoke is a boutique French tax law firm dedicated to American families with French tax exposure.
Founded by Thomas Dubanchet, a French tax attorney admitted to the Nice Bar, the firm advises U.S. citizens and dual U.S.–French nationals who are relocating to France, already living in France, or managing cross-border tax and estate planning issues between France and the United States.
Our focus is deliberately narrow.
We do one thing, and we do it well: we handle the French tax dimension of an American family’s life in France.
This includes tax residency analysis and treaty positioning, pre-arrival structuring, French tax compliance, trust reporting and regularization, real estate acquisitions and ownership structures, French wealth tax (IFI), and estate planning matters, including French wills for U.S. citizens holding French-situs assets.
We regularly work alongside the U.S. attorneys, CPAs, wealth managers, fiduciaries, and trustees who already advise our clients. Our role is not to replace them, but to ensure that the French tax position is properly analysed, documented, and coordinated within the broader cross-border framework.
We write in English. We are based in Nice. We work with clients across France, the United States, and wherever else their lives take them.
The work is technical. The clients are sophisticated. Our job is to make the French tax side clear, structured, and defensible — before the French tax administration ever has a reason to ask.
Thomas Dubanchet
Founder — French tax lawyer, Nice Bar
Member, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)
Member, International Bar Association (IBA)
Thomas founded Bespoke Tax after nearly a decade in international tax practice focused on high-net-worth private clients. He trained at EY (corporate tax, Paris, 2016–2018) and Tirard Naudin (international tax and estate planning, Paris, 2018–2020) before moving to the French Riviera, where he practiced at Gordon Blair (Monaco, 2020–2021), Sollberger Avocats (Nice, 2021–2023), and DPZ Avocats (Nice, 2023–2024) prior to founding Bespoke Tax.
His practice has always been built around one question: what happens, from a French tax perspective, when a family with international wealth touches France? That question has become progressively more specific over the years, and today the answer is what Bespoke Tax does — full-time, for American families only.
Thomas works in English with American clients and their U.S. advisors, in French with the French administration, and often in both simultaneously on the same engagement. He is admitted to the Nice Bar. He is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and the International Bar Association (IFA).
Focus areas:
▸ French tax residency and France–U.S. treaty positioning
▸ Trust reporting, trust regularization, and trust-related French tax exposure
▸ French real estate acquisitions, SCI and usufruit structures, IFI
▸ French estate planning and French wills for U.S. citizens with French assets
▸ Pre-arrival structuring of U.S. income, investments, and retirement accounts
▸ Rescrits fiscaux (binding rulings) and assistance with French tax audits
Why work with us?
Every move is different. The tax issues are not
If you are planning a move to France, or already here and want to make sure the tax side is handled properly, the first step is a call. Thirty minutes, structured around your situation, with concrete next steps at the end.
