In principle, we support you with all legal questions at the family and SFO level. We draft and review partnership agreements for your asset-holding companies. We set up arm’s-length cash management systems and loans between you, your family, and your companies. We review asset management agreements, subscription documents for holdings, and PE or VC funds. We help you set up framework agreements for cost allocations between the SFO and family members that will stand up under tax scrutiny.

We can handle smaller investment transactions, purchases, and sales. For other specialized topics—such as landlord-tenant disputes, real estate law, employment law, and mid- or large-cap investment transactions—our closely integrated network is at your disposal.

You and your family may have already dealt with family governance and created rules and frameworks (a family constitution). Since that time, global and political challenges may have shifted, new pressures on the assets may have emerged, and your family, its asset allocation, and its structures may have changed or grown. Generational transitions may have occurred, and the next generation might have different perspectives, which could cause conflict. New technologies and legal developments have also emerged.

Do existing agreements still meet today’s challenges, including from a tax and legal standpoint? Given new legislative changes, do you need to re-evaluate?

In any case, it’s time to review your current frameworks and family constitutions and set new benchmarks. Family goals may also need updating. With increasing internationalization, new legal systems must be factored in. We guide you through these transformational processes with our expertise and, if needed, involve network partners like ebel&team, who specialize in family constitutions and resolving family conflicts.

If you already have an established single family office, we can analyze its setup, processes, and systems. We compare your existing arrangements with any new ideas for asset allocation, the addition of new asset classes, and changes in your family’s situation, as well as the latest system benchmarks. We scrutinize the structures in light of changing tax and legal conditions.

For instance, specialized fund structures may have been advantageous from an inheritance or exit-tax perspective in the past but may now be negatively impacted by legislative changes. Moreover, regulatory and reporting requirements continue to increase.

We work with you on reorganizing holding structures, shifting assets, and separating passive from entrepreneurial assets to optimize inheritance tax, ideally without triggering real estate transfer tax or income tax. Together with our network partners, we can modernize internal SFO structures, implementing modern data management and reporting systems.