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Our family office practice offers tailored solutions for larger families with substantial wealth. We are well-versed in the sensitive and interactive dynamics of family interests, business interests, and the need for wealth preservation. We are familiar with the latest developments in the alignment and organization of single family offices and the relevant standards. Our services are designed to support both single family offices (SFOs) themselves and their beneficiaries and owners, ensuring smooth wealth transitions and family cohesion.
You have already built a diverse asset base, whether from the earnings of your (family) business or from a partial or full company sale. Now the questions arise as to how this wealth can be placed into a sensible, professional architecture. Please see our separate section, “Wealth Architecture and Establishing Family Office Structures,” for how we can assist you. Beyond these services, we also address multi-generational planning.
How do we introduce the next generation to responsibilities and not only transfer assets in a tax-optimized way? We develop NextGen programs with you and help you plan how to delegate tasks and responsibilities. We also clarify who in the family might have the skills and interest to manage the existing assets, grow them, or explore new asset classes—and who might be willing to acquire additional training for these roles. Which objectives require at least temporary outside support? Should that support be in-house or from external providers?
In addressing these questions, we incorporate your existing asset partners and, if needed, add independent experts. We ensure that your jointly defined objectives and vision are realized in the correct legal structures and in line with tax considerations. We draft or review contractual agreements for relationships with external service providers such as banks, asset managers, multi-family offices, family office steering advisors, reporting service providers, property managers, and more.
We help you and your family in setting binding rules for how you communicate with one another. You are a family, but also investment and business partners. These differing roles demand clear guidelines and a binding framework. Otherwise, emotions can easily disrupt constructive discussions.
First, it’s essential to articulate a shared vision of the family’s values regarding joint assets. An operating company often serves as a natural unifier for grandparents, parents, and children. In the absence of an operating business, this unity is less automatic. Still, collective assets can only grow if everyone abides by the rules and understands the “why.” That requires a shared vision of why assets are pooled and managed collectively, and what the future direction should be. Depending on the outcome of that process, some assets might remain under individual ownership and control, while at the other extreme, certain “war chests” might be protected in perpetuity through binding agreements. The right legal structures and binding contracts—such as well-designed partnership agreements and governance guidelines—are crucial. These can be supplemented by marital and inheritance agreements, among others.
We ensure that your approach is sustainable and recommend re-evaluating it when necessary in light of current developments. Joint family activities, along with transparent communication and information channels, are essential.
You can see how these topics go far beyond just taxes and law. That’s why we tackle them with you, involving our trusted network partners like Dr. Karin Ebel and her team at ebel&team. What sets us apart from other tax advisors and attorneys is our clear understanding and extensive practical experience in providing closely integrated support for such cases together with our network partners.
We make sure your assets, holding and family office structures, as well as your current family situation, are accurately reflected in your will or other testamentary dispositions.
Together with our international network, we can accommodate cross-border requirements. For complex, diverse assets, we implement arrangements for the anticipated, tax-optimized transfer of inheritances. We integrate these with the themes of “Family Governance,” “Wealth Architecture,” and “Asset Protection.” We build the right legal and tax structures to match the asset allocation you develop with your asset managers.
Your assets face many risks. Externally, these include liability risks and the dangers posed by (international) reporting, tax, and disclosure obligations (see also “International Assets and Income” and “Cross-border Compliance”). On a more personal level, if you don’t yet have a dedicated single-family office, there may be multiple individuals outside your own sphere who can access your assets. It’s therefore vital to establish clear processes and document who has access to what.
Digital reporting and control systems can greatly assist here, enabling different levels of access permissions and ensuring no documents or data points can be altered without tracking. Failing to meet tax obligations can quickly lead to tax or criminal consequences. We assist you in setting up the right (tax) compliance systems.
