Globalisation has led to many successful families and their interests becoming international in profile. Accordingly, tax and succession planning for many families will now have a cross border element which can mean that the tax position of family investments needs to be considered from the perspective of more than one tax regime.
We facilitate ‘generational planning’, the means by which one wealthy generation effectively passes it on to another. A broad variety of tools are available to help in this process. Wills are, of course, a common means of such planning, but are rarely the best way to ensure their wishes are managed beyond the ‘grave’. Trusts (founded in common-law practice) and foundations (structures originally established under civil law codes), on the other hand, have been developed with the explicit aim of helping people to successfully transfer their vision and wealth to other decades and perhaps even centuries ahead.
Oversight and management of family trusts or foundations can be placed in the hands of third parties who report to us. Understanding a family’s aspirations and goals; the things that it values; the vision for businesses; the jobs and responsibilities of family members and professional advisors, is essential to the successful preservation and transfer of wealth. In addition to our in-house consultants we access the highly qualified practitioners of the STEP network worldwide with branches in 100 countries.