Family wealth planning: arranging assets so that the family survives the money
Assets are held by several family members, a business must continue, and the next generation's position needs to be defined.
Planning done in one dimension — tax alone, or succession alone — usually creates a problem in another. The work is integrative by nature.
Guarantees, contingent liabilities and family loans are part of the picture. Planning that ignores them produces surprises.
What family wealth planning covers
- Ownership architecture. Who holds what, through which entity, and on what terms — including where personal and business assets need to be separated.
- Marital dimension. Property arrangements for the family members whose marriages may place wealth at risk, and clarity about what is personal and what is shared.
- Succession. Wills, family agreements, equity transfer arrangements and governance for the next generation.
- Business continuity. Control, decision-making and what happens on the death or incapacity of a key shareholder.
- Tax and compliance. The consequences of transfers, distributions and cross-border movements — including transparency regimes that make offshore arrangements visible to authorities.
Three questions families ask us most
- 'How do we pass the business to one child without creating a war?' Usually by separating control from economic benefit, defining a decision-making mechanism, and settling the position of non-participating family members openly rather than by will.
- 'How do we protect the family's assets if a child's marriage fails?' Through arrangements made before the risk materialises — ownership documentation, agreements, and structures with genuine commercial substance.
- 'Where should assets be held?' That question should follow the family's actual needs — where members live, where the business operates, where the next generation is likely to be — rather than following a general fashion.
The China dimension
For families with China-situated wealth, three features shape the plan: the statutory marital property regime, which applies unless displaced by written agreement; succession rules which govern how estates are distributed; and rules on immovable property under which the law of the place where the property sits governs rights over it. Where family members live in different countries, a single plan must satisfy each relevant jurisdiction — a task that benefits from coordinated advice in each place rather than one plan assumed to travel.
When to begin
Planning works best before a transaction, a marriage or a death creates urgency. The most expensive plans we see are those started after an event has already occurred, when options are constrained and the family is under pressure. Beginning early is not about complexity; it is about having choices.
Frequently asked questions
Free initial review of jurisdiction, valuation and enforceability — before any cost is committed.