Laura Le Meur

Alongside companies and wills, family trusts are still a very popular tool for estate planning and asset protection – perhaps even more so in the light of the envisaged changes to the UK non-domiciled regime. Family foundations are proving to be a popular new tool for families looking to ensure their wealth and assets are protected for future generations. We establish trusts and foundations for local and international families to preserve family businesses and ensure appropriate succession planning. We work closely with tax advisers in order to ensure that any new family trust or foundation fits with a family's overall tax position and will be a workable long term, cost efficient structure. Discretionary trusts are still the most popular but we can also advise on fixed trusts, will trusts and pension trusts.

Private trust companies (PTC) and private trustee foundations (PTF) are an ideal solution for clients wanting to divest themselves of ownership while still retaining a level of control. A PTC, or its most recent incarnation, the PTF, is a corporate vehicle which is used by a family in place of a professional trustee so that the family themselves can control the board of the trustee and thereby control the underlying assets.

As the global legal and regulatory landscape becomes ever more complex, managing wealth across generations, succession planning and transferring control of assets has never been more challenging. That's why it's important to work with lawyers who can offer solutions that are tailored to your unique circumstances.

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Whether set up for asset protection purposes, as part of succession or tax planning, or for family governance or confidentiality reasons, offshore private wealth structures are common and often large and complicated.

We assist wealthy individuals, family offices, family-controlled businesses and entrepreneurs, often working alongside their trustees, bankers, tax advisors, accountants and other professional advisers, with the legal support needed within private wealth structures. We work with a broad range of vehicles including family investment companies, family limited partnerships, trusts and foundations.  

We can assist with all legal aspects of establishing, operating, restructuring, funding/leveraging, relocating and winding up such vehicles.  

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Successfully navigating the modern global business environment, taking advantage of opportunities as they arise while avoiding legal and regulatory pitfalls, is a challenge for any entrepreneur, business or corporation, during all phases of the corporate life cycle.

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