Family Office & Succession Planning

Family Office & Succession Planning

Family wealth planning has never been a single-year tax question — it is a structural undertaking spanning decades, often generations. We help families across Australia and overseas build structures that stand the test of time.

Family Investment Company Structuring 

A family investment company is a common structure families use to centralise investment management, manage tax exposure, and progressively transfer control to the next generation. Areas we most often work on for family offices and high-net-worth families include:

• Structure design & comparison: Evaluating family investment companies, unit trusts and discretionary trusts for their tax outcomes and governance flexibility, to find the combination best suited to the family’s circumstances and long-term goals
• Cross-border investment structuring: Clarifying the tax relationships between cross-border investment entities, including Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) rules and the tax treatment of cross-border dividends and capital gains
• Family governance charter drafting: Helping establish investment decision-making processes, the roles of family members, and shareholder agreements
• Ongoing administration & tax maintenance: Including annual financial reporting, director obligation reminders, and periodic reviews as tax law evolves

Estate Succession & Trust Administration 

The success of a wealth transfer plan rarely comes down to the size of the estate — it comes down to whether the structure can withstand the passage of time and changing family circumstances. Our services cover:

• Estate planning structure design: Assisting with wills, trust structures and asset distribution plans, and reviewing whether existing structures still fit the family’s current circumstances
• Trust establishment & administration: Including setting up discretionary and unit trusts, and the annual compliance administration of existing trusts
• Cross-border estate tax planning: Clarifying estate duty, stamp duty and capital gains tax obligations across jurisdictions, to avoid unexpected tax burdens during transfer
• Business succession & asset transfer: Planning the timing and method of equity transfer, alongside the related capital gains tax and stamp duty considerations
• Trustee & guardian appointment advisory: Helping families review the appointment of trustees and executors, so governance mechanisms remain effective at critical moments

Disclaimer: The above is a general introduction only and does not constitute individual legal, tax or financial advice. Every family’s asset structure, residency status and succession goals differ; actual planning should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.