Family Office and Private Wealth

High net worth individuals and families have complex legal issues to navigate.

These include intergenerational wealth transfer, business succession planning, trusts, family office and private wealth planning. These issues need to be conducted with sensitivity and skill, given the often emotional nature of personal affairs.

In addition, families with international wealth must navigate laws of various countries. In particular, managing substantial international wealth can create complex situations when death or incapacity occur. These matters must be handled with diligence by experienced advisors to avoid conflict or uncertainty about which laws to follow.

How we can help

Family office services

Our team are experienced and skilled advisers to private clients, including family offices, business owners, high net worth individuals and their families. We are experts in the legal issues faced by family business owners and the custodians of family wealth.

Several of our partners and senior leaders hold board or advisory roles with family offices. As a result, they are attuned to the complexities of navigating family dynamics and commonly controlled wealth and assets.

Our team advises high-wealth family groups in the following areas:

Business succession planning, including by way of sale and intergenerational transfer of assets and family asset holding structures.
Transaction management and support, including complex property sales and acquisitions and business M&A.
Personal succession planning, including drafting Wills, testamentary trusts and letters of wishes, including advice on cross border succession issues and conflicts.
Tailored company constitutions, family constitutions and shareholder/unitholder agreements.
Complex and high-stakes tax advice, including managing Australian Taxation Office reviews and audits and tax litigation.
Private philanthropic giving, including establishment of charitable trusts and Private Ancillary Funds and assisting with ongoing administration and compliance.
Immigration requirements for those who require Australian visa and citizenship advice

Future Focused Families is our family office service providing bespoke legal and commercial solutions to multi-generational family groups and privately owned businesses across all stages of the family office lifecycle.

We collaborate with our family group and privately owned business clients and their advisors to co-design a family office strategy that will be:

tailor made and responsive to clients’ short, medium and long-term objectives;
set to a defined timeframe while, at the same time, be flexible to be adapted and ‘scaled’ as the family’s requirements change over time; and
integrated with any existing accounting, financial and philanthropy advisors.

We offer a diverse menu of legal services, including estate and succession planning, tax, asset and wealth protection, migration and global mobility, managing or establishing relationships, education, transactions, philanthropy, dispute resolution and management and property.

International Wealth

We can help navigate the legal complexity that arises from having international wealth.

Tax residency, the nature and location of assets and the residency of beneficiaries are all relevant to cross-border structuring and the transfer of international wealth to the next generation.

Our team navigates the disparate laws that affect the cross-border transactions of high-net-worth individuals.

We take a consultative approach to create a tailored legal strategy for clients who need international wealth and asset protection in both Australian and international contexts, using our international networks.

‘Hall & Wilcox has very strong capabilities in handling complex and sophisticated matters.’

Chambers High Net Worth Guide 2023

Our experience

Family office services

We advised and facilitated an intergenerational wealth transition plan for an ultra high-wealth family group with substantial Australian and European property holdings, including:

succession documents and asset protection advice for all family members;
streamlining a complex family group structure of over 45 companies and trusts;
reorganising the ownership structure of high-value European real property assets to facilitate future succession planning; and
negotiating and drafting a ‘Family Control Deed’ and ‘Family Constitution’ to facilitate inter-generational control and management of family wealth.

Working closely and collaboratively with existing accounting and investment advisers to a high-wealth family with diverse business and investments interests, we:

developed a tailored solution to streamline the existing family group structure;
established a new family business operating entity; and
clarified the roles of various family members and developed a comprehensive family governance agreement to confirm control and operation now and for future generations.

We were lead advisers for Melbourne-based technology entrepreneurs, who founded an e-sports and video game studio, on the sale of their business to a French listed entity for €35 million (deal value inclusive of pre-sale dividends is circa. €40 million). We were retained to assist with:

family succession related matters, including a review of existing Wills and succession documents;
legal support with various property investments; and
guiding the formation of an investment structure to facilitate venture capital-type investments in tech / gaming, including through an innovative Early Stage Investment Company structure.

Preparing bespoke family business succession planning documents to provide a high-wealth family group with a pathway in the event of death or incapacity to ensure the financial security of the family through continued success of the business.

The patriarch of the family operated the long-standing logistics and distribution business, supported by a number of key employees. The family involved a number of complex personal relationships across three generations and a group structure of more than 50 trusts and companies.

Advising on and facilitating an intergenerational wealth transition plan for a high wealth family with substantial Australian and European property holdings, including:

streamlining a complex family group structure of over 45 companies and trusts;
reorganising the ownership structure of high-value European real property assets to facilitate future succession planning;
negotiating and drafting a ‘Family Control Deed’ and ‘Family Constitution’ to facilitate inter-generational control and management of family wealth; and
succession documents and asset protection advice for all family members.

Streamlining the existing group structure of a high wealth family with diverse business and investments interests, establishing a new family business entity, clarifying the roles of various family members and developing a comprehensive family governance agreement to confirm control and operation now and for future generations.

In these engagements we work closely and collaboratively with existing accounting and investment advisers to deliver seamless outcomes for the client. Our family office services encompass:

Advising on asset protection for worldwide wealth.
Streamlining complex and cross-border group structures and implementing governance.
Restructuring the ownership of assets.
Establishing Australian trusts, companies and other entities.
Preparing for the transition of wealth and control of assets on death or incapacity.
Cross-border succession planning where there are assets in multiple jurisdictions to ensure that succession planning documents work best from a local tax planning perspective.
Working with offshore advisors and utilising our international networks.
Dealing with clients with UK assets and issues, including assisting clients with a UK inheritance tax exposure to ensure their strategy works from both an Australian and UK perspective.
Dealing with clients with US assets and issues including assisting clients with a US estate and gift tax exposure to ensure their strategy works from both an Australian and US perspective.
Cross-border probate and estate administration including estate disputes.
The acquisition, sale and structuring of Australian residential and commercial property and businesses by non-Australian residents.
International tax advice, including ceasing Australian residence and tax planning for Australian income tax, capital gains tax and stamp duty.

Australian visa and citizenship

Advising on Australian visa and citizenship issues, including:

advising individuals how they can secure Australian residency and citizenship status.
assisting with the preparation and submission of the relevant visa with the Department of Home Affairs.
If, a visa has been refused, assist with the appeals process.