Private Client
6 min read
Succession Is a Governance Problem
Families rarely lose wealth to tax. They lose it to unclear authority. Structures matter less than the rules that govern them.
The structure is the easy part
Trusts, holding companies and foundations are well understood tools. What fails families is rarely the vehicle. It is the absence of agreed rules for who decides, how disagreements are resolved, and what happens when the founder is no longer in the room.
Write the constitution first
We encourage founders to agree a family charter before drafting a single trust deed. It sets out decision rights, the role of the next generation and the process for admitting spouses and advisers. The legal structure then gives that charter force.
Families who do this work early tend to need us far less when it matters most.
