Carrying on your family's legacy takes work, and it's more than a one—or two-person job, which is why many ultra-high-net-worth families establish a family office. Family offices come in all shapes and sizes and can have multiple functions. We have experience evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of a family office and will listen carefully to your family's specific needs.
Our attorneys provide tailored advice, strategies, tax planning, and legal services that can adapt as your needs and preferences change. This personal level of service is crucial for you and your future generations to realize the full benefits of a family office.
At some firms, lawyers work in silos, which can make providing holistic family office services a challenge. Instead, at Womble Bond Dickinson, we assemble a bespoke team of lawyers from our Private Wealth, Tax, Employment, Real Estate, and Corporate Teams to work closely with you and your family, providing a seamless client experience.
Do I need a family office?
Our first step is a service assessment, which considers family dynamics, asset makeup, lifestyle, business interests, and charitable giving goals. If you decide to establish a formal family office, we can assist with its creation and implementation and provide a wide range of services as it evolves.
Clients know our attorneys genuinely care about their family's values, and they expect the high-touch personal service that distinguishes us from similar groups at other firms. These professional relationships often stem from the personal planning our Private Wealth Team provides in the following areas:
Estate planning and estate and trust administration
Cross-border and international tax and estate planning for globally mobile families
Sophisticated wealth transfer planning strategies, including the use of generation-skipping and dynasty trusts, SLATs, GRATs, CRTs, CLTs, Grantor Trusts, BDITs, and sales to grantor trusts
In many ways, family offices are like privately operating companies, requiring the ongoing attention of highly experienced lawyers in various areas, including:
Entity formation and structuring
Corporate governance
Business succession planning
Private capital investment strategies involving debt, equity, and preferred investment arrangements
Employment, compensation, and benefits issues
Movable assets: private jets, expensive vehicles/equipment, and yachts
Tax planning, including optimization under Lender structures, when appropriate
Global mobility, including asset location
Residential and commercial real estate acquisition, sales, and leasing management
Qualification for the “family office” exclusion under the Investment Advisers Act Rule 202(a)(11)(G)-1 or registration as an investment advisor (when applicable)
Private lending and financing, including issues concerning loans with institutions (i.e., guarantees, pledges, etc.)
Charitable Planning and Philanthropy
Many firm clients prioritize philanthropy within the context of a family office, so our lawyers have extensive experience in these areas:
Charitable gift planning
Forming private foundations and public charities
Creating charitable lead and remainder trusts
Planned giving
Non-profit governance
Representative Experience
What we do
Assisted several family offices with ownership restructuring to achieve specific goals, protect assets, reduce conflict between family members, and limit fiduciary liability
Advised clients in the formation of family offices utilizing the Lender structure
Represented multiple family office clients in private capital and debt transactions
Advised family offices on the operations, bylaws, policies, staff development, and tax benefits of a prominent philanthropic foundation, which funds charities throughout North Carolina and the Southeast
Need legal advice and guidance in family office law?
Our team is able to help provide solutions to you and your organization. Browse through our lawyers and professional staff to find the right attorney near you.
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