Different jurisdictions and tax schemes are keys to bear in mind when an FO is established
A Family Office (FO) is a kind of business created to manage the single family or group family’s assets and wealth. It deals with wealth management such as financial, real estate and corporate investments and tax optimisation and its goal is to protect and to ensure the family heritage and assets.
Switzerland, is the market’s due to its “very attractive corporate income tax system,” its secure “financial structure” and its “signed agreements for the avoidance of double taxation”, following Jan van Bueren and Thomas Ming’s article “Switzerland: the Home of the Family Office.” They also point out a series of topics to bear in mind when setting an FO up is decided such as the jurisdiction applicable to the new office and its legal form, the family’s belonging entities and firms to be managed and the assets which “need to be preserved and protected”.
In this regard, legal security and juridical stability are key points to consider when establishing a Family Office. Thus, the United Kingdom and the London’s financial district (the City) are a diverse and dynamic market for FO’s with a huge range of providers like banks, law firms, accountancy firms, trust companies, independent advisers and boutique firms.
Setting up an FO requires a high-level professional advice to fit with the local regulatory framework. With respect to Spain, some FO’s have the legal form of Financial Advice Businesses (Empresas de Asesoramiento Financiero –EAFI’s) under Spanish market and competence regulator’s monitoring (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y de la Competencia –CNMC) even though this is not mandatory .
That is just an easy example of what any law firm has to bear in mind because counselling a family to make their heritage and assets safe throughout the complex juridical and administrative network is a field of expertise that only high-skilled chambers and law firms are able to offer to their clients. It is also important to adapt to the very specific needs that each family or groups of families might have and to have skills enough to manage the FO’s market’s constantly changing globalised environment.
If you have any doubt on how to legally manage your heritage and assets and you might need legal advice on these issues, please do not hesitate to contact us for complimentary review at clerk@delcantochambers.com
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