Family Offices
BDB Pitmans is a full service law firm, experienced in advising family offices, their principals and family members in relation to their wide ranging needs.
A supportive holistic offering
Family offices can provide considerable benefits where there is significant family wealth.
Whether you already have a family office, or you are planning to establish one, we provide deep expertise across every area of your operation and can support you to achieve your vision. We act for many UK and international families who are longstanding clients of the firm and have valued our advice across the generations. We understand the important cultural issues in the jurisdictions in which our clients operate and have a breadth of experience creating appropriate family wealth structures. We work collaboratively with the family’s existing advisers.
We understand family wealth is complex and often requires a dedicated vehicle to support the bespoke personal requirements of each family.
These requirements include protecting the family’s privacy, integrity, reputation and values, the wealth for future generations and the family’s philanthropic objectives.
We understand a family office evolves as the nature of the family wealth and / or the business interests mature and develop and as the stewardship transfers from generation to generation.
The BDB Pitmans family office team includes lawyers from across the firm who offer integrated and bespoke advice and solutions. At its core, the team includes expertise from our private client, corporate, real estate, employment, philanthropy and family and dispute resolution teams. We work closely together to support all elements of the family office structure and operation.
How can we help you?
There are opportunities to engage and support you as a family office in many respects, whether that be the operation and function of the family office itself or in connection with the needs of your principle and their family members.
For example, we can help in relation to:
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1 Family office structure
Review your family office structure or create one for the first time.
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2 Family office regulation and governance
Advise in relation to the regulatory aspects associated with an operational family office to include advising on the formulation of complex governance structures, including those for ownership and decision-making.
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3 Family business
Provide legal and tax advice and support to the family business throughout all phases, from creation to growth and exit or succession plans.
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4 Succession
Protecting the family wealth for future generations via estate and asset protection planning in the form of regular reviews and holistic legal and tax advice in relation to personal assets.
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5 Philanthropy
Often a cornerstone of the family office’s function. Our philanthropy lawyers can provide tailored advice to help families fulfil their philanthropic vision and maximise their impact, ensuring that pragmatic, governance and regulatory frameworks are aligned.
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6 Family governance, values and vision
For those families who wish to create a shared family vision, we can guide, and facilitate family discussions, to shape the ‘values and vision’ to which family members subscribe resulting in a family governance documentation (eg a constitution).
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7 Next generation education
Educating the next generation in relation to legal and tax issues generally and the family structures working collaboratively with the family’s other advisers (eg investment advisers) to create and deliver a tailored education programme.
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8 Real estate
Providing advice and support in relation to residential and commercial property investment assets including acquisition, disposal, redevelopment, construction and finance.
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9 Matrimonial and family matters
Providing support and advice in relation to pre-nuptial agreements, divorce, financial settlements and contact arrangements.
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10 Human resources and operational issues
Advice and support in relation to the family office, and families, staffing needs from employment contracts, HR processes and handbooks to immigration advice.
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11 Disputes
Advice relating to private and / or corporate disputes including advising on alternative forms of dispute resolution which can often be a more cost effective approach to disputes and is particularly advantageous where confidentiality or preserving ongoing relationships are key considerations.
To discuss how our Family Office team can help you, please get in touch.
We are a proud approved member of the Global Family Office Community
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