Estate planning, wills and succession
Withers has been acting for successful people and their families for more than a century. We work with families down the generations, and we know how important succession planning is to them.
Nobody feels particularly excited at the prospect of making a will, but once it’s complete you can feel reassured that you have certainty as to what will happen to your family and assets in the future. We always take a bespoke approach, helping you to structure your wills and trusts according to your particular needs and objectives. You may for example wish to give to charity in a tax-efficient way, or to prevent the next generation from inheriting too much, too soon. We can also help to create structures to protect family assets from creditor or divorce claims against heirs.
The law on succession varies enormously from country to country, but with 150 lawyers worldwide concentrating on this area, we can offer sophisticated advice on how to minimize taxes and risk, while maximizing flexibility for the family. This may involve lifetime gifts, living wills, post-mortem estate planning and inter-generational transfer of wealth.
Our team includes recognized leaders in UK and US tax and estate planning, elder law, probate, landed estates, philanthropy and trusts. We have a particular strength in issues related to the UK and US, with the largest number of US-qualified lawyers in London, as well as a presence in Hong Kong and Singapore. In addition we have Hong Kong, Singapore, Japanese and Australian qualified lawyers, experts on Italian succession, and Russian lawyers who frequently advise families from Asia, Russia and the CIS.
For further help or information
Get in touchThinking ahead
Failing to plan your estate carefully could cost you dearly. Most people understand the importance of having a will and estate plan, yet despite this, 60% of the UK population still relegate estate planning to the ‘too difficult’ pile and never create a will.
An affordable will and estate plan for you and your familyMeet the team
Track record
A client using a Living Will
Often, Living Wills are associated with people who wish to refuse treatment should they become seriously ill and lack capacity to make decisions. However in one instance we acted for a seriously disabled client who used her Living Will to request maximum treatment, preserving her life as long as possible.
The estate of a leading British retailer
We assisted in the probate and estate administration of a member of the family behind a successful British retail business. The deceased was UK resident ‘non dom’, but with arguable common law domicile, and survived by a spouse, children and grandchildren. He held assets globally, some within a complex web of lifetime trusts, and had made wills in different jurisdictions. We managed the difficult domicile claim, co-ordinated probate applications globally and balanced the dynastic plan for the business.
North Asian high-net-worth individual
Our client based in North Asia, and with assets over US$1b across Asia and the UK, was concerned about his succession planning, particularly in regards to the impact of this on a child of the family with a disability. We worked with him to navigate the legal issues involved across those multiple jurisdictions and to create a plan that always had the needs of the family at the forefront.
North Asian family
Pre-immigration planning for Brazil-USA move
A Brazilian private equity fund executive requested advice on pre-immigration planning in connection with his relocation to the United States. We helped to coordinate the timing of his tax recognition from certain transactions to occur while he was still a Brazilian tax resident and others to be taxed after becoming a US tax resident. We also established different types of trust structures to protect assets from US estate tax, a foreign trust to defer income taxation on existing carried interests, and a traditional US estate planning trust for carried interests not yet paying out.
Succession planning
Estate of a 32 generation family
We advised a family on the most appropriate structure to hold an estate that has been in the family for 32 generations. A complex matter, the family wanted the estate to be held by all of their children rather than one ‘heir’ but for the ‘rules’ of ownership and transfer to be clear and fair and ensure that the family asset is retained.
Settlement agreement between heirs
Reorganization of estate
Cross border trust and estate planning
Tracking partnerships for US based family
Advising a US based family who invested together on a "pooled basis". Even though both parents had died recently, the offspring of the family wanted to continue to invest in both real estate and hedge funds, but in varying percentages. Our lawyers structured "tracking partnerships" which allowed the family to continue to invest together but in different asset classes and monetary commitments.
The giving pledge
Estate and business succession plans
Gift planning strategies
Taxpayers
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