Wealth and asset management

Regardless of the national or international context in which you operate, our dedicated wealth and asset management team advise you on the best way to build up, manage and transfer your family and business assets.

Our lawyers rely on their thorough knowledge of the financial, tax and real estate rules to assist their clients, including company managers, senior executives, self-employed professionals or family offices, in designing and implementing their wealth and asset strategy.

With experts in civil and real estate law, company law, corporate, personal and wealth and asset taxation as well as international taxation, our dedicated team, in collaboration with the firm’s other departments and major public notary offices, works with founders and directors to secure their asset acquisition, sale, transfer and transmission transactions.

Our lawyers are experts in many fields, which enables them to give our clients the best possible assistance with their wealth and asset management:

• Creation and governance of philanthropic vehicles (endowment funds, foundations, patronage)
• Transfers of businesses and sustainability funds
• Matrimonial regimes
• Life insurance and endowment contracts
• Split of legal and beneficial ownership interests in securities and real property
• Creation and management of asset structures (investment companies, foreign holding companies, etc.)
• Executives’ and managers’ compensation.

Preparing the transfer of a business or a gift or inheritance can be particularly complex. We use our best efforts to ensure these steps go as smoothly as possible and advise our clients not only on the drafting of wills, protection of the designated heirs and asset valuations, but also on the organization of transfers and the settlement of estates.

We also carry out audits before asset transfers take place in order to identify any legal and financial risks.

We assist our clients with the preparation of their administrative obligations such as income tax (IR), property wealth tax (IFI) and land tax returns.

Our memberships of various international bar associations and our network of correspondents enable us to advise our clients on all their international wealth issues, whether they are French nationals living abroad or French nationals with assets outside France.

This means that we can advise our clients on which jurisdiction may serve their interests best in relation to divorce, estate management/inheritance or marriage, and can also assist them throughout any pre-litigation and litigation processes.

We also assist our clients with their declarations of assets both in France and abroad and with the regularization of their assets with the French tax authorities.

We assist our clients with any tax inspections, which can range from simple inquiries to more detailed inspections such as individual tax inspections (ESFPs (Personal Tax Situation Inspection)).

The complexity of some national or international estates can also lead to reporting errors or omissions or certain legal qualification issues. We assist our clients during tax inspections of such estates.

We also advise our clients when the authorities challenge the valuations of their property assets, including in relation to property wealth tax and legacies/inheritance and gifts.

In the event of disputes relating to estates, shareholders’ agreements or transfers of businesses, we do our utmost to reach an amicable solution. When that proves to be impossible, we represent and defend our clients before the relevant courts.