International estate planning is the provision of tailor-made solutions to meet the needs and wishes of families with international members and global assets to provide for family and business succession and management, asset protection, avoidance of the need for Wills and Probate and the legal mitigation of taxation internationally.
Offering Confidentiality and Independence
Even the most successful client sometimes needs someone experienced to provide confidential and independent advice on their private affairs. Lea & White offers this advice.
Often, those clients will have assets spread across several countries. They may want to organise them in a rational structure for ease of management and to protect them for the benefit of their families; to ensure orderly succession and avoid disruption to their businesses.
We can help to establish cost effective local or international structures designed for the client’s specific needs.
We Realise that each Client is Different
There is no single template answer to clients’ needs. Lea & White provide structured solutions, not products. Clients inevitably have unique profiles and we will address their individual problems and requirements.
In the short term, clients may need help in organising existing assets in various jurisdictions to facilitate ease of management and to mitigate adverse taxation consequences, or to protect themselves from creditors as far as possible.
In the longer term, estate and succession planning may be required for the individuals, their families and businesses. This may involve suitable structuring of their affairs through the use of trusts, foundations, companies, limited partnerships and other vehicles designed to ensure that the client’s wealth can be properly protected and effectively controlled and administered both during his lifetime and for future generations.
We offer many years of experience in a number of countries and we collaborate as necessary with other appropriate professionals in different jurisdictions on the detailed planning required there. In this way, we are able to advise on an overall international plan and then orchestrate the actions needed to put it into effect and to oversee and review it on-going.
Our advice covers the use of trusts, foundations, companies, limited partnerships and other vehicles both on and offshore. We can also advise on tax-efficient Wills, although the use of trusts and foundations will prevent the need for Wills for those assets and the subsequent fees, costs and time in obtaining Probate and administering the client’s estate We can incorporate companies and set up limited partnerships in appropriate jurisdictions and see that they are properly administered and structured.
Where trusts are involved, we will advise on the choice of jurisdiction and the governing law of the trust. We will draft the trust documentation and advise on all aspects of the trust. This will include checks and balances, the question of the need for and extent of retention of control and necessary flexibility. We will deal with the trustees on behalf of the client in establishing the trust and the underlying entities and supervise the effective transfer of assets.
Where foundations are involved, we will advise on the choice of jurisdiction, governing law and registered agent. We will advise on the parties to the foundation for its ease of control and administration and to provide checks and balances and flexibility. We will draft the constitution of the foundation and assist in its registration.
If requested to do so we will then keep a continuing overview of the structure and carry out annual reviews of the integrity of the arrangements and suggest any necessary modifications to meet changing needs. In this ever changing world detailed annual reviews are essential.
The client need have only one point of contact: Lea & White. Unless he or she has existing foreign advisers, we will arrange any actions which may be necessary overseas – in particular through our extensive contacts and collaborators throughout the rest of the world.
