Succession and Estate Planning

1. Succession and Estate Planning One productive task for some has been the creation of an inventory of assets and liabilities as part of their consideration of the issues surrounding estate planning. A task often put on the back burner it is a lot more than writing a will. Increasingly there is an international element involving nationality and residence issues, location of assets and succession rules. It may include deciding how best to look after young children, vulnerable adults, reducing estate/inheritance taxes and reducing the complications of probate alongside the need to ensure liquidity needed for settling estate expenses. Other considerations may include cohabitation, marriage, divorce, re-marriage, extended families and retirement. To add into the mix is the very different legislation and procedures applied in different jurisdictions. As a starting point for estate planning, consider the following: • Recording all assets and liabilities • Establishing how assets are currently held • Which jurisdiction they are held in • Whose name they are in • How they owned and what their legal nature is • How they were acquired • Are they held directly or through corporate vehicles? • Review long-term vision and goals. Trusts and foundations can be essential tools in estate planning and ILS World has a great deal of experience in them in several key jurisdictions. Trusts may be established as stand-alone solutions or as part of a larger structure. Our private client team help draft trust deeds, provide a corporate or individual trustee, establish related corporate structures, maintain trust accounts, arrange banking facilities and administration. Where necessary the team will liaise with specialist lawyers to ensure drafting is bespoke and precise. The team also establish and administer foundations in a number of jurisdictions. They are a robust vehicle for protecting and delivering assets for private, commercial and charitable wealth. Foundations offer flexibility and control over the administration of assets and are ideal for clients more familiar with civil than common law.

2. Our foundation services include planning and structuring the foundation, preparing the foundation charter, providing council members and where appropriate we can act as registered agent together with establishing bank accounts, administration and accounting. Find out more information on Succession and estate planning or contact enquiries@ils-world.com To keep up to date follow us on LinkedIn.