About Services Enterprise Solutions Financial Institutions Private Clients Fintech Solutions UAE Offering Insights Case Studies Jurisdiction Finder Contact
EN | FR | ES | ZH | DE

Private Clients

Securing Your Legacy Across Generations

Succession planning is among the most consequential decisions a family can make. Aurevya provides integrated, cross-jurisdictional succession advisory that combines legal structures, tax planning, and family governance to ensure wealth transfers seamlessly and in accordance with your wishes.

Overview

What is Succession Planning?

Succession planning is the process of organising the transfer of a family's wealth, financial assets, business interests, and personal property, across generations in a manner that is tax-efficient, legally secure, and aligned with the family's values and wishes. For high-net-worth families with assets in multiple jurisdictions, this is rarely a simple task: different countries have different rules about who can inherit, how much must pass to compulsory heirs, and what taxes are triggered on death.

Aurevya's succession advisory practice takes a holistic view. We begin by mapping the family's complete asset picture, including all jurisdictions in which assets are held or family members are resident, and then identify the planning opportunities and constraints that apply. This involves analysing forced heirship rules in relevant jurisdictions, estate and inheritance tax exposure, cross-border co-ordination challenges, and the family's own governance preferences.

Our structuring toolkit is broad. Trusts and foundations provide the primary holding structures. Holding companies co-ordinate business and investment assets. Shareholder agreements govern the transfer and management of business interests. Family constitutions address inter-generational governance. Wills ensure residual assets pass according to the family's wishes. Each element is designed in co-ordination with the others, producing a coherent and durable succession plan rather than a patchwork of disconnected structures.

We work closely with clients' domestic advisers, lawyers, tax advisers, and accountants, in each relevant jurisdiction, acting as the central co-ordinating advisor and ensuring that every element of the plan is consistent with local legal requirements and tax obligations.

Neutral
Jurisdiction-Neutral Advisory
Aurevya advises on succession structures across all major wealth-holding jurisdictions, co-ordinating seamlessly with local counsel wherever assets are held.
40+
Countries Covered by Our Structures
Our succession frameworks have encompassed assets and family members in over 40 jurisdictions, including complex multi-domicile family situations.
Multi
Generational Track Record
Aurevya's private client team has advised families through multiple generational transitions, from first-generation wealth creation to third-generation stewardship structures.

Key Features

What Our Succession Advisory Delivers

01
Will Drafting & Review
Co-ordinated will drafting across relevant jurisdictions, ensuring consistency between wills and other succession structures, and addressing residual assets not held within trusts or corporate vehicles.
02
Trust-Based Succession
Mauritius trusts provide the primary vehicle for succession planning, transferring assets out of the personal estate while maintaining family oversight through protector and letter of wishes mechanisms.
03
Foundation Structures
For families from civil law jurisdictions, foundations provide the same succession benefits as trusts, with the added advantage of full legal personality and greater recognition in the family's home country.
04
Holding Company Succession
Holding companies beneath trusts or foundations consolidate investment and business assets, simplifying succession by centralising ownership and enabling seamless inter-generational transfer without triggering multiple probate processes.
05
Shareholder Agreement Design
For family businesses, bespoke shareholder agreements address share transfer restrictions, pre-emption rights, valuation mechanisms, drag-and-tag provisions, and governance rights, protecting the business from fragmentation upon death or divorce.
06
Family Constitution
A family constitution codifies the family's values, governance principles, decision-making protocols, and inter-generational wealth management philosophy, providing a durable framework for family cohesion across generations.

Process

How It Works

01

Wealth Mapping

We compile a comprehensive inventory of the family's assets across all jurisdictions, including companies, real estate, investment portfolios, pension entitlements, and personal property, along with the residency and domicile of all family members.

02

Objectives Definition

We work with the family to articulate succession objectives, who should benefit, in what proportions, under what conditions, and with what level of family control post-transfer. Forced heirship constraints and tax obligations are identified at this stage.

03

Structure Design

A bespoke succession structure is designed, combining trusts, foundations, holding companies, wills, shareholder agreements, and family governance frameworks as appropriate. Tax modelling is conducted across all relevant jurisdictions to validate the plan's efficiency.

04

Legal Documentation

Trust deeds, foundation charters, holding company articles, shareholder agreements, wills, and family constitutions are drafted by Aurevya's legal team, reviewed and co-ordinated with local counsel in each relevant jurisdiction.

05

Asset Migration

Assets are transferred into the new structures, with all transfer documentation, stamp duty filings, tax notifications, and regulatory requirements in each jurisdiction managed by Aurevya's team. Banking relationships are established or migrated as required.

06

Family Communication & Governance

With structures in place, Aurevya facilitates family meetings to communicate the succession plan to the next generation, establish governance bodies (trustee, foundation council, family council), and agree on the processes for future decision-making within the family's wealth framework.

Practical Considerations

Requirements & Eligibility

Legal & Regulatory Considerations

  • Forced heirship rules in the family's country of domicile must be assessed, they may restrict the effectiveness of offshore structures
  • Anti-avoidance and gift tax rules in relevant jurisdictions must be reviewed before asset transfers
  • Wills should be updated in all jurisdictions where assets are held
  • Holding companies and trusts require ongoing substance and governance to remain effective
  • FATCA and CRS reporting obligations apply to trusts, foundations, and holding structures
  • Local inheritance tax returns and filings must be managed in jurisdictions where they apply

Family Considerations

  • Succession planning is most effective when begun early, ideally well before any health or life event forces the issue
  • Family communication and the involvement of the next generation is critical to the long-term success of any succession plan
  • Business succession should be co-ordinated with personal succession, especially where family members have conflicting interests in a shared business
  • Family constitutions and governance frameworks should be reviewed and updated as the family's circumstances evolve
  • All succession structures should be reviewed periodically, typically every 3–5 years or upon a significant life event

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Forced heirship is a legal rule, common in civil law countries including France, Belgium, Spain, and many Latin American and Middle Eastern jurisdictions, that entitles specified heirs (typically children and sometimes spouses) to a minimum portion of the deceased's estate. This minimum share cannot generally be overridden by a will. Offshore structures such as trusts can offer some protection against forced heirship claims, but their effectiveness depends on the specific rules of the relevant jurisdiction and the nature of the assets. Aurevya always analyses forced heirship exposure as a first step in succession planning engagements.
The choice between a trust and a foundation depends primarily on the client's family background and the jurisdictions involved. Clients from common law jurisdictions, the UK, Australia, South Africa, and British-influenced African states, typically find the trust concept familiar and well-recognised. Clients from civil law jurisdictions, France, the Netherlands, Brazil, the UAE, often prefer a foundation, which is a concept their domestic legal systems recognise and accommodate more readily. Both structures can achieve equivalent succession planning outcomes; the right choice depends on individual circumstances and should be made following a thorough analysis by Aurevya's advisory team.
Business succession requires both structural and human dimensions to be addressed. Structurally, the business is typically held beneath a holding company which is itself owned by a trust or foundation, enabling the business to transfer across generations without triggering a change of ownership at the operating level. Shareholder agreements address the rights and obligations of family shareholders, including governance, dividend policy, and the mechanics of transfer. On the human side, family governance frameworks, and family councils, provide the forum for decision-making and for managing the inevitable differences of opinion between family members who may have different levels of involvement in the business.
Dying without a succession plan, or without a will, means your assets will be distributed according to the intestacy laws of each jurisdiction in which you hold assets, which may not reflect your wishes. Jointly held assets may automatically pass to the surviving co-owner; assets held in your personal name will be subject to probate in each relevant jurisdiction. Probate can be expensive, time-consuming, and very public. For high-net-worth families with assets in multiple countries, the absence of a plan can expose the estate to significant tax liabilities, family disputes, and administrative complexity that could have been entirely avoided with proper planning.
Mauritius structures can provide significant protection against home country inheritance laws, particularly where assets are validly transferred to a trust or foundation during the settlor's lifetime. However, the effectiveness of this protection varies by jurisdiction and depends on factors including the settlor's domicile, the timing and circumstances of the transfer, and the specific anti-avoidance provisions of the home country's law. In some jurisdictions, courts have successfully clawed back assets transferred to offshore structures where forced heirship rights were defeated. Aurevya always provides a frank assessment of the protection available and the residual risks before any planning is implemented.
The most effective tool for preventing family disputes is clarity, of intentions, of structures, and of governance. A well-drafted family constitution, combined with transparent communication about the succession plan during the founder's lifetime, dramatically reduces the scope for disputes after death. Binding legal structures, trusts, foundations, shareholder agreements with dispute resolution clauses, provide the enforcement mechanism if communication alone is insufficient. Aurevya facilitates family governance conversations as part of its succession advisory practice, helping families navigate difficult conversations and reach consensus on governance and distribution principles before the founder's death makes those conversations impossibly contentious.

Continue Exploring

Related Services

Trusts
The cornerstone of common law succession planning, a Mauritius trust provides flexible, tax-efficient asset protection and wealth transfer for high-net-worth families.
Learn More →
Non-Charitable Foundations
For civil law families, a private foundation offers the same succession benefits as a trust, with the advantage of full legal personality and civil law recognition.
Learn More →
Single Family Office
An SFO provides the co-ordinated infrastructure to manage and execute the family's succession plan, integrating investment management, governance, and family administration.
Learn More →

Begin Planning Your Family's Legacy Today

The best succession plans are built with time, not under pressure. Speak with our advisers before the urgency arises.

Request a Consultation