Starting situation
Over many years an entrepreneurial family had built up an estate of around EUR 11.6 million. That estate was spread, however, across various companies set up under different tax structures. There was no sensible offset of profits and losses. At the same time, the grandparents wanted to protect the estate for the long term and align its use clearly with the family's wishes.
Challenge
The existing structure was becoming increasingly opaque. Different family members held authority to represent different companies, decisions were sometimes taken without an agreed strategy. The result was a chaotic structure without clear guiding principles for the future.
Approach
I started by setting up a moderated process inside the family together with the owners. Across several conversations we worked out a shared strategy for handling the family estate and brought the interests of the different generations together.
On that basis we carried out a comprehensive structural reorganisation of the existing companies. The aim was a clear asset architecture that delivers both tax efficiency and long-term asset protection (Vermögensschutz).
Sitting above this structure we then installed a foundation (Stiftung — German family foundation, Familienstiftung) as the binding framework for the entire estate. The foundation's purpose defines precisely how the assets are to be managed, what decisions may be taken and to what extent funds may be used by future generations.
Outcome
After the death of the original owners the structure proved sustainable. The conflict risk that the family had expected was largely avoided because the defined rules of the game gave everyone involved clear orientation and binding limits.