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Successful family offices combine financial, philanthropic, legal, and administrative operations and help ensure that family objectives are achieved from generation to generation. These responsibilities create a range of liability risks for the family office entity and its executive and professional staff. With these risks, it is important for fami...

Although malware is predominantly delivered via email, the types of entry points continue to evolve, and many will not be caught by a family office firewall. So, it is crucial to build a first line of defense, and it starts with employee security awareness training, testing, and auditing. Mitigate the cybersecurity risks in the family office by dep...

As family offices grow increasingly complex and manage larger and more varied assets, they are becoming prime targets for a variety of security threats. From this report, learn what family offices can do to protect against the risks, including cybersecurity breaches, theft schemes, and fraud perpetuated by unvetted 'insiders' of the firm.

2020 was a year of diverse risks marked by a global pandemic, a record number of storms, catastrophic wildfires, and ongoing threats to people and property from other perils, including cyber risks. When “unprecedented” is the new norm, there is a need for thoughtful risk management and insurance protection strategies as families and family offices ...

The key to success of any risk management plan is the development of an “all risk” approach that takes the entire family enterprise into account. Through a survey of more than 200 family office executives at single and multi-family offices, an uncovering of some worrying approaches has surfaced around the risks that family offices face, particularl...

The use of a specific ownership structure to provide for the deduction of investment management fees has evolved since 1941 to most recently in 2018 when guidance was provided by the U.S. Tax Court in determining whether the activities of a family investment management company constitute a trade or business. With a review of the details of tha...

Families hire family office staff with the expectation that the office keeps their information, assets, and reputation protected. To safeguard the families’ interests, it’s critical for family offices to ensure that internal controls take the pragmatic approach, starting with four main areas: segregation of duties, transaction volume, managing comp...

In December of 2017, the U.S. Tax Court decided in the Lender Management, LLC v. Commissioner case that deductions that were part of a taxpayer’s trade or business were deductible under Section 162; however, deductions under Section 212 were suspended through tax year 2025. Following the suspension of the 2-percent miscellaneous itemized deduc...

Imagine trying to protect a multi-generational family with 15 households and 25 properties in multiple states—not to mention all their vehicles, collections and personal property. Then there’s liability exposure for dozens of individuals, each with their own unique set of risks. Providing insurance protection for this level of exposure is challengi...

The complex, convergent nature of risks facing high-net-worth families requires family offices to adopt both a holistic and strategic approach to risk management than many have in the past. The ones who can make the change will be best positioned to successfully navigate the challenges that range from overarching trends of growing families to incre...

Family offices, much like the families that need them, are works in progress. You can’t just set up a family office ownership structure and think it won’t need some type of attention in the future. A number of factors, including regulatory changes, could compel you to revisit your ownership structure to ensure it still makes sense. See why it may b...

As family offices expand their technology footprint, cyberattacks are rising. Hackers continue to refine their approaches, but security controls and proactive planning can strengthen your family office cybersecurity defenses. Initially, focus on the key action items to validate your existing security setup and inform your plans to address any short...

Cybersecurity is a known and growing risk that all family offices need to address. The potential of a cybersecurity attack is no longer a matter of whether it will happen, it’s now a matter of when it will happen. During this interview with Brian Lucareli, attorney Jen Urban and co-chair of Cybersecurity & Data Privacy at Foley & Lardner ra...

Single family offices should understand Lender Bagel structures and consider using them if they are not already. Knowledge of this structure has spread like wildfire since the landmark case, Lender Management LLC v. Comm’s. This article equips the reader with an understanding of the core principles of what Lender Bagel structures and how to investi...

As a subset of estate planning, asset protection is an important part of a family office’s risk management strategy. In this video, Chris Mays and Craig Redler discuss various strategies for asset protection, particularly for individuals and businesses facing potential legal claims and financial risks. They explore different structures such as trus...