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As the family office sector evolves fund structures are becoming increasingly relevant and beneficial to manage the assets within the family. Many of the usual considerations for fund managers are equally valid for family offices.This article describes the several potential fund structures that:Provide a recognised and well established legal framew...

Plante Moran provides an in-depth look at password security and sheds light on some of the hacking tools out there. These tools are far better at guessing than you may imagine and, at rates of up to billions of guesses per second, much more persistent.So, what are our options? How can we combat this rising issue?No password is uncrackable. Given en...

The loss of a spouse to either death or divorce is one of the most traumatic experiences anyone can go through. Life will change irrevocably in many ways for the surviving spouse or separated partners. This article reviews often-neglected steps that may lessen the burden and financial issues that you and/or your spouse may face when this painful lo...

It is frequently suggested that that family offices should mimic institutions and adopt an institutionally disciplined and process-oriented approach when managing their investment portfolios. Through a process-oriented approach, institutions and family offices can be more effective and produce more efficient long-term results.While this concept is ...

Case management, a new concept in the addiction and behavioral health field, can significantly increase the likelihood of sustained recovery for individuals who suffer from chronic diseases such as alcoholism, drug dependence, depression and other addictive and behavioral disorders.

Supportive and knowledgeable family members can be very influential in supporting a loved one’s recovery from addiction. With the help of a trusted addiction counselor, families can become “positive enablers” by developing a long-term recovery management plan, looking for effective treatment and identifying sources of leverage for...

In this news alert, the author, Perkins Coie, highlights that the SEC is expected to allow two separate exemptive orders being sought from the Family Office Rule with respect to distaff members of a family under the Investment Advisors Act.Because the distaff issue has the potential to affect so many single-family offices, the author believes this ...

The US Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion issued June 19, 2014, implemented a new standard for courts to employ in determining if a taxpayer may challenge whether the Internal Revenue Service has issued a summons in good faith. In light of the Service’s new procedures for administering Information Document Requests, including the potential...

For family members working in the business, the area of compensation overlaps with contentious considerations of fairness, equality, performance-management and long term engagement. This artcle itemises how families have approached this issue, and advocates some pathways to avoid disharmony.

The validity of a corporation’s S election is a primary consideration with respect to federal and state tax return compliance and due diligence efforts. For an S election to be valid, a corporation must satisfy strict eligibility requirements. Among these requirements, a corporation must (1) have no more than 100 shareholders, (2) have only p...

This case study, coauthored by Pitcairn and Oakbrook Solutions, discusses the value proposition of data architecture to the Pitcairn family office. With many family offices striving to provide better quality client reporting experiences, this study will provide lessons learned and some insight on the value of client data and its stewardship a...

Family offices are complicated because of the scope of services they deliver, the high number and complexity of entities they oversee and the staff they must manage. These complexities can open the door to liability. Employing consistent policies and procedures, establishing an annual entity review process, maximizing protection provided by indemni...

One of the things we’ve learned is that a family contract can be a valuable tool to help families build trust and avoid conflicts. We’ve also found that for a contract to work well, everyone who signs the contract should have a say in how the contract is written. That doesn’t mean you will get everything you want and, as you proba...

Information security in the family office context needs to a collaborative effort between the family, the office, and any intertwined vendors. This article from Plante Moran’s IT security consulting group discusses key factors in improving the security of the family office’s confidential information.

Many business managers include arbitration provisions in their companies’ contracts. The prevailing philosophy being that arbitration is preferable to traditional litigation via the court system because it’s private, speedier and less expensive. Under certain circumstances, however, a party may prefer to litigate a particular dispute in...