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Family Trusts - Structuring for Family Business
Family Business Harwood Andrews Family Business Harwood Andrews

Family Trusts - Structuring for Family Business

When recommending a structure to conduct a business or hold an investment, advisors should consider a number of issues, primarily the income taxation consequences of the structure, the ability to access applicable capital gains tax reliefs upon a sale of a capital appreciating asset, the asset protection benefits of the recommended structure and how the structure works to ensure that control of the asset passes to the next generation upon death in a succession plan.  Legal and accounting advisors routinely recommend a discretionary trust structure for these purposes. However, it is important to highlight the difficulties that a discretionary trust structure poses in planning for succession and how those difficulties are best addressed.

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