Wealth and private client

The lawyers who comprise our global wealth and private client practice assist high-net-worth individuals, family offices, closely held businesses and private banks with the complex legal challenges arising from changing tax and property laws and increased regulation. With more than 50 offices worldwide, we are uniquely placed to provide clients with extensive geographical reach and knowledge of tax regimes spanning multiple jurisdictions.

Wealthy families and their advisers require sophisticated legal services across multiple disciplines. Our experience encompasses the full range of issues, including tax planning and controversies, corporate and business law, mergers and acquisitions, estate planning, trusts and estates administration, business succession planning, charitable giving and fiduciary litigation. We are skilled at providing legal advice on will contests, heirship determinations, guardianship contests, cy-près cases, tortious interference with inheritance rights cases, breach of fiduciary duty cases, creditor claims, accountings and trustee removals.

We provide advice to financial institutions in their capacities as trustees, executors, custodians and wealth and investment managers.

We also represent clients with legal aspects of unique and valuable assets, including artwork, jet aircraft, yachts and collectibles.

Our areas of work include

• Art, antiquities and collectibles
• Automobiles, yachts and aviation
• Charitable giving
• Corporate formations and restructurings
• Domestic and international tax advice
• Employment and labor
• Estate planning, including drafting of wills and trusts
• Estate, gift and transfer taxation
• Family disputes
• FATCA compliance
• Immigration law, including citizenship and domiciliation
• Life insurance planning
• Offshore accounts and trusts
• Ownership structures
• Private equity and venture capital
• Private trust company formation
• Real estate investments
• Succession planning
• Tax controversies, audits and reporting obligations
• Tax treaties
• Trusts and estate litigation

Awards and accolades

• Chambers High Net Worth Guide, Canada: Private Wealth Law (Band 1), Chambers and Partners, 2020