Estate documents, structures and succession, read together.
Wills, trusts, insurance and shareholders’ agreements are usually put in place one at a time, years apart, by different professionals. We read them side by side and show where they now conflict.
What we do, and what your lawyer does.
Documents that were sound when drafted stop describing the family once there is a marriage, a divorce, a birth or a sale. Nobody is at fault; nobody was asked to reread them together.
We don’t draft documents or give legal or tax advice. We assemble the current position, test it against what the family now intends, and put the resulting questions to the family’s accountants and lawyers, who make the changes.
What we read, and what we check it against.
Each document is checked against the others and against what the family now intends.
| Document | What we check |
|---|---|
| Wills and powers of attorney | Family events since signing, and whether they agree with the shareholders’ agreement and beneficiary designations. |
| Shareholders’ agreements | What happens to shares on death or exit, and whether the will says the same thing. |
| Trust deeds | What each trust holds, who benefits, who decides, and when it must wind up or be reviewed. |
| Beneficiary designations | Registered plans and insurance, and whether each designation matches the estate plan. |
| Insurance policies | Whether each policy still does what it was bought for, and whether the estate could meet its obligations without a forced sale. |
| Corporate records | Who owns and controls each company as things actually stand, shown in one structure map. |
When the documents need a second reading.
The will predates a marriage, a divorce, a birth, or the sale of the business.
A shareholders’ agreement and the estate plan have never been read side by side.
A significant tax liability would arise on death with no liquidity to meet it.
Trusts exist, but no one is certain what they hold or when they wind up.
Insurance was bought for a reason that no longer applies.
Children are involved in the business to different degrees, and the family hasn’t agreed what fair means.
One short written summary.
The review ends with a document the family can hand to its advisers. It often leads to further work: Investment Management when the estate would need liquidity it doesn’t have, or Next Generation & Legacy when the family needs a way to agree on what is fair.
The summary sets out
What is in place
Where the documents conflict
Where the family is exposed
A recommended order of action
Changes to the documents themselves are made by the family’s lawyers and accountants.