The first step is an in-depth meeting between our advisor and the family.

• I listen to their story: origin of the assets (family business, financial investments, real estate, inheritance), their projects, their values.
• I clarify their objectives: to preserve capital, ensure stable income, prepare for transfer and often, avoid conflicts between heirs.
• I distinguish between the needs of the current generation (liquidity, comfort, security) and those of future generations (sustainability, fairness, governance).

It is a human, almost psychological step: it is about understanding what heritage represents beyond the numbers.

I then proceed with a comprehensive mapping of the heritage:

• Financial assets (portfolios, cash).
• Real assets (real estate, company shares, collectibles).
• Potential liabilities (loans, guarantees).
• Current legal organization (contracts, companies, life insurance).

The goal is to obtain a clear and consolidated snapshot of the heritage.

Based on this financial assessment, an implementation budget is drawn up and proposed to the client, who can still withdraw at this stage without financial impact. The trade-off for this flexibility is that we are quite selective in choosing our clients.

Once the diagnosis is established, I propose a target architecture that addresses multi-generational challenges:

• A holding company (often a Luxembourg S.à rl or SA): it groups together financial assets and investments.
• Real estate civil companies (SCI) or SPV: they isolate real estate assets.
• Luxembourg life insurance contracts: they offer a flexible, protected and transferable investment vehicle with a beneficiary clause.
• Legal mechanisms of transmission: dismemberment (usufruct/bare ownership), inheritance agreements, staggered donations.
• Family charter / family council: a non-legally binding document, but essential for defining common rules (values, decision-making process, long-term vision).

Each element of the structure plays a specific role: protection, transmission, tax optimization, financial management, governance.

A multi-generational structure can only succeed if all generations of decision-making age participate.

I bring together the prospective heirs and organize educational workshops: understanding the heritage, its risks, its value, the expectations one can have of it, how their perception is likely to evolve over time.

We are discussing the balance between fairness and efficiency, between preferences and relevance: some heirs may be involved in the management, others not, some are inclined towards growth, others towards immediate benefits.

We are collectively drafting a governance charter that defines:

• the role of each member,
• the composition of the family council,
• the rules for exiting or transferring shares,
• the principles of reinvestment and income distribution.

I coordinate with lawyers, notaries, tax specialists, bankers, and brokerage firms to:

• Create the decided legal structures (holding, SCI, SPV).
• Make asset contributions (contributions in kind, sales, donations).
• Subscribe to and configure life insurance contracts.
• Formalize the agreements and inheritance clauses.
• Install consolidated reporting tools (overall view of assets).

Everything is designed so that the structure is functional, controlled and adaptive.

A family office or a multi-generational heritage structure is never fixed: it must be monitored, maintained and possibly adapted.

• Each year, we hold a family council to validate strategic decisions.
• We are reassessing asset allocations and testing resilience to crises.
• We adjust the legal mechanisms according to changes in tax and inheritance rules.
• We are gradually integrating the new generation, with financial and wealth management training.

My role as an advisor is to make the family understand that heritage is not just a financial asset:

• It is a cultural and moral heritage,
• A tool for intergenerational cohesion,
• Potential for development and growth
• A responsibility towards future generations.

The heritage structure is the invisible bridge that allows us to transform today's wealth into a lasting and fruitful legacy for tomorrow.