Family Office Services

Michael Best’s Strategic Advisory Services are a key aspect of our approach and offer added value for family offices. We work with your leadership team and other advisors to help you define growth strategies, identify targeted investment opportunities, and create a roadmap to achieve your business objectives.

A successful family office requires strategic planning and thoughtful design. Michael Best can support you at every stage—from initial vision through setup and ongoing operations. We advise on legal and tax structures, regulatory compliance, talent management, philanthropic and investment strategies, privacy and data protection, and much more.

We assist family-owned businesses with planning for the future. Clients turn to our attorneys for their insight on creating and managing trusts, and for counsel on transitions including next-generation owners, corporate entities, and shareholder and buy/sell agreements. We also provide leadership coaching, networking, and educational resources.

We help clients prepare and manage plans for the protection and distribution of their assets. Our services in this area include establishing wills and trusts, managing tax considerations, and navigating family and corporate structures.

Our team is knowledgeable in planning structures and tools to support philanthropic goals that are beneficial to charities and to you. From helping to establish a charitable trusts or private foundations through simple bequests in a will, we will help to ensure consideration of income tax and estate tax deduction, tax exemption and compliance, and gift restriction design, as well as alignment with your values.

Marital property planning can present unique challenges. Michael Best’s team is familiar with state marital property laws, and our expertise includes pre- and post-marital agreements, titling of assets, and other planning considerations.

Michael Best assists clients with planning structures and tools to support retirement goals. We advise on qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, stock option issuance and exercise, retirement distribution planning, and deferred compensation, helping our clients plan for exiting the workforce confidently.

Insurance is a critical component of financial planning. We advise on irrevocable life insurance trusts, split-dollar plans, and beneficiary designations. We also work with your advisors who can provide analysis of life, disability, and long-term care insurance, to ensure best options are utilized.

We are skilled in dispute resolution, and we have a successful track record of achieving favorable results. We represent clients in contested matters such as tax audits and litigation, will contests, trust litigation, estate and trust accountings, and government investigations.

As a value-added service, we offer roundtables that bring together family office clients to share ideas, opportunities, and market trends. We’ve curated meetings that include individuals such as the family of one of the world’s largest retailers, one of the largest private employers in the U.S., and the family office of a U.S. Governor.

Our Venture Best group is dedicated to serving entrepreneurs and investors. We’ve also been in those roles, giving us firsthand insight. We advise family offices on structuring, forming, and operating all types of investment funds. In addition, we counsel family-owned businesses and portfolio companies on entity formation, financing, and other needs as they grow.

Michael Best’s Corporate group provides strategic legal counsel throughout the entire business lifecycle. We advise on corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, financing, contract negotiations, technology planning, and more.

Michael Best’s Intellectual Property group helps clients of all sizes protect and monetize their IP, from startups to global brands. We have 150+ lawyers and IP professionals. In addition to traditional patent and trademark work, we advise on advertising and promotions, internet issues, entertainment law, licensing, and technology agreements.

Michael Best’s highly ranked Labor & Employment Relations group has experience with all kinds of employers and workforces. We frequently help clients establish effective employment policies and practices, including employee benefit plans, executive compensation, and talent management strategies. We also advise on the selection of appropriate service providers for benefits and other employment-related needs.

Governmental decisions are often critical to business success. Michael Best’s Government Relations & Political Law group has the expertise and relationships to represent and advocate for clients in the lawmaking and regulatory process. We know how agendas are set and decisions are made in the legislative and administrative arms of government. We leverage this understanding to help our clients define, shape, and navigate governmental decisions to obtain positive outcomes more quickly. We also advise on legal issues and regulatory compliance related to political campaign finance, election laws, corporate advocacy, ethics, lobbying and political advocacy, and tax impacts.