Private Client

Family Wealth

Farella Braun + Martel's Family Wealth Group assists individuals, families, family businesses and fiduciaries to conceive and implement sophisticated personal wealth transfer and business succession planning.  Many of the group's clients are associated with businesses represented by the firm and, therefore, reflect the diverse industries that Farella serves. This association provides an understanding of the business and personal issues unique to entrepreneurs and to multi-generational family businesses. We also represent both individual and corporate fiduciaries, including many national and regional bank and trust companies.

The practice is grounded in our appreciation of the needs of families and family enterprises. This appreciation is supported by our knowledge of tax law and the laws of business entities. The Family Wealth Group's lawyers are adept in the continually changing federal, state and international tax laws and their implications. We are versed in gift and estate taxes, generation-skipping transfer taxes and fiduciary income taxes. While every succession plan is unique to the individual needs of the family, business or both, our sophisticated counsel melds a client's personal needs and desires to current state and federal regulations. 

Family Business from Generation to Generation

We work with our clients to design and implement plans for business succession and changes in management and ownership of family businesses. The long-term health of a business requires simultaneous, careful attention to its needs as well as those of the family. Business needs include planning for management, transition and the near- and long-term liquidity requirements of the business. The needs of family include equitable treatment of family members, consideration of the needs of the management and non-management members, planning to implement charitable goals, and planning for personal liquidity needs during life and to satisfy estate tax burdens.

Wealth Transfer and Protection of Assets

We have extensive experience in all phases of estate succession planning to protect individual and family wealth from excess state and federal taxation, and from third parties. A plan may include preparation of wills and trusts, developing a strategy for minimizing and funding estate tax liabilities, and the formation of family limited partnerships, corporations, limited liability companies, private foundations, and other entities relating to the ownership and transfer of family wealth, as well as asset protection. Our attorneys prepare revocable and irrevocable living trusts, charitable split-interest trusts, life insurance trusts and trusts for minors, grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), intentionally defective grantor income trusts (IDGIT), premarital and post-marital property agreements and durable powers of attorney for health care as well as property management.

Benefits of Foundations and Tax-Exempt Organizations

Farella's Family Wealth Group has extensive experience with formation, management and compliance of non-profit entities, including private foundations, operating foundations and public charities, to qualify and preserve tax exempt status. We have provided counseling and advice on grant-making, self-dealing, excess business holdings, jeopardy investments, benefits plans for a foundation's staff executives, and taxable expenditures. Our success is based on assisting foundations and non-profit entities to meet the goals established by our clients for their philanthropic gifts to endowments and planned giving.

Probate and Litigation Avoidance

Early planning, regular plan review and, more importantly, communication with all related parties is a vital tool to avoid costly, time consuming and destructive post-death squabbles that can destroy families and their businesses. We represent clients in both formal and informal probate procedures relating to the supervision of estate administration and transfer of assets, and we advise on strategies to avoid time-consuming and costly probate procedures and estate litigation.

When disputes and litigation become unavoidable, we have extensive experience representing individuals, family-owned businesses and trust institutions in complex trust, estate and probate litigation. Our experience includes breach of trust claims, accounting challenges, disputes among beneficiaries, trustees and executors, will and trust challenges, creditor claims, undue influence and incapacity and community property claims. We have the knowledge, skills and track record to take these disputes through trial.

Farella's Family Wealth Group is passionate about representing our clients from generation to generation. We develop a deep understanding of the intricacies of their family and its business interests to provide a grounded, focused approach to meeting the needs of the family and the business now and in the years to come.

Firm Highlights

News

Farella Braun + Martel Ranked in Chambers High Net Worth 2023

Farella Braun + Martel is pleased to announce that our Private Client Industry Group and Family Wealth Partner Mark Weaver were recognized in Chambers High Net Worth (HNW) Guide 2023 in the Private Wealth...

Read More
Publication

Charitable Bequests With Guest Stephanie Hood

Welcome to EO Radio Show – Your Nonprofit Legal Resource . I'm delighted to have as my guest Stephanie Hood, my colleague here at Farella Braun + Martel, and a member of our top-notch...

Read More
Event

An Entertaining Look at International Philanthropy in the Netflix Film "Holiday in the Wild"

Join speakers Cynthia Rowland and Hons Yung for a fun look at clips from the Netflix movie Holiday in the Wild  and an engaging conversation about cross-border philanthropy and its immense importance to a...

Read More
Publication

Navigating Charitable Bequests: Risks and Rewards for Early Planning

Charitable bequests are an essential aspect of philanthropic planning for high-net-worth individuals. When engaging in conversations with philanthropic clients, it is crucial to assist them in determining suitable assets for charitable giving. Not all...

Read More
News

Farella Advises K.R. Rombauer in Sale of Rombauer Vineyards

Farella Braun + Martel represented K.R. Rombauer III, a principal owner of Napa Valley’s Rombauer Vineyards, in the sale of the company to E. & J. Gallo’s Luxury Wine Group. E. & J. Gallo’s...

Read More
News

Farella Lawyers Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2024 Edition

Read More
Publication

Navigating Charitable Bequests: Risks and Rewards for Early Planning

Charitable bequests are an essential aspect of philanthropic planning for high net worth individuals. When engaging in conversations with philanthropic clients, it is crucial to help them determine suitable assets for charitable giving. Not...

Read More
Publication

IRS Moves to Target Wealthy Taxpayers in Historic Compliance Drive

This month, the IRS announced that it is using the long-term funding approved by Congress through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to shift its attention to wealthy taxpayers in an effort to “identify sophisticated...

Read More
Publication

Steps for the Long-term Success of Your Brand & Business

Family wineries face certain common issues when it comes to succession planning, and there are steps you can take to help ensure the longevity and success of your brand and business. Step 1 &ndash...

Read More
News

Farella Braun + Martel Attorneys Named to 2023 Northern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

Thirty-eight Farella Braun + Martel lawyers were named to the Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists of top attorneys in Northern California for 2023. 2023 Farella Northern California Super Lawyers: Carly Alameda – Business...

Read More