Private Wealth Tax Lawyer: Structuring, Passing On, Securing
Alphard Law advises individuals, executives and families on the tax structuring of their wealth, with particular attention to situations involving a cross-border dimension: assets held abroad, residence outside France, dual-national families, foreign structures. Our approach rests on one constant principle: a wealth structure is only worth having if it remains defensible years later, before a tax inspector as much as before the heirs.
Structuring how assets are held
The choice of vehicle governs everything that follows. Direct ownership, a French société civile, a company subject to corporate income tax, split ownership between usufruct and bare ownership, a French or Luxembourg life insurance policy, a holding company: each mode of ownership carries distinct consequences for income taxation, capital gains, the French real estate wealth tax (IFI) and transmission. Those consequences must be assessed over the life of the wealth, not the current financial year, and grow more complex as soon as a cross-border element is added, whether the owner's residence, the location of the assets or the nationality of the beneficiaries.
Real estate and the IFI. The firm handles questions of base and valuation for the French real estate wealth tax, ownership through companies, the deductibility of debts, and the specific position of non-residents owning French property, liable to the IFI on their French real estate alone and to the levy of Article 244 bis A of the French Tax Code on disposal.
Passing wealth on
Transmission is the moment when structuring choices produce their effects, favourable or otherwise. We advise on gifts and shared gifts (donations-partages), split-ownership arrangements, Dutreil arrangements for business transfers, whose formalism and holding commitments are a recurring source of reassessments, life insurance and its distinct tax regime, and the coordination of all of these with the matrimonial property regime. Transfers with an international dimension are covered on our international estate planning page.
Securing cross-border situations
A significant part of our private wealth practice concerns situations that purely domestic advisers handle poorly: taxpayers holding trusts or foundations (Articles 1649 AB and 792-0 bis of the French Tax Code), French residents benefiting from foreign structures, non-residents owning French property, families spread across several jurisdictions, expatriates preparing a departure or a return. These files call for a dual competence, private wealth and international, which is precisely the firm's, and often extend onto the ground of expatriation and voluntary disclosure of foreign assets.
Our method
We quantify before we recommend: income taxation, exit cost, transmission cost, under each scenario considered and in each jurisdiction concerned. We rule out arrangements whose only justification would be tax, not out of excessive caution but from experience of litigation: what has no substance does not survive close scrutiny, and the taxpayer alone bears the consequences. Every engagement produces a written, sourced analysis documenting the choices made and their rationale.
Frequently asked questions
Should wealth be held directly or through a company?
There is no general answer: direct ownership is simple and inexpensive, corporate ownership brings flexibility in management and transmission but creates its own tax constraints, particularly on exit. The trade-off depends on the nature of the assets, the holding horizon, income needs, the number of people involved and, in cross-border situations, on how each state treats the chosen vehicle. That last point is regularly overlooked and produces the most expensive surprises.
Are Dutreil arrangements risky?
The regime itself is entirely safe; its implementation is less so. The collective and individual holding commitments, the conditions attached to holding a management position and the reporting obligations are formalistic, and failing to meet them, even in good faith, causes the partial exemption to be withdrawn, often years after the transfer. A Dutreil arrangement must be prepared, documented and monitored over time.
I am a non-resident owning property in France: which taxes apply?
You are taxable in France on French-source rental income, liable to the IFI if the net value of your French real estate exceeds the statutory threshold, and subject to the levy of Article 244 bis A of the French Tax Code on disposal. The tax treaty between France and your country of residence organises the interaction with your home taxation, but never removes French taxation on property situated in France.
Is a Luxembourg life insurance policy worth it?
It offers genuine advantages for significant and mobile wealth: asset protection through the Luxembourg security triangle, a wider choice of underlying investments, and portability if residence changes. It confers no specific tax advantage on a French resident, who remains taxed under French life insurance rules, and it carries its own French reporting obligations. It is a wealth planning tool, not an exemption tool.
At what level of wealth should I consult a tax lawyer?
It is a question of complexity rather than of amount. Modest wealth spread across two countries, or including a trust or a foreign company, warrants advice; substantial but purely French and simply structured wealth can be handled by a notary or a wealth manager. The relevant trigger is the cross-border element, a family business, or a mobility plan.
Do you wish to structure or pass on your wealth? Contact Alphard Law for a confidential initial discussion.