Destination First

Beginning a succession process with tax, accounting, and legal considerations is like setting the sails before charting the course. These instruments, while indispensable, are meant to serve the voyage, not to dictate it. When they take precedence, the process risks becoming a sterile exercise in compliance and optimisation, losing sight of the far more delicate and enduring work of preparing heirs, preserving harmony, and defining the legacy that will hold the family together. The result may be a technically flawless construct, yet one adrift without a true destination.

In succession, vision must precede structure. The family must first come together to decide where it wishes to go, who will be entrusted with the helm, and what values will guide the journey across generations. Only then should the legal, fiscal, and accounting frameworks be shaped to protect and fortify that vision. To reverse the order is to craft an elegant vessel with no compass, a polished form devoid of the substance and soul it was intended to carry forward.

W.