Family Owned Business & Estate Planning Advisory Practice
As CM Advocates Family Business Advisory Practice, our goal is to offer our customers top-notch legal and business solutions that secures the integrity of the family, its assets and enterprise for the current and future generations. Each family is unique. Therefore, apart from meeting every client’s unique needs, we focus our efforts on safeguarding stability and unity among family members because our goal is to assure the ongoing vitality of the family as well as the continued viability of the enterprise.
We draw from our multidisciplinary team of real estate, family law, probate and succession, corporate law, commercial law and tax law to offer practical and business critical advice on all potential legal and business aspects and complexities.
We assist many closely held and family businesses at all stages of growth and development. We have consistently guided family owned business entities through successful business transitions.
Family businesses present unique legal needs and CM Advocates and its associated businesses provide a complete suite of legal and business advisory services responsive to those unique needs. Our diverse team achieve favorable conclusions by developing appropriate succession strategies, managing execution of the plan, and devising methods to address challenges effectively.
COMPREHENSIVE FAMILY BUSINESS AND SUCCESSION PLANNING ADVISORY
Our approach to family businesses and succession planning includes identifying the most efficient means to holding assets and investments, ascertaining appropriate succession plan and tools and determining the optimal timing of the transition. Tax and estate planning strategies are reviewed and assessed in order to minimize the income and capital gain taxes implications.
CM Advocates offers legal advisory and guidance on several issues that may arise in the context of family owned businesses and succession planning:
- Business counselling
- Registration of assets or investment holding companies in Kenya or offshore jurisdictions
- Sale of family business enterprises
- Mergers, acquisitions and divestitures and other share deals
- Advising family –owned business on setting of effective boards
- Drafting of a Shareholders’ agreement for Family-Owned companies
- Transfer of family properties to a family holding company (for ease of administration and tax efficiency)
- Tax advisory services including processing tax exemptions (where applicable)
- Transfer of family properties to a family company or between associated companies
- Preparation of the Group Structure (where there are more than one companies)
- Drafting of a Family Charter or Constitution
- Preparation of Board Charter for Family-Owned companies
- Aligning your company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association to the shareholders’ agreement
- Compliance and company secretarial matters
- Corporate governance advisory including planning and executing a Succession Planning Strategy
- Offering Trustee’s or nominee(s) services
- Advising on labour and employment matters including HR Manual, Policy on Employment of Employment of family members
- Advising on senior management or directors’ contracts and their remuneration structure
- Preparation of local and foreign Wills
- Set up of family trust(s)
- Helping in establishment of a Family Office
- Registration of Family foundation or Charity
- Equity incentives for family owners and non-family employees
- Retirement planning;
- Minority shareholders protection
- Dispute Resolution.
