11 Jun How high net worth family lawyers work with wealth advisors, accountants and private client teams.
Article summary: Wealthy couples often have complex financial arrangements in place, such as family trusts, business interests and overseas investments. Whether you’re getting married, estate planning or going through a separation/divorce, your legal team should have a network of experts at their fingertips.
In this article:
- Why is collaboration important for high-net-worth family lawyers?
- How lawyers work with wealth advisors
- How lawyers work with accountants
- How lawyers work with private client teams
- Toomey’s high-net-worth family lawyers can support you
Many couples will need the services of a family lawyer at some stage of their lives. Whether that’s to arrange a pre-nup or financial agreement, to assist with the drafting of wills or even guidance on a separation or divorce.
However, if you’re a high-net-worth couple, you’re more likely than most to need the expertise of high-net-worth experts, like family lawyers, wealth advisors, accountants and private client teams. That’s because you have more resources to consider and protect. And you’ll also want to ensure that your team can work and collaborate well to achieve the best outcomes for your situation.
Why is collaboration important for high-net-worth family lawyers?
High-net-worth couples often have complicated financial arrangements in place. These could include family trusts, business interests, overseas assets, SMSF investments, inheritances, lottery wins, cryptocurrency and more.
Depending on the services you require, a good family lawyer will work closely with specialised experts, such as wealth advisors, accountants, and private client teams, to better protect these resources.
For example, during a property settlement, you may need a forensic accountant to identify hidden assets in the shared pool. When estate planning, you may want your lawyer to work with your wealth advisor. And you may already work with a private client team, but need the jurisdictional expertise of a local family lawyer when drafting a pre-nup or going through a divorce.
Ensuring your lawyer can work productively with specialists as needed does more than just add expertise. It can change your outcomes. For example, collaboration ensures that all your assets are properly identified, accurately valued and structured in a way that protects your long-term position. A properly built team can also reduce the risk of costly oversights, helps to make resolution pathways easier should you need them and support strategic decision making.
In practical terms, this means you can see what you have and how to better protect it than ever, leading to a more controlled, confident future for you and your family.
The different experts you should consider as part of your team
There are many experts that you should be considering as part of your team as a high-net-worth individual or couple, in addition to your family lawyers. But in particular, these should include wealth advisors, accountants and private client teams. Here’s how we work together.
How lawyers work with wealth advisors
While family lawyers are your trusted experts in legal issues, a wealth advisor can bring a unique perspective to financial matters.
There are many instances where high-net-worth family lawyers and wealth advisors will collaborate. These can include taxation issues, estate planning, property settlement, child custody issues, financial agreements and more.
For example, in a property settlement following a high net worth divorce, a wealth advisor will be able to guide a family lawyer on the best ways to minimise their client’s tax liabilities when selling and dividing assets.
Wealth advisors specialise in helping their clients to grow, manage and sometimes transfer their resources. They have an intimate understanding of taxation and risk management. They also orchestrate long-term wealth-creation and protection strategies to achieve their client’s individual goals. Most importantly, when a wealth advisor is on your team, they also understand exactly what you have, where it is, how it’s structured and more.
Wealth advisors and family lawyers can work closely to make your assets work hard for you, minimise liabilities and protect your family’s financial future.
How lawyers work with accountants
While wealth advisors specialise in future growth and protection strategies, accountants have a slightly different focus.
Accountants are skilled at managing taxation, financial reporting and compliance. They also help their clients structure their assets to minimise liabilities and achieve the best financial outcomes.
Accountants are particularly helpful to high-net-worth family lawyers in property settlement matters. They can help with identifying and valuing all assets and liabilities in the couple’s shared pool.
If a client suspects financial misconduct by their ex-partner, a forensic accountant can also collect and analyse financial data to search for hidden assets. This could include secret bank accounts, overseas investments or hidden assets.
Accountants also have a deep understanding of taxation consequences and can advise on the division of assets to minimise the client’s capital gains tax.
How lawyers work with private client teams
Private client – or ‘private wealth’ – teams are advisors that provide personalised legal and financial services to high-net-worth individuals and families with a focus on estate planning and wealth protection. Many people work with a team connected to their primary bank, but others use independent firms or family offices instead.
Private client teams are typically used in sensitive or private matters, often across multiple jurisdictions. They can help with inter-generational wealth protection, succession planning for family businesses, family trusts, estate planning, disputes and much more.
A good family lawyer will be able to confer and collaborate with a private client team to achieve the best results for their client. This working relationship can provide a client with a holistic, seamless service across various matters.
A lawyer and private client team may work together on complex wealth creation and protection strategies. It is crucial for all parties to uphold privacy and discretion in these matters.
Toomey’s high-net-worth family lawyers can support you
High-net-worth family matters rarely fall within a single discipline or area of expertise. As lawyers, we often benefit from input from your wealth advisors, accountants, and private client teams to ensure the full picture is understood and protected.
At Toomey Family Law, we’re confident and proud of our team’s high level of success in family law matters, particularly in our work with high-net-worth individuals. Our team works respectfully and effectively alongside other experts and is happy to seek collaboration in these specialised fields as needed.
We have access to a wide pool of trusted wealth advisors, accountants and private client teams, and can recommend a trustworthy specialist or work alongside your chosen experts to achieve the best outcome for you and your family.
If you’re searching for a team of high-net-worth family lawyers who can work effectively with other experts to achieve the best results for you, contact Toomey Family Law today.