For Professional Advisors
Help your client
turn advice into action.
When family decisions hold up a succession plan or ownership arrangement, I work alongside you on the legal, governance and relationship questions that need to move forward together.
Start with a general outline. Client names are not needed at the enquiry stage.
When to bring me in
You may already
know the situation.
- The estate or succession plan is ready, but the family cannot agree.
- The founder keeps postponing a transition.
- The next generation has concerns that have not been addressed.
- Ownership or family roles are unclear.
- Your recommendations depend on decisions the family has yet to make.
Anonymised examples from my practice
Different situations.
Considered collaboration.
Each engagement brings together the legal work the client needs and the specialist contribution of their existing advisors.
With an accountantA succession plan that could move forward.A charter and phased leadership transition opened the way for ownership work. The accountant remained the family’s trusted lead advisor.Read the caseClose the case
What was holding things up
A family-owned business was referred by its accountant after succession discussions had repeatedly stalled. The founder associated succession with his own exit, while siblings working in the business had never openly discussed who would lead.
The financial and legal options were workable. Unresolved questions about leadership kept blocking decisions about ownership.
How we worked together
The accountant continued to lead the financial and tax modelling. I facilitated structured family meetings, beginning with governance and roles: the founder’s continuing involvement, how decisions would be made and how the siblings’ contributions would be recognised.
A mediated meeting format gave each sibling space to speak while keeping the founder’s continuing role part of the discussion.
What moved forward
The family agreed a written charter and a phased leadership transition, including a defined advisory role for the founder. The share restructuring and updated wills followed. The accountant remained the family’s trusted lead advisor throughout.
With an insurance agentConnecting insurance with ownership.Buy-sell terms were connected to the insurance arrangements, with tax and valuation input from the accountant. The agent retained the client relationship.Read the caseClose the case
What was holding things up
Two co-founders had life policies but no agreement connecting the cover to what would happen to their shares if one died. They assumed the insurance had resolved the question, while neither wanted to raise the prospect of the surviving founder becoming a business partner with the other’s spouse.
How we worked together
Working alongside the insurance agent, I drafted a shareholders’ agreement with buy-sell provisions addressing death, critical illness, permanent incapacity and voluntary exit. It included an agreed valuation method and periodic review. Tax and valuation input came from the company’s accountant.
The agent aligned policy ownership, beneficiaries and sums assured with the agreement’s funding needs. We reviewed the company’s articles for consistency with the transfer provisions and met the founders together to explain the legal and insurance arrangements side by side.
What moved forward
The founders had agreed transfer terms connected to funding, giving them a clearer route through an owner’s exit and its consequences for the business and family. They agreed to review the valuation and cover regularly. The agent retained the client relationship and increased the cover in line with the funding needs identified.
With a financial advisorA structure for continuity and family provision.A lifetime trust and complementary will addressed the client’s wishes for her family. The advisor retained responsibility for investment management.Read the caseClose the case
What was holding things up
A business owner wanted a structure for her investment portfolio that could support her family beyond her lifetime. She was concerned about estate administration delays and how a child needing support with financial decisions would receive and manage an inheritance.
Updating her will alone did not address the continuing management and family provision she wanted. She also wanted to record her wishes without a difficult family confrontation.
How we worked together
I worked with the financial advisor to establish a discretionary family trust during her lifetime. I drafted the trust deed and a letter of wishes, advised on the choice of trustees and a protector, and prepared a complementary will for assets outside the trust.
The advisor continued to lead the investment strategy and agreed an investment policy with the trustees.
What moved forward
The trust provided a structure for ongoing management of the portfolio beyond the client’s lifetime. Trustees could manage support for the child rather than making an outright lump-sum distribution. The client recorded her wishes in writing, and the advisor retained responsibility for the portfolio within the family’s new arrangements.
Ways to collaborate
Specialist support,
alongside your expertise.
The engagement begins with a clear purpose, an agreed role and an understanding of how our work fits together.
An initial enquiry
Explore the situation and whether family business advisory support would help. Initial enquiries can be made without identifying the client.
A joint client meeting
Open the family questions alongside you, with the client’s agreement and a clearly defined purpose.
A structured Diagnostic
A structured assessment including its consultation, a written report and priorities. A client can start with the Diagnostic or choose it after a focused consultation, before deciding on implementation.
A defined engagement
Work on specific legal, governance or family agreement matters, with responsibilities and scope agreed in advance.
Professional collaboration
Your relationship
deserves care.
I work alongside attorneys, accountants, bankers, trust companies, insurance and wealth advisors.
Clarity about roles.
We agree the contribution I am making and how it fits your existing work.
Communication by agreement.
Updates and information-sharing follow the client’s permission and the agreed engagement arrangements.
Scope and fees discussed upfront.
The proposed work, fee arrangements and responsibilities are established before work begins.
Experience behind the approach
Legal understanding.
A family enterprise perspective.
I bring over 15 years’ experience, combining my work as an attorney with family business and family wealth advisory, mediation and governance.
I am a Trust and Estate Practitioner, a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Chair of the Family Business Association of the Caribbean and author of The Seven Domains of the Family Business.
Explore my backgroundSee selected professional talks
Before introducing a client
Make the next step clear.
Can we speak before I introduce the client?
You can enquire with a general outline without identifying the client. We can then discuss whether further information or a client introduction is appropriate.
How will your role fit alongside mine?
We agree where my specialist input is needed, how it connects to your existing work and how the client will be involved. Any overlap in responsibilities is addressed before we begin.
How are appointment and fees arranged?
We agree who appoints me, the scope and fees, and who receives advice or reports before work begins. Those arrangements reflect the client’s circumstances and the roles of the advisors involved.
Can you provide legal work where another attorney is already involved?
Any proposed legal work requires clear scope and coordination. Where services overlap, roles and responsibilities should be discussed before proceeding.
How does confidentiality work?
Client information, permissions and the intended participants are considered at the start. Please omit client names and identifying details from the initial enquiry.
Discuss the situation.
Define the right support.
Share the issue holding up your client’s plans. A general outline is enough to begin; client names and identifying details are not needed.