Family and Estate Holding Companies
Protect and organize your family’s assets
A well-structured family holding company can make managing your assets easier, bring forward the succession to your heirs, and reduce future conflicts. Understand how it works, its advantages, and its limits.
Or first understand how a holding company works →How we can help
Estate planning designed for each family
Every estate has a different composition — real estate, corporate interests, financial investments. See common situations we handle:
Family Holding Company
Structuring a holding company to centralize and organize the administration of the family's assets.
Estate Holding Company
Organizing personal assets under a legal entity, with a focus on governance and succession.
Succession Planning
Bringing forward the transfer of assets to heirs, with less cost and conflict than traditional probate.
Donation of Shares with Usufruct
Transferring assets to heirs during one's lifetime, while retaining control and income over the assets.
Reducing Probate Costs
Evaluating structures that may reduce the impact of court costs, fees and ITCMD in probate.
Family and Corporate Governance
Defining clear rules for administering assets among partners and heirs.
Didn’t find your situation? Every estate is unique — tell us about your case.
How it works
A simple first step, free of charge
You tell us about your assets
An initial, free conversation to understand the composition of the assets and the family's objectives.
We assess the most suitable structure
We analyze, together with accountants when necessary, whether a holding company is the most appropriate tool for the case.
You understand the possibilities
We explain the advantages, costs and limits of each structure, without promising tax savings or results.
The firm
Technical legal counsel for estate planning
Schwab Alonso Advogados works on structuring family and estate holding companies, with an individualized analysis of each family’s assets and objectives — always with transparency about the advantages, costs and limits of each structure.
Learn about the firmFrequently asked questions
Questions we hear often
What is a family holding company?
It's a legal entity set up to centralize the administration of a family's assets — real estate, corporate interests, financial investments, and other assets. Heirs come to hold shares or quotas in this company, rather than owning the assets directly, which tends to make management and succession planning easier.
Does an estate holding company reduce inheritance tax (ITCMD)?
In some structures, donating shares during one's lifetime, with a reserved right of usufruct, can generate savings compared to traditional probate, depending on the state ITCMD legislation and how the transaction is structured. It isn't an automatic rule: the tax benefit depends on a technical analysis of the specific case, together with a lawyer and an accountant.
What assets can be placed into a holding company?
In general, real estate, interests in other companies, financial investments and other assets can be contributed to the holding company's share capital. The feasibility and the method of contributing each asset depend on its nature and the corporate structure chosen.
Does a holding company replace probate?
Not entirely. Assets already held by the company, with shares donated to heirs during the owners' lifetime, tend not to go through probate — but assets kept outside the structure, or acquired after it is set up, may still be subject to the standard probate process. That's why a holding company is usually part of a broader succession plan, not a standalone solution.
If you want to organize or protect your family's assets, talk to our team
The first conversation is free of charge and helps us understand the goals of your plan.