Is a family office of one’s own worthwhile?

A family office for a single family is often only worthwhile from €30–50 million under management. Below that, shared family offices split the costs, or a combination of a private bank and an independent advisory board carries it better.

Is a foundation the right tool?

Only if the estate is meant to be bound across generations and the next generation carries that bond. Below around €5 million the administrative costs can exceed the returns.

How do I involve the next generation without overwhelming them?

Through a family advisory board with a seat and a voice, years of apprenticeship outside the family, and a jointly developed family charter — and by avoiding overwhelming expectations and speechlessness.

Why is tax advice alone not enough?

Because most later conflicts come from the narrative layer — unspoken recognition, speechlessness, the question of meaning. A mediator or therapist is at least as important here as the notary.

Knowledge · Guide · German law applies

When the estate weighs more — ordering larger estates.

What heirs to larger estates can think ahead — measured, ordered, in their own time. When the estate is meant to hold across several generations and the question shifts from tax to generations and identity.

Read the full guide · 11 pp.

Updated: June 2026 · General orientation, not legal or tax advice in the individual case (§ 3 RDG, § 4 StBerG)

In these constellations the question “What to do with the inheritance?” shifts from a matter of tax and administration to one of generations and identity. What endures, because it is passed on — ordered, measured, with care. There is no reason to hurry; what has to be sorted can be sorted step by step.

The financial layer (balance-sheet values, payment flows, tax burdens) is the only one banks see in full — and the smallest. The organisational layer (who decides, who holds powers of attorney, who works with which adviser) has often grown without ever having had an organisational chart. The narrative layer (what the estate stands for) is the largest — and the one that is given room least often in advisory conversations, even though it produces the most conflict.

Three models, honestly side by side. A family office (for one family or for several) handles assets, tax and law from a single source — a family office for one family alone is often only worthwhile from €30–50 million under management. The private bank offers institutional security but possible conflicts of interest — an honest one discloses its remuneration model. An independent advisory board or a fee-based adviser advises without conflict of interest, but without operational execution. Many families combine two or three.

A foundation helps when the estate is meant to be held together across generations and the next generation carries that bond with you. It becomes a burden when the purpose is not shared or the administrative costs exceed the returns (a real risk below an asset base of €5 million). Three forms: the charitable foundation (tax-favoured, little family participation), the family foundation (family purposes) and the complex double foundation. A considered pace is fitting here, not a quick commitment.

Three ways, without overwhelming: a family advisory board, in which the next generation, from about 18–25 years of age, learns with a seat and a voice, without immediately bearing responsibility; years of apprenticeship outside the family, often more valuable than any direct appointment; and a family charter that records values and ground rules. To be avoided: overwhelming expectations, ossified structures, speechlessness.

The conflicts are often not economic but emotional and biographical: the unspoken recognition for years of contribution; the speechlessness between generations; and the question of meaning — what the estate stands for. Here a family mediator or therapist is at least as important as the tax adviser. They sort layers that money does not resolve. Where the handover is intertwined with a business, Company and family home at once is the next anchor.

Family office (Familienbüro): An organisation that handles assets, tax, law and accounting for one or several families from a single source.
Family charter (Familien-Charta): A non-binding document that records a family’s values and ground rules — usually the most important family gathering of a generation.
Family foundation (Familienstiftung): A foundation for family purposes — no charitable tax relief, but structural advantages in binding the estate together.
Fee-based adviser (Honorarberaterin): A wealth adviser who receives her remuneration as a fixed fee, not as a volume-dependent commission — without conflict of interest.

Is a family office of one’s own worthwhile?: A family office for a single family is often only worthwhile from €30–50 million under management. Below that, shared family offices split the costs, or a combination of a private bank and an independent advisory board carries it better.
Is a foundation the right tool?: Only if the estate is meant to be bound across generations and the next generation carries that bond. Below around €5 million the administrative costs can exceed the returns.
How do I involve the next generation without overwhelming them?: Through a family advisory board with a seat and a voice, years of apprenticeship outside the family, and a jointly developed family charter — and by avoiding overwhelming expectations and speechlessness.
Why is tax advice alone not enough?: Because most later conflicts come from the narrative layer — unspoken recognition, speechlessness, the question of meaning. A mediator or therapist is at least as important here as the notary.