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Masterclass

Masterclass: Lessons From India's Leading Family Offices on Tax and Estate Structuring

A masterclass for senior HNIs, family office principals, and the advisers who serve them. It studies how India's leading family offices actually structure wealth: which holding vehicle owns what, why a private family trust sits at the centre of most modern structures, how the Hindu Undivided Family still earns its place, and how a family investment company, an LLP, or an AIF feeder is chosen for a given asset. It then works through the tax mechanics that drive those choices, from capital gains and dividend tax across vehicles to gift tax under Section 56, clubbing, GAAR, and the LRS and RBI rules that govern offshore holdings. The estate half covers wills, nominations, trusts, and succession in a country with no estate duty today but a live debate about one tomorrow, including cross-border heirs and NRI beneficiaries. Every chapter closes with the practical decisions a smaller family can copy, and the ones it should not.

Family OfficesPrivate TrustsHUFHolding CompaniesGift TaxEstate PlanningSuccessionCross-Border Wealth

MODULES

6

DURATION

~4.5 hrs

TRACK

Tax & Wealth Planning

What You'll Master

Map the holding structure of a modern Indian family office: trust, holding company, LLP, HUF, and individual accounts, and what each layer is for

Compute the after-tax return of the same investment held through an individual, an HUF, a company, and a trust, and see why vehicle choice matters

Apply Section 56 gift tax, clubbing under Section 64, and the relative exemption correctly before moving assets between family members

Design a private family trust for an Indian family, including settlor, trustee, and beneficiary choices and the tax residency of the trust

Draft a succession plan that survives an estate duty reintroduction, a family dispute, and an heir living abroad

Decide which family office practices are worth copying at a smaller scale and which are expensive theatre

Access Level

LEARNER

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Everything included

Full Text Playbooks

Actionable Exercises

Mobile Reading Mode

Lifetime Updates

Curriculum Breakdown

Chapter 1: What a Family Office Actually Does

3 Lessons

The Indian Family Office Landscape: From Business Families to Startup Founders11 min read

The Three Jobs of a Family Office: Preserve, Grow, Transfer10 min read

Anatomy of a Family Office Structure: Trust, Holding Company, LLP, HUF, and Individuals12 min read

Chapter 2: Choosing the Holding Vehicle

4 Lessons

Individual Versus Company Versus Trust: The Same Portfolio, Three Tax Bills12 min read

The Hindu Undivided Family as a Wealth Vehicle: What It Still Does Well11 min read

Family Investment Companies and LLPs: When Corporate Wrappers Earn Their Cost11 min read

AIFs, PMS, and Direct Holdings: How Family Offices Access Private Markets11 min read

Chapter 3: Moving Wealth Within the Family Without Triggering Tax

4 Lessons

Gift Tax Under Section 56: The Relative Exemption and Its Traps11 min read

Clubbing Provisions Under Section 64: Why Gifting to a Spouse Rarely Saves Tax10 min read

Loans, Partnerships, and Settlements: The Legitimate Ways Families Shift Capital11 min read

GAAR and Substance: Where Aggressive Structuring Breaks10 min read

Chapter 4: The Private Family Trust

4 Lessons

Why the Private Trust Sits at the Centre of Most Modern Structures11 min read

Designing the Trust: Settlor, Trustee, Beneficiaries, and Discretion12 min read

How a Trust Is Taxed: Specific Versus Discretionary, and the Maximum Marginal Rate12 min read

Funding the Trust: Transferring Shares, Property, and Business Interests In11 min read

Chapter 5: Estate and Succession Planning

4 Lessons

Wills, Nominations, and Joint Holdings: Which One Actually Transfers Ownership11 min read

Estate Duty in India: The 1985 Abolition and the Case for Planning as if It Returns10 min read

Succession in Business Families: Shareholder Agreements, Family Constitutions, and Buyouts12 min read

Cross-Border Heirs: NRI Beneficiaries, LRS, FEMA, and Foreign Assets12 min read

Chapter 6: What to Copy and What to Leave Alone

3 Lessons

The Scaled-Down Family Office: What a Rs 5 to 50 Crore Family Should Actually Build11 min read

Choosing Advisers: Chartered Accountants, Lawyers, Trustees, and Multi-Family Offices10 min read

Capstone: Structuring a Rs 100 Crore Family From Scratch14 min read