Family offices structured for governance, multi-entity holdings, and generational continuity.
A family office is the entity stack that lets a family manage investments, businesses, real estate, philanthropy, and trusts as one coordinated structure. File.Business handles the holding LLC, the management company, the trust documents, and the multi-state compliance.
What a family office actually is
A family office is the structural shell around a wealthy family's holdings. It typically consists of a parent holding entity (LLC or LP), one or more management entities (the actual "office" that employs investment, tax, and legal staff), and a portfolio of subsidiary entities that hold each asset class: operating businesses, public investments, private equity stakes, real estate, art, and philanthropy.
The structure separates ownership from operations, isolates liabilities, simplifies tax planning, and provides governance for multi-generational continuity. Most family offices form when AUM crosses $5M and the family is ready to professionalize administration of its wealth.
Single-family vs multi-family office
One family, dedicated staff + structure.
Built around one family's wealth. Hires its own CIO, GC, accountants, and asset managers. Typical at $100M+ AUM. Fully customized governance.
- → Full discretion over investments
- → Dedicated tax and legal team
- → Complete privacy
- → Higher operating cost
Shared infrastructure across families.
Outsourced family office serving multiple unrelated families. Shared CIO, shared tax + legal team. Typical entry: $5M-$50M AUM. Subscription model.
- → Lower cost than SFO
- → Standardized investment menu
- → Less customization
- → Family must trust the provider
The family office entity stack
A typical family office runs 5-15 entities. The standard stack:
Governance: how decisions get made
Family office governance is documented, not informal. Standard structure:
- Family Constitution. The plain-English mission statement. Who is family. What the office is for. Generational continuity rules.
- Family Council. Decision-making body. Often one vote per branch of the family, with supermajority on major decisions.
- Investment Committee. Reviews and approves significant investments above thresholds set by Council.
- Trustee oversight. Independent trustees on key trusts add governance discipline and reduce family disputes.
- Annual family meeting. Formal review of performance, structure, and next-year priorities.
How File.Business builds family offices
- 1. Discovery. Sessions with the family, the CFO or tax advisor, and the estate attorney to map asset classes, family branches, generational goals, and existing entities.
- 2. Structure design. Recommended entity stack. Parent jurisdiction (typically Delaware for legal precedent or Wyoming for asset protection). Trust strategy.
- 3. Formation. All entities filed in the right order. EINs obtained. Bank accounts opened. Operating Agreements drafted for each.
- 4. Family Constitution + Council bylaws. Documented governance.
- 5. Ongoing compliance. All 5-15 entities tracked in one Vault. Annual reports, franchise tax, BOI, beneficial ownership monitoring for every entity.
Family office FAQ
What is the minimum AUM to justify a family office?
A single-family office typically becomes cost-effective above $100M AUM. Below that, a multi-family office or virtual family office structure usually makes more sense. The structural separation through entities can begin at $5M and scale up.
What state should the parent holding entity form in?
Delaware for deep case law on LLC and trust matters. Wyoming for strongest charging-order and anonymity protection. South Dakota for trust-friendly perpetual-trust rules. Your estate attorney should drive this decision.
How does the management LLC actually charge other family entities?
Via an intra-family services agreement. The management LLC bills each subsidiary at arm-length rates for services rendered (investment management, accounting, legal). This creates clean tax separation and audit trails.
Does a family office need to register with the SEC?
Single-family offices that meet the "Family Office Rule" exemption (Rule 202(a)(11)(G)-1) do not register as investment advisors. Multi-family offices serving unrelated families typically must register.
How does File.Business coordinate with our existing estate attorney?
We handle entity formation and ongoing compliance. Your estate attorney drives the trust strategy and family governance. We coordinate directly with them on trust-related entities and provide them with full visibility into the entity stack.
How long does it take to stand up a family office structure?
Discovery + structure design: 2-3 weeks. Entity formation: 1-3 weeks depending on jurisdictions. Operating Agreements + Family Constitution: 2-4 weeks. End-to-end: 8-12 weeks for a full structure.
Build your family office with File.Business.
From the parent holding entity down to every subsidiary, one team, one structure, one calendar.
Four steps from request to delivery
File.Business runs your filing on a single concierge workflow. You provide what we need; we handle the rest.
Tell us what you need
2-minute intake. We confirm the filing type, jurisdiction, and any supporting documents required.
We prepare the filing
Our specialists draft the document, validate against state requirements, and queue for your review where required.
We submit to the state
Filed through the state portal. We pay the state fee, track the submission, and resolve any state correspondence.
Confirmation in your vault
state-required document delivered to your SOC 2 encrypted document vault, with deadline tracking for the next filing.