Feb 2023

Introduction: Private Client Law Over Borders Comparative Guide 2023

I am pleased and privileged to serve as the editor of Private Client: Recent Global Developments, a new Law Over Borders Comparative Guide. In order to make this project as valuable and informative to the reader as possible, I have selected a number of leading practitioners and firms from around the world that represent the crème de la crème of the private client profession. The aim is to make available to you the wisdom and insight of a circle of experts globally in this fast-changing and increasingly important area of law.

I designed this work to be different from the typical multi-jurisdictional guide where each author submits an article on a particular subject that may or may not be of broad interest and that never changes. The pandemic was a perfect storm for the private client profession. Clients found themselves quarantined at home with time on their hands, and were forced to confront mortality, so they renewed their focus on planning with a sense of urgency. Sadly, given the high death rate, there were more estates to administer than ever before. And given the closure, or near closure, of courts around the world – and considering that families were ‘cooped up’ with each other during this protracted time – private client litigation exploded.

Post-pandemic, the private client landscape is changing faster than ever, as governments seek out ever greater revenue streams from our client base, and cash strapped governments and disappointed beneficiaries find new ways to attack planning structures. In addition, the courts in most countries are struggling with near insurmountable backlogs, creating an unusual incentive to administer estates extra-judicially and to attempt to compromise disputes. This book, and the online guide, will provide an up-to-date jurisdictional comparison of the latest tax and non-tax developments for the private client profession in the areas of planning, administration and litigation. It is our intention to update this work every other year with the latest developments over the prior two years.

I hope you find this to be of value, and I thank the authors of each chapter for their hard work and cogent insights.

Joshua S. Rubenstein
Partner and National Chair, Private Wealth Department
Katten Muchin Rosenman