Overview
High-net-worth individuals and families face an evolving set of challenges: preserving what you’ve built, planning for future generations, managing intricate family office operations and addressing disputes that can put legacies and relationships at risk.
Manatt blends legal precision with personal understanding to help clients with their most personal and consequential matters with an understanding of both the human and financial dimensions of wealth.
We offer not just technical skill, but judgment earned from decades of experience advising families, entrepreneurs and fiduciaries. Whether you’re structuring a legacy plan, building a family office or managing a sensitive dispute, Manatt helps you preserve value, protect relationships and prepare for the future with confidence.
Our clients put their trust in us. We represent:
- High-net-worth individuals, including entrepreneurs and their families;
- Owners of substantial family businesses;
- High-profile individuals in politics and government service, entertainment, music and sports;
- Trust companies and trust departments of major banks; and
- Individual and charitable fiduciaries, beneficiaries, trustees and creditors of substantial trusts and estates
Our estate planning attorneys work with clients to ensure their wealth supports the people and causes that matter most while minimizing tax exposure and administrative burdens. We design and implement customized structures that align with your values and safeguard your intentions for generations to come.
Our estate planning team also helps on estate and gift tax rules, succession planning and navigating the complexities of managing both business and personal assets —ensuring every detail reflects your broader goals and family vision.
Today’s family offices are complex enterprises, balancing investment strategy, governance and operational efficiency and service to family members. We help families and their advisors design structures that reflect both their business objectives and their personal values.
Manatt’s multidisciplinary team advises on governance frameworks, fiduciary oversight, private investments and philanthropic planning—offering clear, practical guidance that keeps your family office running smoothly and sustainably.
Our services include:
- Corporate matters, including entity formations, complex transactions and partnerships for investment, merger, acquisition, sale, joint venture and co-investments purposes;
- Debt and equity financing;
- Estate and gift planning;
- Federal and state income tax planning and compliance;
- Foundation creation, tax compliance, governance and other operational issues;
- Intellectual property protection;
- Labor and employment;
- Litigation and alternative dispute resolution;
- Philanthropic planning;
- Privacy and data security;
- Real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, leasing and ownership roll-ups;
- Securities regulation and compliance; and Social impact investing.
Even with the best planning, disputes over estates, trusts or fiduciary duties can threaten both family harmony and asset value. Manatt combines deep trial experience with a nuanced understanding of family dynamics to represent fiduciaries, beneficiaries, trustees and charitable organizations in resolving disputes discreetly and effectively.
Whenever possible, we help clients avoid litigation through strategic counseling, mediation and negotiation. If trial is necessary, we bring decades of courtroom experience and a strong record of success in protecting our clients’ rights and reputations.
Our team handles disputes involving:
- Breach of fiduciary duty;
- Fiduciary misconduct and fraud;
- Estate administration;
- Investment mismanagement;
- Trustee removals and abuse of discretion matters;
- Accounting disputes; and
- Will and trust contests.
