Succession Planning and Family Holding Companies: Analysis of Basic Models Based on a Case Study

Abstract

This article provides an in-depth analysis of estate planning applied to family-owned businesses, with emphasis on the use of family holding companies as a modern tool for asset organization, protection and structured transfer of wealth between generations. The research adopts a deductive methodology based on updated legal literature, statutory analysis and an anonymized case study involving a medium-sized family business in the services sector, whose assets include real estate, vessels and equity interests. First, the article presents the basic foundations of Brazilian succession law and traditional models of transfer causa mortis, highlighting their practical limitations, costs, tax risks and potential for litigation. It then examines the legal nature, functions and advantages of family holdings, especially regarding corporate governance, business continuity, tax rationalization and conflict prevention. The interaction between gifts, inter vivos partition and usufruct is also analyzed, as well as the need to respect the forced heirship rules, marital property regimes and the protection of necessary heirs. The study concludes that the holding company, although not a universal solution, can be an efficient and safe instrument when adapted to the specific family and asset structure, in compliance with current civil and tax law and avoiding standardized, one-size-fits-all models.