What complications can arise when the family office is serving family members in more than one country?
A majority (57%) of family offices have at least one family member who lives outside the primary jurisdiction of the office, according to the 2025 Family Office Operational Excellence Report by AlTi Tiedemann Global and Campden Wealth.
The report noted that this adds complexity: The most pressing issues for these non-resident family members were tax planning (cited by 74%), investment (71%), estate planning (68%), compliance (49%) and custody of assets (43%). Some respondents also cited challenges such as family dynamics amid cultural differences (32%) and pre-marital planning (25%).
“I think cross border is going to be one of the big challenges going forward,” says Erik Christoffersen, head of Family Office Practice for AlTi Tiedemann Global. “More than one out of two families now have a family member that’s in a different jurisdiction, so that presents a whole new set of problems for family offices to support them with.”
The report broke down how many family members respondents had living in other jurisdictions:
- None: 43%
- One: 9%
- Up to five: 33%
- Up to 10: 8%
- Up to 20: 5%
- More than 20: 2%
Supporting these family members is a clear priority for 85% of family offices, and 58% said it is a high priority.