Hiring a Family Office for Business: A How-To Guide

Table of Contents

• What a Family Office Does for Business Owners
• Assessing Whether Your Business Needs a Family Office
• Multi-Family Office vs Single-Family Office: Which Model Fits Your Business
• Tax Mitigation Strategies for Incorporated Businesses Through a Family Office
• Vetting and Due Diligence: How to Select the Right Family Office
• Cost of Hiring a Family Office: What to Budget
• Transitioning from DIY Management to Professional Family Office Services
• Frequently Asked Questions

Last Updated: September 23, 2026

What a Family Office Does for Business Owners

A family office is a private wealth management firm that handles finances, taxes, investments, and estate planning for high-net-worth families and business owners. Rather than juggling multiple advisors, an accountant here, an insurance broker there, an investment manager somewhere else, a family office consolidates those services under one roof.

For business owners, this matters because your situation is complex. You're managing business cash flow, personal wealth, tax exposure, and succession plans all at once. A family office coordinates across all three. They understand how your incorporated business structure affects your personal tax bill. They know how to structure your wealth so the next generation inherits it efficiently. They align your insurance, investments, and business strategy so they actually work together instead of working against each other.

At Thompson & Pollock Wealth Inc., we've worked with owners across trades, real estate, and professional corporations. We help clients build, protect, and transfer generational wealth while optimizing tax strategies.

Assessing Whether Your Business Needs a Family Office

Not every business owner needs a family office. The decision hinges on net worth, complexity, and time.

Start here: What's your net worth? Family offices typically make sense for high-net-worth families and business owners. For those with complex financial situations, the coordination costs of managing multiple advisors can be significant.

Next, assess your complexity. Do you have:

• Multiple income streams (business, real estate, investments)?
• Significant tax exposure from your business structure?
• Multiple family members involved in the business or wealth?
• A succession plan that needs to happen in the next 5-10 years?
• Assets in different provinces or countries?

If you answered yes to three or more, a family office makes sense. If you answered yes to one or two, a good accountant and financial planner might be enough.

Finally, consider your time. Running a business already consumes most of your attention. If you're also managing investments, researching tax strategies, and coordinating with multiple advisors, you're not focused on what you do best. A family office buys back your time by handling the coordination.

Multi-Family Office vs Single-Family Office: Which Model Fits Your Business

The two models serve different needs. Understanding the difference prevents you from paying for the wrong structure.

A single-family office exists to serve one family. All staff, all decisions, all strategy focus on your wealth. The advantage is complete customization and undivided attention. The disadvantage is cost: you're funding the entire operation yourself. A single-family office can be a significant investment.

A multi-family office serves multiple families under one roof. You share operational costs with other clients. A multi-family office can offer a cost-effective solution. The trade-off is that you're not the only priority, other families' needs compete for attention.

For many incorporated business owners, a multi-family office can be a suitable option, offering professional coordination and personalized service.

The real question isn't which model is "better", it's which model matches your wealth level and needs. The choice between a single-family office and a multi-family office depends on individual wealth levels and needs.

Model	Best For	Annual Cost Range	Key Trade-off
Single-Family Office	Net worth >$50M, complex holdings	$250K-$500K+	High cost, complete control
Multi-Family Office	Net worth $5M-$30M, moderate complexity	$5K-$25K	Shared attention, lower cost

Tax Mitigation Strategies for Incorporated Businesses Through a Family Office

This is where hiring a family office pays for itself.

Most incorporated business owners overpay tax because they're not coordinating their business structure with their personal tax situation. Your accountant optimizes your business tax. Your financial advisor optimizes your investment tax. Neither of them talks to the other. The result: you're paying tax on money that could have been deferred, sheltered, or split.

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A family office coordinates these strategies:

• Income splitting through corporate structures. If your business is incorporated, you have options. Dividends, salary, and retained earnings each have different tax consequences. A family office structures your withdrawals to minimize your marginal rate.
• Capital gains optimization. When you sell business assets or real estate, timing matters enormously. A family office coordinates the sale with your investment positions so you don't trigger unexpected tax bills.
• Pension commutation planning. If you have a defined benefit or defined contribution pension (teachers, nurses, OPG, GM), commuting that value has massive tax implications. A family office shows you the actual numbers before you decide.
• Estate freeze structures. If you plan to pass the business to the next generation, an estate freeze locks in your tax liability today instead of forcing your heirs to pay tax on growth. This is complex, but it saves hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The key insight: tax mitigation isn't about finding loopholes. It's about timing and structure. A family office can provide insights into strategies that work and those that align with Canada Revenue Agency guidelines.

Vetting and Due Diligence: How to Select the Right Family Office

This is the most important step, and most business owners rush it.

Start by defining what you actually need. Don't just ask, "Do you manage family offices?" Ask specific questions:

• Have you worked with incorporated business owners in my industry?
• How do you structure tax planning across business and personal wealth?
• What's your process for succession planning?
• How do you handle pension commutation analysis?
• Can you show me examples of clients you've helped reduce tax?

Listen for specifics. If they answer with generic platitudes, they haven't done this work before.

Check their credentials and independence. Ask whether they're a fee-only advisor or commission-based. Fee-only means they don't earn money when they recommend products, they only earn when you pay their fee. Commission-based advisors have incentive to recommend products that pay them, which creates a conflict. Independent advisors aren't tied to one bank or investment firm, so they can recommend what actually fits your situation instead of what their employer sells.

Ask for references from clients in your situation. Not general references, clients who own incorporated businesses, who've done succession planning, who've reduced tax. Call those references. Ask them: Did this firm actually save you money? Did they coordinate across your advisors? Would you hire them again?

Understand their fee structure before you commit. Some charge a flat annual fee. Some charge a percentage of assets under management. Some charge hourly.

Cost of Hiring a Family Office: What to Budget

The cost depends on the model, your complexity, and your assets under management.

Multi-family offices typically charge between $5,000 and $25,000 CAD annually. This covers comprehensive wealth planning, tax coordination, investment management, and ongoing advisory. The exact amount depends on:

• How much time your situation requires
• How many assets they're managing
• How complex your business structure is
• Whether they're also managing investments or just advising

Transitioning from DIY Management to Professional Family Office Services

Most business owners don't go from zero to full family office overnight. The transition happens in phases.

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Frequently Asked Questions