INTRODUCTION Contributed by: Basil Zirinis and Elizabeth Kubanik, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Increased global mobility Emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, the increase in digitalisation and the rise in remote work opportuni - ties created a highly mobile environment. Individuals are now more transient than ever before. There has also been increased use of electronic tools in inter - national estate, trust and tax planning. With private client data being increasingly accessible via electronic platforms, the need to safeguard against security vul - nerabilities has never been greater. Global shifts in immigration and tax policies have fuelled this mobility trend. For example, some juris - dictions provide “residence-by-investment” schemes and/or preferential tax treatment for certain new resi - dents. Such policies, and the related surge in interest, have been met with some criticism in recent times. For example, the European Commission has called for member countries to eliminate residence-by- investment programmes due to anti-money launder - ing and security concerns, and some commentators have questioned the effect of such policies on local communities. In response, some countries have started to limit or terminate their respective programmes. In late 2023, Portugal enacted major changes to its Golden Visa programme, eliminating real estate investment as a basis for residency. In early 2024, Greece increased the threshold requirements for investments. Two major developments occurred in April 2025: Spain ended its Golden Visa programme, and the European Court of Justice ordered Malta’s existing “Golden Passport” programme to be shut down. On the other hand, in the USA, the Trump administration announced plans for a “Gold Card” programme that would allow wealthy foreigners to live and work in the country in exchange for USD5 million. Presumably, these programmes will continue to be an area of focus in cross-border client practice. Preferential tax regimes that appeal to high net worth clients, and changes to such regimes, have also continued to impact global immigration patterns. Greece’s “flat tax” regime taxes high net worth indi - viduals at a flat annual rate of EUR100,000 per year on foreign-sourced income, subject to certain invest - ment requirements. Italy has implemented a similar
Global Outlook – Private Wealth in 2025 The pace of legal, cultural and technical develop - ments around the world increases each year, and international estate, trust and tax planning continues to evolve with them. Decades of globalisation, com - bined with the unprecedented mobility of the world’s wealthy, have made it common to have clients whose residences and assets range across multiple jurisdic - tions. International practice New and increasingly complex challenges have arisen in planning during life and at death, as coun - tries attempt to stabilise economies impacted by the evolving geopolitical landscape and ongoing interna - tional conflicts, and as families are affected by multi - ple – often conflicting – tax laws, rules of inheritance, treaties and cultural norms. As a result, international private client lawyers must work closely with legal advisers in many jurisdictions to ensure that advice is not being given in isolation, and that all factors affect - ing a client’s planning have been identified. Cultural differences Understanding and appreciating the cultures (both legal and national) of the various jurisdictions is also vital, and lawyers who do so will be increasingly valu - able, whether in non-contentious planning or in trust and estate litigation. Making an effort to bridge cul - tures and languages will also make mistakes much less likely. Lawyers who function as a team, who respect the intricacies and unique aspects of each legal system, and who recognise that an appreciation of language and culture is fundamental to successful cross-border work will have enormous advantages over lawyers who see multi-jurisdictional planning or litigation as separate silos where each lawyer has responsibility only for their own jurisdiction. The Chambers Private Wealth Global Practice Guide is designed to help encourage and facilitate such cross- border co-operation. A few recent global trends in the law that relate to families, their businesses and their planning are dis - cussed below.
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