The Client
James is 55, British, divorced and has lived in Monaco for many years. He has a €45 million estate:
- €30 million in securities, funds and cash
- €15 million of property across Monaco, France and Spain
He has two children, but the family is becoming increasingly international. His daughter now lives in Spain and his son in France.
James wants his daughter to inherit her share outright. His son is in a different position. He does not need his full inheritance and James would like him to have the choice to take what he needs and allow the balance to pass directly to his own children.
The challenge is not simply how to divide the estate. It is how to get the right amount to the right generation, across three different jurisdictions.
The Solution
James invests €30 million of his liquid wealth into an Utmost unit-linked life insurance policy. His €15 million property portfolio remains outside the policy.
A bespoke beneficiary clause divides the policy equally between his two children.
His daughter receives her €15 million share outright.
His son has more flexibility. He can accept 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of his €15 million entitlement. Any amount he declines passes directly to his children.
For example, if he chooses to take only 25%:
- James’s son receives €3.75 million
- James’s grandchildren receive €11.25 million
One policy. Two children. Two very different succession outcomes.
Skipping a Generation Without an Additional Gift
This flexibility becomes particularly valuable for James’s son in France.
If his son received the entire €15 million and then gifted €11.25 million to his children, that would create a separate father-to-child transfer.
Instead, the beneficiary clause allows the grandchildren to receive the amount directly from James, subject to the appropriate drafting and tax treatment.
The wealth does not need to pass through one generation simply to reach the next.
Keeping the €11.25 Million Invested
James also wants the grandchildren’s inheritance to remain invested rather than simply being handed over as cash.
The beneficiary arrangements could therefore require the net proceeds they receive to be reinvested into new life insurance policies suitable for French residents, subject to the agreement of the receiving insurer and appropriate legal drafting.
Conditions could also be considered around when money can be accessed, for example for education, healthcare or the purchase of a principal residence.
If a grandchild is still a minor, additional arrangements would be required governing who manages the assets.James can therefore influence not only who receives his wealth, but how the next generation is able to use it.
The Daughter in Spain: Liquidity When It Matters
James’s daughter presents a different challenge.
As a Spanish resident, her inheritance may create a significant Spanish inheritance tax liability. She will also inherit a share of James’s Spanish and French property.
That creates a practical problem: a valuable estate does not necessarily mean a liquid estate.
Her €15 million policy entitlement gives her readily available capital that can help meet inheritance tax and other costs without forcing an immediate sale of family property.
For James’s daughter, insurance is not about skipping a generation. It is about having liquidity available when the inheritance arrives.
Why Not Simply Use a Trust?
A trust can be appropriate where ongoing trustee discretion is essential. But James’s family now spans Monaco, France and Spain, and those jurisdictions do not necessarily treat trusts in the same way.
The insurance policy gives James another route: a recognised contractual structure with individually tailored beneficiary arrangements.
His daughter can receive her share outright. His son can choose how much he needs. The balance can pass to James’s grandchildren.
The structure follows the family rather than forcing every beneficiary into the same solution.
The Result
James started with one €30 million portfolio and a relatively simple question: how should it eventually pass to his family?
The answer is different for each branch.
€15 million can pass to his daughter in Spain, providing both her inheritance and liquidity towards potential tax liabilities.
The other €15 million is flexible. If his son in France takes only 25%, he receives €3.75 million and the remaining €11.25 million passes directly to the grandchildren, subject to the beneficiary arrangements.
For James, the value is not simply tax efficiency.
It is control, flexibility and the ability to plan for different generations living in different countries.