La société de droit commun, un mécanisme attrayant en termes de planification patrimoniale ?

Abstract

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

For the time being, a lot of people are aware of the dramatic consequences let by the dead of someone. Beyond the deep pain of losing someone which can not be avoided, heirs can enter into conflicts or the tax consequences can be such important that it triggers the sale of the legacy itself (i.e. sometimes the family house). This is why more and more people are resorting to estate planning to be sure that their post-mortem willingness will be respected while the tax leakage will be reduced to a minimum amount. The most well-known method of estate planning is the use of donations. However, in the view of their irrevocable characteristics, donors have fears of conceiving to this type of instrument. As a result, there is a resurgence of more sophisticated tools to better address donor concerns. In this respect, “la société de droit commun”, known as « SDC », is an interesting tool if the donor wants to continue to exercise the management upon the gift. Most of the time, the SDC will be the perfect combination between dispossession and control. My research will firstly draw up a theoretical plan on the different aspects of the SDC. It will introduce the views of different legal practitioners, the notion of a transparent entity and the tax impact related to this aspect. The practical will reveal the full potential of a SDC put into a particular estate planning scheme. It has been designed, in collaboration with the “Banque International du Luxembourg", to fit the concerns of a whole family who was looking for the achievement of two main objectives: bypass the irrevocability of donations and minimize the inheritance taxes. Keywords: wealth structuring planning tax leakage heritage fiscal transparency