Two minutes with Candace Jerome, Family Office US
Our clients always have a US presence, whether physical or financial. Typically, they are multi-jurisdictional with a complicated cross border element but the majority are based in the US. Our tax division, by contrast, works with many clients based offshore but with US investments. My team provides material support in the day-to-day operation and administration of those relationships.
Our support to client families is wide-ranging – we help in any way we can. In a given week, we could be hiring and setting up payroll for a personal staff member, advising on the tax implications of investing in an offshore structure, sourcing a US mortgage for a foreign person or assisting with the management of a property.
Our clients are highly successful but they don’t know what they don’t know. We need to be their eyes, ears and voice of current and new information – particularly when it comes to the latest changes in tax and estate law. Keeping up-to-date with the ever-changing reporting requirements across the globe is challenging. Our role is to guide them every step of the way – no matter where in the world their family reaches.
The Coronavirus pandemic has halted emigration plans. We are working with a number of families who had prepared to relocate to the US this summer until Covid-19 happened. From a logistical and administrative perspective, we just had to put things on pause. It has been a strain for many of our clients. They were ready to move, start new schools – it’s a big lifestyle change. Not being able to do those things has been very unsettling. With luck, they may be able to execute their plans in 2021.
Having joined Stonehage Fleming in 2015, Candace is responsible for overseeing the trust and client service administration departments in the US.
Find out more about Stonehage Fleming's Family Office