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Why is a Family Constitution Important for Family Businesses?

Published: Thursday, February 9, 2023

What  is  the biggest  challenge  faced by  family  businesses and  what  is the  simplest  solution to  all  such challenges?  The  answer to  all  these problems  lies  in a  Family  Constitution.

So,  what  exactly is  a  family constitution?

A  family  constitution is  a  document that  is  drafted by  family  members, taking  their  family values  and  belief system  and  reflecting it  in  the working  and  processes of  their  family business.  Why  is it  so  important to  have  such a  document?  Well, although  a  family constitution  is  not legally  binding,  there are  several  reasons such  as  building a  structure  for future  generations,  internal cohesion  and  so on  that  warrant having  a  family constitution  extremely  worthwhile. Having  worked  with several  family  businesses across  middle  east and  Europe  and based  on  my experience,  I  am listing  a  few herein  below: 

1)   A simple  document  minus  the  legal  jargon

When  it  comes to  a  business, there  are  several documents  that  are advised  and  drafted over  time  such as  shareholders’  agreements, memorandum,  articles,  by-laws and  so  on.  But,  in all  honesty,  all these  documents  are complex  legal  drafts bursting  with  legal jargon  and  often times,  family  members may  find  themselves struggling  to  understand several  aspects  of such  documents.  Moreover, these  documents  do not  underline  and annotate  family  values and  beliefs  that the  family  business is  based  on in  the  first place.

Therefore,  a  simple document  underlining  the family  values,  philosophy, family’s  history  and mission  for  the present  and  the upcoming  generations  may hold  much  more meaning  to  the family  members  and also  present  a much  more  enduring picture  for  how the  family  business should  be  managed and  what  values should  be  followed by  future  generations.

2)      Creating a  framework  and  guidelines  to  avoid  possible conflicts

A  family  constitution helps  create  guidelines surrounding  roles  and responsibilities,  allowances  and withdrawals  by  the family  members,  budgeting of  the  expenses, benefits  of  each family  member  including those  actively  involved in  the  management and  those  who are  passive  members. Such  guidelines  can help  avoid  to an  extent  probable conflict  within  the family  and  help streamline  each  member’s roles  and  responsibilities  so  as  to ensure  the  entire burden  is  not on  the  shoulders of  a  handful of  active  family members.

3)      Internal cohesion

By  providing  a stable  framework  and guidelines  for  working together,  a  family constitution  certainly  brings more  understanding,  compatibility and  builds  internal cohesion  among  family members.  This  in turn  results  in a  more  efficiently managed  and  in most  cases  more profitable  family  business.

4)      Paving the  way  for  thefuture

A  family  business aspiring  to  become more  professional  and looking  to  gain visibility  on  a commercial  level  must have  a  family constitution  devising  a professional  structure  with a  board  made up  of  both family  and  some external  professional  advisors, a  family  council, a  clearly  defined employment  and  governance policy  and  a well-structured  succession  plan among  others.  A family  business  with such  a  structure is  more  likely to  have  a  much  better economic  success  than their  peers.  Also, a  well-structured  family business  also  increases chances  of  a possible  merger,  buy-out and  even  IPOs and  future  listing.

5)      Building a  framework  for  future  generations

A  family  business will  always  have people  entering  and leaving  the  governing body.  In  such cases,  a  family constitution  is  extremely helpful  as  it can  help  provide guidelines  for  such transitioning  members.  Those who  are  leaving will  know  what benefits  and  powers they  will  still retain  and  those who  are  entering will  get  familiarized with  the  family values,  ethics  and beliefs  as  well as  the  governing policies  and  structure of  the  business.

In  short,  a family  constitution  can bring  a  lot of  cohesion,  harmony and  streamline  the management  of  a family  business.  Having said  that,  just drafting  a  constitution may  not  be enough,  it  is important  to  properly implement  and  bring into  practice  the guidelines  and  processes outlined  under  the document.


Karteekka Tyaggi
Hassan Ashoor Al Mulla Advocates & Legal Consultants
Country:
UAE
Practice Area:
International Corporate
Phone Number:
+41-787102776
Fax:
N/A
Karteekka Tyaggi is a corporate attorney, who started her career with civil and criminal litigation in India. She then moved on to work in the United Arab Emirates and gained experience in claims related to employment, divorce, child custody and women’s rights. Around the same time, she also gained substantial experience in arbitration as well as commercial and corporate legal practice, having advised multi-jurisdictional corporates, government entities and individuals on a wide range of matters including, cross-border disputes, commercial transactions, compliance and corporate social responsibility, mergers & acquisition, banking & finance, data protection and compliance and regulatory. During this time, she dealt with several cross border issues and matters having worked with clients from Europe, Middle East and Asia. She is a certified Anti Money Laundering Specialist, an experienced succession and estate planning attorney and in addition to the aforementioned subjects, she offers advisory on matters related to human rights, anti-harassment, equality, diversity & inclusion. In December, 2019 Karteekka moved to Geneva and now manages her legal practice between Geneva, India and UAE. At the same time, she is working with respect to issues related to sexual harassment, gender issues, children’s rights and human rights claims.

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