Schulte partner Melissa Goldstein featured in Institutional Investor on the Corporate Transparency Act

Schulte Roth & Zabel partner Melissa Goldstein was recently featured in the Institutional Investor article, "Can Family Offices Skirt the CTA? Lawyers Say Don’t Wait to Find Out." She discussed how the Corporate Transparency Act ("The Act") affects family offices that do not want to disclose the required information to conceal the family's identity. Melissa stated "Requiring the disclosure of personally identifiable information is uncomfortable, and no one wants to do it, and when that information is tied to financial assets people get concerned that they are vulnerable.”

Despite those concerns, as well as the recent lawsuits and FinCEN’s pending guidance, lawyers are advising family offices to get compliant with the CTA or risk facing stiff penalties. While most family offices and their entities are not eligible for any of the 23 exemptions from the CTA, some family offices may be exempt as a large operating company. Those that are not exempt and that are considering restructuring in a way that would qualify them for the large operating company and its subsidiary exemption, the trust company exemption or the registered investment advisor exemption "requires careful analysis and family offices should do that analysis before they explore restructuring,” Goldstein said. 

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