Paweł Szumowski
The role of the founder and bodies of a family foundation
In previous articles, we have outlined the advantages of establishing a family foundation, the scope of business activities permitted for foundations, and tax issues. Now we turn to the rights and obligations of persons involved in the operation of a family foundation. The foundation operates through its bodies (management board, supervisory board, and assembly of beneficiaries), but it cannot be established and function without the founder and beneficiaries. The Family Foundations Act regulates the tasks and powers of all of these entities, giving the founder relatively wide latitude to set the rules for the foundation’s bodies in the statute. This allows these policies to be tailored flexibly to suit the foundation’s operations and purposes.
Running a business through a family foundation
In just a few days, it will be possible to carry out intergenerational succession in Polish companies through the vehicle of a family foundation. This new legal entity is designed to meet the needs of business owners, who until now have been condemned to relatively limited choices under general provisions, or could choose foreign jurisdictions to set up a family foundation (e.g. in Austria, Liechtenstein, Malta, or the Netherlands).
