Review article
https://doi.org/10.22598/iele.2025.12.1.14
THE ELUSIVE SHAREHOLDER - LEVERAGING FAMILY FOUNDATIONS FOR CORPORATE CONTROL UNDER POLISH LAW
Jakub Brejdak
orcid.org/0000-0002-3396-854X
; University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The Polish Family Foundation Act introduced a new legal vehicle aimed at facilitating succession planning and wealth management. This paper examines the Polish family foundation in the broader context of private foundations and trust-like entities, assessing its viability as a tool for corporate control. While private foundations in jurisdictions like Liechtenstein and the Netherlands provide robust frameworks for flexibility and elusiveness in controlling structures, the Polish model imposes constraints by granting beneficiaries significant governance rights and aligning its structure with traditional corporate forms. These features undermine its attractiveness for controlling companies, particularly when compared to foreign alternatives. However, the Act’s strong emphasis on founder dominance over assets offers some utility, albeit limited. The study highlights gaps in the Act’s design, emphasizing the need for legislative refinement to align with global trends. The paper concludes that while the Polish family foundation introduces preferential taxation, its restrictive governance framework and quasi-company nature limit it
Keywords
private foundations; family foundations; trusts; wealth management; corporate control
Hrčak ID:
332630
URI
Publication date:
24.6.2025.
Visits: 199 *