THE FAMILY HOLDING COMPANY AS AN INSTRUMENT OF SUCCESSION PLANNING

Abstract

The family holding company has been presented as an instrument for organizing succession, but legal literature diverges on its scope. This study aimed to analyze the use of the family holding company as an instrument of succession planning under Brazilian law, identifying its characteristics, advantages and limitations based on the scientific and doctrinal production published between 2015 and 2025. A narrative literature review was carried out, with a qualitative approach and descriptive character, using a structured search strategy in academic portals and in the portal of the Brazilian Institute of Family Law, which resulted in a corpus of sixteen works, analyzed in four thematic categories and examined together with the relevant legislation and case law. The results showed convergence regarding the typical arrangement, formed by the transfer of assets into the company capital, the donation of quotas with reservation of usufruct and the inclusion of restrictive clauses, and regarding the advantages of asset organization, conflict prevention and continuity of family businesses. They also showed divergence regarding asset protection and tax savings, as well as asymmetry between texts that describe the instrument and those that examine its validity. It is concluded that the family holding company operates as a technique for organizing succession, and not as an alternative to mandatory succession rules, whose observance conditions the validity of the planning.