Family Trust-Based Asset Succession for Chinese High-Net-Worth Families: A Comparative Case Study and Development Recommendations

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-787-3_67How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Family Trust; High-Net-Worth Families; Case Comparison; Asset Protection

Abstract

Chinese high-net-worth (HNW) families face an urgent need for structured wealth succession as the first generation of entrepreneurs enters retirement. This paper examines family trusts as a solution through comparative case analysis. The Rockefeller Family Trust—an irrevocable trust with a dedicated family office and trust committee that has sustained wealth across six generations—serves as the overseas exemplar. A domestic Chinese case involving a 48-year-old entrepreneur with RMB 60 million in assets illustrates local practice. Cross-case comparison reveals five gaps in China’s family trust industry: short trust durations, underdeveloped governance structures, limited asset-type diversity, inadequate beneficiary education design, and weak mechanisms for transmitting family values. Based on these findings, this paper proposes recommendations in four areas: trustee professionalization, settlor education, trust registration reform, and a differentiated tax framework.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Donghai Zhou
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/29
TI  - Family Trust-Based Asset Succession for Chinese High-Net-Worth Families: A Comparative Case Study and Development Recommendations
BT  - Proceedings of the 2026 4th International Conference on Management Innovation and Economy Development (MIED 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 670
EP  - 681
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-787-3_67
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-787-3_67
ID  - Zhou2026
ER  -