THE BARATELLI INSTITUTE · Mentoring at Scale
FAMILY OFFICE STRUCTURE DECISION

Right-size your family office.
Five models. Real numbers.

RIA, MFO, virtual FO, embedded FO, single FO. The wrong choice costs hundreds of thousands a year — either in unused capacity or in capability gaps. Five minutes to a calibrated recommendation.

YOUR DECISION
1
Wealth scale
2
Asset complexity
3
Family complexity
4
Service needs
5
Recommendation
STAGE 1 OF 5

Total wealth and liquid assets

Honest numbers. We're calibrating which structures make economic sense at your scale.

All assets, including illiquid (private business, real estate, art).
$
Investable assets — securities, cash, hedge funds, PE commitments.
$
If you're a current owner or executive with significant W-2 / K-1 / business income, the FO needs to handle complex income and tax workflows on top of investment management.
STAGE 2 OF 5

Asset complexity

Toggle anything that meaningfully describes your situation. More complexity pushes toward larger, more capable structures.

Multi-state / international tax
Residences, income, or property in 2+ states or countries.
Operating business interest
Active or recently sold private business that drives complexity.
Real estate portfolio
Investment properties, ground leases, REIT-equivalent holdings.
Heavy alternatives exposure
PE, VC, hedge funds > 30% of portfolio.
Concentrated equity position
Single-name > 25% of portfolio (often founder stock).
Multiple trust structures
3+ existing trusts that need administration and accounting.
Treasure assets at scale
Art, wine, classic cars, jewelry > $5M total.
Active philanthropy
Private foundation, DAF, or significant ongoing giving.
STAGE 3 OF 5

Family situation

FO cost scales with people, not just dollars. A $200M single-household estate is simpler than a $200M four-household multi-generational arrangement.

STAGE 4 OF 5

Services you need (or wish you had)

Toggle the services that matter. Each toggle increases the recommended structure's capability — and cost.

Investment management
Strategic asset allocation, manager selection, monitoring.
Tax compliance & planning
Returns, projections, multi-state coordination, planning.
Trust accounting & admin
Trust books, distributions, statements, K-1s.
Bill pay & bookkeeping
Household and entity-level bill pay, monthly close.
Estate planning oversight
Coordinate attorneys, trustees, beneficiary education.
Lifestyle & concierge
Travel, residence ops, household staff, security.
Aircraft / yacht management
Operating cost, charter, FAA/USCG compliance.
Foundation / DAF operations
Grant-making, reporting, board admin.
Next-gen education / NextGen
Financial literacy, governance, succession.
Cybersecurity & privacy
Network security, identity protection, family OPSEC.
STAGE 5 OF 5 · YOUR PERSONALIZED RECOMMENDATION

Your right-sized FO model

Loading...
Calculating fit scores...
—

Five models, ranked for your situation

What to do next

FROM THE PRACTITIONER'S GUIDE TO FAMILY OFFICES

Get the full FO operating playbook by email.

Includes: vendor selection scorecards, hiring sequences, compensation benchmarks by AUM tier, technology stack recommendations, and a 90-day implementation roadmap for each structure.

Cost ranges reflect 2025-2026 market data for U.S. family offices. Actual cost depends on geography, talent market, vendor selection, and service mix. AUM thresholds shown are guidance; cases at the boundary deserve a customized analysis. This is an educational tool, not a recommendation to engage any specific provider.
WANT THE METHODOLOGY BEHIND THIS TOOL?
This calculator is one chapter of Family Office Reference Guide.
The tool gives you the answer. The guide gives you the argument — the case law, the worked examples, the negotiation playbook, the cross-check tables, the exception cases. Read the chapter and you can defend your number to a board, a buyer, an examiner, or a counterparty.
The methodology behind this calculator is in Ch 4 Family-Office Structure of the reference guide.
See the Guide → Browse all 22 guides
PROFESSIONAL DISCLAIMER · PLEASE READ

Educational and informational purposes only. This calculator and any output it produces are intended solely for general educational and decision-support purposes. They do not constitute investment, tax, legal, accounting, appraisal, lending, insurance, or any other professional advice, and they do not create a fiduciary, attorney-client, accountant-client, or advisor-client relationship of any kind.

Estimates based on your inputs. All results are estimates derived from the data and assumptions you provide. Tax law, accounting standards, regulations, market conditions, and the specific facts of your situation can materially change the answer. The Baratelli Institute, its affiliates, and any co-branding professional make no warranty of accuracy, completeness, currency, or fitness for any particular purpose, and disclaim all liability for decisions made in reliance on the output.

Consult your own qualified professionals. Before acting on anything calculated here, consult your own attorney, CPA, financial advisor, appraiser, lender, or other qualified professional licensed in your jurisdiction who has reviewed your specific facts and applicable current law. The Baratelli Institute is a publisher of practitioner reference material. It is not a registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, law firm, accounting firm, appraisal firm, or lender.

Co-branded versions: If a professional advisor's name and contact information appear on this tool, that advisor has elected to make the tool available to clients as a courtesy. Inclusion of an advisor's name does not constitute the advisor's endorsement of any specific result, nor does it transfer professional responsibility for the underlying methodology to that advisor. The disclaimer above applies regardless of co-branding.