Alon Kaplan

Practice Areas

An International Authority on Trusts

Dr. Alon Kaplan is a member of the Israel Bar and was admitted as a member of the New York and Frankfurt Bars. He is the President and founder of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners “STEP Israel”. Academically speaking, he has a Ph.D. from Zurich University in Switzerland and an LL.B. and LL.M. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Alon maintains a direct and close relationship with academia, and he was a lecturer on trusts in the Academic Management College, Reichman University, and the Law Faculty of Tel Aviv University, where he taught trust courses for LL.M. students. Alon is a popular lecturer on trusts in Israel and abroad and he constructed the academic program for the Trusts Diploma of STEP in Israel. Throughout his professional career, Alon has written numerous professional articles in legal journals, on matters of trusts, intergenerational asset transfers and selected commercial law topics such as agent and distributor laws, a topic which he researched for his LL.M. thesis. Alon has been a regular contributor of articles to “Trusts and Trustees “of Oxford Journals. Alon has written and edited numerous professional books, including on doing business in Israel, trusts in Israel and international trusts laws. His book – “Trusts and Estate Planning in Israel” is a professional and comprehensive guidebook for practitioners in this area in Israel. Another important book in English is “Trusts in Prime Jurisdictions” 5th edition 2020 which reviews trusts in various jurisdictions by 19 authors from various jurisdictions. In December 2020 he was co-editor of the book “Life Cycle of a Family Business” published in London

The Trust

Alon’s main area of expertise is trusts and, in this framework, he specializes in counseling Israelis and foreign residents on matters concerning trust establishment and management and wills and succession planning, including tax aspects. Trusts in Israel are created and operate under the Israel Law of Trusts 1979.The inter - vivos trust comes into effect upon the creation of the trust and the assignment of the assets to the trustee. In the case of a testamentary trust, the trust begins to operate after the will probate order is granted by the court and the assets of the estate are transferred to the trustee by the power of the provisions of the will. The trust is a recognized and efficient legal structure for holding and managing family wealth and transferring assets to the next generation: In recent years, the utilization of trusts as a legitimate tool for family wealth planning is increasing, mainly due to the expansion of the Israeli economy and the development of many businesses of HNW individuals. Trusts can serve various purposes, such as intergenerational transfer of assets or family business, care for a person in need, protection of assets from creditors and protection of assets in case of divorce or demise. In addition, trusts are efficient tools for public benefits and charities, as is also customary in many Western countries.

The Company for Holding the Trust’s Assets

By itself, the trust is not a legal person and therefore assets may not be registered directly under it (although it is recognized as an independent taxpayer by the Tax Authority). To avoid the registration of the trust’s assets under their names, trustees usually establish companies for holding and managing the trust’s assets (“Trust Company”) and hold the assets through them. The company is tax transparent and is considered an integral part of the trust for taxation purposes.

Real Estate Trusts

Over the years, the Alon Kaplan law firm gained unique expertise in all legal and tax aspects of the purchase, management, and sale of residential and commercial properties for clients and companies. Some of Israel’s large building and construction companies were served by the firm. The firm uses its knowledge for planning management and holding of real estate by trusts and intergenerational transfer of

real estate properties.

Operations in Israel and Internationally

A significant portion of the people creating trusts in Israel are foreign residents, returning residents, new immigrants and high-net-worth Israelis with international investments. Trusts enable all the above to use trusts as a sort of “Holding Entity” that can establish other legal entities that would implement the trust’s goals, such as opening foreign bank accounts and participating in acquisitions of real estate, while all of the control is concentrated in the hands of the trustee.

Public Service and Volunteering

Israel Bar association: Alon is the co-chairman of the Israel-New York committee of the Bar which cooperates with the international section of the New York Bar to organize joint seminars for members of both Bars. He is a member of the Succession committee and the committee of arbitration and dispute resolution of the Israel Bar association.

Alon serves as the Director of the Israel-Switzerland and Liechtenstein Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the board of trustees of the IMPACT charity association, which grants scholarships for veteran soldiers from combat units, and a member of the international board of the Weizmann Institute. In the framework of his public work, Alon dedicates time and knowledge to counseling on the promotion of legislation for the benefit of the public. He formerly served as a member of the Israel Tax Authority Trusts Committee which prepared the bill for the taxation of trusts.

Additional Areas of Practice

Inheritance and Estates: Alon specializes in all matters relating to the planning and holding of family assets, their succession and intergenerational transfer, especially in the case of families with businesses and assets that are held in different countries. Within this framework, the firm handles estates, legal proceedings for the probate of wills and inheritances in Israel and abroad. In addition, Alon is an experienced arbitrator and has been acting as mediator and arbitrator in dispute resolutions and arbitrations under Israeli law.

Arbitration under Israeli Law

The Israeli Arbitration Law of 1968 governs arbitration procedures in Israel. According to this Law, to resolve a dispute in arbitration, the following fundamental condition must be met: an arbitration agreement must be entered into. Such agreement is defined in section 1 as “a written agreement to refer to arbitration a dispute which has arisen between the parties to the agreement or which may arise between them in the future, regardless of whether an arbitrator is named in the agreement or not.”

CONCLUSION

Dr Alon Kaplan and his firm have a track record of professional expertise in servicing clients in matters of trust, succession, and related law practices.

Career

The Alon Kaplan was admitted to the Israeli Bar in 1970 and was admitted to the New York Bar in 1991.

Alon Kaplan Law Firm was established in 1975.

Alon is the managing director of the firm, which specializes in trusts, succession law, international tax planning, dispute resolution and arbitration, and commercial law for clients with interests in different countries. Alon serves as legal counsel in trust-related matters, intergenerational transfer of family assets and business. The pinnacle of this practice is counselling on trust-related matters for clients, accounting firms, law firms, and family offices. The international ranking firm Chambers ranked him as the highest ranking “Senior Statesperson”.

Publications

• Israel law and business guide, 1994

• Israelisches Wirtschaftsrecht, 1996 (German edition)

• Israeli Business Law, 1998

• Trusts in Israel: Development and current practice (2015 Helbing Lichtenhahn Verlag)

• Trusts and Estate Planning in Israel (2016 Juris Publishing)

• בעברית "נאמנות בישראל הלכה למעשה", בהוצאת הלכות, 2017 (in Hebrew)"Trusts in Israel "

• General Editor of Trusts in Prime Jurisdictions (5th ed. 2020, Globe Law and Business)

• co-editor the book "life cycle of family business" (2021 Globe law and business).

Professional Memberships

Dr Alon Kaplan, TEP was admitted to the Israel Bar in 1970 and appointed notary in 1989. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1990, was licensed in Germany in 1991 and was a Member of the Frankfurt Bar Association from 2010 to 2022. He was an Adjunct Lecturer at the Law Faculty of Tel Aviv University and lectured in its LL.M. program. Alon, the founder of STEP Israel in 1998, is currently its President. An Academician of the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law and member of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Alon also advised the Israeli Tax Authority on trust legislation

Personal

Public activities:

*member of the board of trustees of "Impact" a charitable organization granting scholarships to veteren sodiers of the Israel Army.

*member of the international board of the Weizmann institute of science.

*member of the board of directors of the Israel Switzerland and Liechtenstein camber of commerce.

Languages Spoken

Hebrew and English