Sparring on the Gold Coast, from Zollikon to Stäfa. At your home.

Someone who manages nothing, sells nothing and is not part of the family. After an inheritance, everyone often seems to know what you should do with it: your siblings are part of the same story, the bank earns from the assets, advisers have a mandate. The first question is a different one: what do you yourself want – keep, carry on, share or let go? That is what we talk about, confidentially and without a mandate. Legal and tax matters are for your notary, lawyer and fiduciary (Treuhänder); our conversation comes before theirs and replaces none of them. More in the note Inherited or sold up: who has nothing to gain from you?

Yes. Sparring is about your question, not a company or a role. Moving for a partner’s job often costs more than a career: your network, the language of everyday life, the role people knew you in. In the conversation you work out what you want here for yourself, not only what the move asks of the family. I am neither a therapist nor a career adviser; permits, marital property and tax belong with your lawyer and fiduciary (Treuhänder). We talk in English or German, in Zug, on the Gold Coast or online.

Your specialists answer how something is done; a sparring partner helps you clarify what you actually want – before you brief the specialists. Fiduciaries and lawyers have a mandate and a liability; a bank often also earns on the solutions it recommends. That is legitimate, but not neutral. I have no mandate and no partners at banks, asset managers or law firms, I neither take nor pay commission, and I recommend no products. Often the conversation is about exactly this: putting your questions for the fiduciary and the lawyer in order first.

Give your client this page or my number and let them call me themselves. Many put it like this: “I know someone you can think this through with calmly – not a therapist, not an adviser.” I tell you nothing, not even whether we met. I neither take nor pay commission, give no tax, legal or investment tips and stay out of your mandate: specialist questions go back to you. Often your client comes back to you with clearer questions. More in the note Your client wants to talk, not therapy.

With someone who earns nothing from any signature. The bank, the fiduciary and your children mean well, and yet each has an interest or a worry of their own. In the conversation we work out what you want, what you do not yet understand and what to ask the specialists before you sign anything. I review no contracts and recommend no investments; that stays with your specialists. I come to your home, and one conversation is enough if one is enough.

Yes. You come alone; your partner hears nothing from me, not even that we know each other. I do not push a direction – staying or leaving. We work out what you yourself see and want before you say anything. The invoice shows the format and the date, not your topic. Marital property and prenuptial agreements belong with a lawyer; sparring is not couples therapy.

With someone who wants nothing from you. Friends turn cautious or demanding, the family starts counting, and advisers call who never called before. Then there is your own question: how much of this is really mine now, and what do I want to do with it – or without it? That is what we talk about, confidentially and with nothing to sell. I give no investment or tax advice, have no partners at banks and take no commission. More in the note Inherited or cashed out: who has no stake in you?.

With someone who has no interest in the foundation or its beneficiaries. Often the role is inherited or wanted by others: what does the foundation stand for to you, what role do you want in it – and where do you say no, including to your own family? We clarify that before you accept, set it up or step down. Foundation law, supervision and tax stay with your specialists.

With someone who gains nothing from any answer. Career, the children’s school, your partner’s job, ageing parents in another country – everyone in the family has their own reckoning, and rarely does anyone say out loud what it is really about for them. We work out what keeps you here, what draws you away and how much of that holds for your family too, before you resign or sell. Tax, pensions and residence stay with your fiduciary and your lawyer.

Someone who earns nothing from the handover and plays no part in the family – that is what a sparring partner is for. Before the fiduciary, lawyer or notary shape the handover, and before the family takes positions, there is a different question: what do you yourself want – sell, hand over, keep, and on what terms? That is what we talk about, confidentially and without a mandate. Valuation, contract and tax stay with your specialists; with your own position clarified, you give them a clearer brief. That holds even when the more capable person is not the one everyone expects – the daughter rather than the son.

I commit in writing to confidentiality – including the fact that we know each other, and beyond the end of our work. That applies towards all third parties: family, business partners, employers – including the person who referred you. If I already talk with someone from your family, your company or the other side, I decline, without naming anyone. I record nothing, keep brief notes and destroy them no later than 12 months after we finish. There are three limits: a legally binding order from a court or authority, an acute danger to life or safety, and a threat to a child’s welfare. Even then, I speak to you first wherever possible.

Yes. Travel is included in the fee for every on-site and walking session – anywhere within 60 minutes’ drive of Wetzikon, from Zürich and Winterthur to Zug, Rapperswil and Einsiedeln. That covers the city of Zürich and both lake shores, all nine Gold Coast municipalities, Zug, Baar, Cham and Rotkreuz, as well as Wollerau and Pfäffikon SZ. You pay the same whether we meet in Küsnacht ZH, Baar or Wollerau. From Wetzikon I reach the Gold Coast in about 20 to 25 minutes, Pfäffikon SZ in about 25 to 30 minutes and Zug in about 45 to 50 minutes. Lucerne, Meggen and Hergiswil by arrangement; I tell you the travel cost in advance.

Your home, or your office after hours, is where we are least likely to be disturbed; if you prefer walking, choose the woods over the lakeside promenade. On the Zürichberg or Adlisberg you meet fewer acquaintances than by the lake, on the Zugerberg fewer than in Zug’s old town. If you wish, we agree beforehand how you introduce me if anyone asks. If someone does see us, they see two people talking. And if no place suits, we speak by video or phone.