SPECIFIC TOOLS FOR THE INTERGENERATIONAL PRESERVATION OF FAMILY COMPANIES AND WEALTH IN SLOVENIA AND HUNGARY

Abstract

Family companies constitute an essential type of company in national and global economies, yet their long-term survival depends on effective succession planning. If the intergenerational transfer is not arranged in advance, the company faces the risk of fragmentation and even dissolution. Rather than comparing an identical legal tool in both jurisdictions, the article investigates two different instruments: one for advance and timely planning, and the other for the prevention of fragmentation through succession when no prior planning exists. Each tool is analyzed within its national framework, with the aim of demonstrating how such instruments may serve as role models not only for Slovenia and Hungary, but also for other jurisdictions. From the perspective of Slovenian law, the article considers whether special protective succession rules, similar to those preventing the fragmentation of protected farms, could be introduced to preserve family companies in cases where no prior transfer arrangements exist. From the perspective of Hungarian law, the paper analyses the asset management foundation, a private-law mechanism that allows founders to determine conditions for the governance and transfer of family wealth across multiple generations. The comparison reveals two contrasting approaches: a statutory framework aimed at preventing fragmentation of family companies, and a flexible private-law tool reserved primarily for families with substantial assets. Despite their differences in scope and accessibility, both instruments may coexist within a national framework: one facilitating advance succession planning, the other preventing fragmentation in its absence.