Family legacy: How to manage risk and avoid disputes

Introduction

Families are central to the Saudi economy and to the region’s prosperity. Yet many of the risks that threaten family wealth and business continuity arise from avoidable governance, ownership and succession challenges.

Mourant, in collaboration with the National Center for Family Businesses (NCFB), Quinn Emanuel, Burford Capital and PwC, hosted a seminar entitled “Family Legacy: How to Manage Risks and Avoid Disputes”. Dr Ayth Al Mubarak, Chief Executive of the NCFB, emphasised continuity, education and transparency as the foundations of durable family ownership.

This whitepaper is the first in a two-part series which captures the practical insights shared by the panel to help families reduce risk, preserve relationships and protect enterprise value for generations to come.

What’s covered in the whitepaper

Disputes in family businesses rarely arrive without warning. Governance gaps, unequal access to information, unclear exits and communication breakdowns can all increase the risk of conflict. In this whitepaper, our contributors share practical guidance to help families strengthen governance, manage risk and support long-term continuity, with topics including:

• How to identify the early warning signs of family business disputes, including information asymmetry, leadership changes and behavioural indicators that often emerge before conflicts escalate.
• Why governance weaknesses are among the most common causes of family business conflict, and how unclear decision-making, documentation gaps and unequal access to information can create long-term risks.
• How to create shareholder agreements and family charters that reflect how your family actually operates, including practical guidance on information rights, conflict disclosures and reserved matters.
• Approaches to managing ownership, exits and succession planning, including strategies to reduce friction between family branches and support long-term continuity.
• The role of trusts, holding structures and listing strategies in supporting multigenerational ownership, professionalising governance and maintaining oversight as families grow.
• Why transparency, financial education and shared understanding are essential to building trust and creating informed owners rather than passive recipients.
• Practical actions families can take today to strengthen governance and reduce future dispute risk

Contributors

We would like to thank the valuable contributions by Dr Ayth Al Mubarak (NCFB), Dr Nasser Alrubayyi (Quinn Emanuel), Dr Abdulaziz Alrashid (NCFB), Kassem Younes (PwC), Joe Durkin (Burford Capital), and Stephen Alexander (Mourant) who together shared their knowledge, expertise and experience.