Founders planning the next chapter
Owners who built the company and want to prepare the transition of leadership and ownership while they can still guide it.
Family Business Governance & U.S. Visa Advisory
Family businesses should outlive family disagreements. We build the governance that helps them do it.
Many family businesses in the United States do not close because the business failed. They close because the family could not agree. We help founders, families and multinational groups put in place the governance, succession and ownership rules that keep the family and the company moving in the same direction.
Confidential consultations in English, Portuguese and Spanish.
Orlando, FloridaFlorida-registered advisory firm
Three languagesEnglish, Portuguese and Spanish
Family and multinationalFamily businesses and global groups
ConfidentialDiscretion in every engagement
Our mission
Fewer family businesses lost to family conflict.
Family businesses employ neighbors, anchor communities and sustain suppliers across the United States. When one of them closes because the family could not agree, the loss reaches far beyond the family: jobs, local economies and decades of accumulated knowledge disappear with it.
Tobias Estate & Legacy Strategy exists to reduce that loss. We bring structure to the conversations families tend to avoid, such as who leads next, who owns what, how family members are paid and how disagreements are resolved, so that a healthy business is not closed by a problem that could have been prevented.
Meet the firmWhat we do
Advisory for the family, the company and the people who run it.
Family Business Governance
Family constitutions, family councils, boards, succession and ownership agreements for businesses that want to outlive the founding generation.
Learn moreBusiness Consulting
Strategy, management and commercial analysis of contracts for companies operating in the United States.
Learn moreMultinational Companies and International Structures
Governance of U.S. subsidiaries and family-controlled groups, plus incorporation and upkeep of international companies.
Learn moreU.S. Visas
Case preparation for EB-1A and EB-2 NIW, visitor visas and support for visa situations that need attention, with partner immigration attorneys.
Learn moreRelocation and Documentation
Certified translations, consular documents and a practical plan for the move itself.
Learn moreWho we serve
For families and companies at a turning point.
Sibling and cousin partnerships
Second and third generation owners who share the business and need clear rules for decisions, roles, compensation and exits.
Multinational and family-controlled groups
Groups operating in the United States and abroad that need aligned governance between the controlling family, the parent company and the U.S. operation.
Professionals and families moving to the U.S.
Accomplished professionals and business families who need a well prepared case for EB-1A, EB-2 NIW or visitor visas.
How we work
A clear process, from first conversation to lasting routine.
- 01
Confidential conversation
We listen to the founder, the family or the leadership team to understand the business, the people and what is at stake.
- 02
Diagnostic
Interviews and document review map the family, the ownership and the leadership, and show where the real risks are.
- 03
Written plan
A clear roadmap with priorities: the agreements to build, the forums to create and the decisions to make first.
- 04
Implementation and follow-through
We facilitate the meetings, coordinate licensed U.S. professionals for the legal and tax documents, and review the structure over time.
Our commitment
We will never promise an outcome.
Governance reduces the risk of conflict. It does not replace the goodwill of the people involved, and no advisor can guarantee family harmony. Visas and green cards, in turn, are decided exclusively by U.S. government authorities. What we promise is rigor: an honest diagnosis, a well built plan and complete transparency at every step.
Why Tobias
The difference is in how we think about your family and your business.
Neutral ground
We do not take the side of any one family member. Our focus is the continuity of the business and of the family together.
Family and business expertise
More than a decade advising business families in Brazil on family, succession and corporate matters, applied to family businesses in the United States.
A cross-border perspective
Experience with families and groups that operate between the United States, Brazil and Latin America.
Personal and discreet
A boutique practice. You speak with the founder, and your information stays confidential.
Founder
“A family business should never close because the family did not know how to disagree. Many of these conflicts can be prevented with the right conversation at the right time.”
Vanessa Fernandes Tobias
Founder and Principal Advisor
Read her backgroundQuestions
Frequently asked questions
What is family business governance?
It is the set of agreements, forums and routines that define how a family relates to the business it owns: who decides what, who can work in the company, how ownership passes between generations and how disagreements are handled.
Is Tobias Estate & Legacy Strategy a law firm?
No. We are a Florida-registered advisory and consulting firm. We do not provide U.S. legal advice or legal representation. We work in coordination with licensed U.S. attorneys, whom you engage directly for any legal advice, legal document or representation.
Do you work with multinational companies?
Yes. We advise family-controlled multinational groups and foreign companies with operations in the United States on the governance between the controlling family, the parent company and the U.S. entity.
Can you guarantee that my visa or green card will be approved?
No one can. Decisions belong exclusively to U.S. authorities such as USCIS and the Department of State. Our role is to help you choose a sound pathway and present a well organized, well documented case.
Do you work with clients outside the United States?
Yes. We serve families and companies in the United States and abroad. Consultations take place online or in person, in English, Portuguese or Spanish.
How do I get started?
Fill out the engagement form on our contact page. We review every submission personally and reply by email to schedule your discovery consultation.
Let us talk about the future of your family business.
Tell us about your family, your company and your goals. We will review your information personally and reply by email to schedule a confidential consultation.