A Strategic Approach to Purpose Driven Legacy Planning
In this conversation, Professional Advisor Network member Priya Prakash Royal, challenges the industry’s default focus on planning for tax efficiency, gift vehicles and technical optimization. She proposes instead that when client planning starts with structures instead of people, advisors risk solving for the wrong outcome. She makes a compelling case for flipping the process: beginning with the client’s purpose, values and lived behaviors, then building governance framework that guides the technical decisions that follow.
Drawing on real-life client scenarios, Priya outlines an integrated advisory model that bridges legal, financial and human dynamics. Her purpose-driven framework offers a practical lens for advisors navigating complex, multigenerational, and cross-border families.
For advisors looking to deepen client relationships, differentiate their approach, and deliver more durable outcomes, this conversation offers a thought-provoking shift in how we define value in our work.
Priya Prakash Royal, Esq., LL.M. (Taxation), MBA, AEP, TEP
Founder and Managing Attorney, International Private Client Tax & Cross-Border Counsel
Royal Law Firm
Priya Royal is an elite international private client tax and wealth planning attorney practicing since 2006. Admitted in DC, NJ, NY, MD, and PA, she leads a global counsel network primarily in North America, Asia and Europe, and expanding to portions of South America, Africa, and Oceania. A former IRS Estate & Gift Tax Attorney, Priya has examined prominent estate, gift, and fiduciary tax returns, valuations, and planning, contributed to internal IRS training, and advised on billion dollar estates and multi jurisdictional structures.
In addition to her former service in IRS Estate & Gift Tax, Priya has held private practice positions including serving as counsel across litigation adjacent tax practices, multinational estate planning and administration, and philanthropic planning. In 2009, she founded Royal Law Firm PLLC to serve first generation wealth creators, multinationals, and global families, combining legal acumen, cultural fluency, and legacy-focused execution.
