Recent Books and Articles
3 Keys to Raising Families in an Atmosphere of Wealth
Click to read this short thought piece on 3 Keys to Raising Families in an Atmosphere of Wealth, as published in Talking Trends online magazine on November 5, 2024.
You can also watch this brief video clip.
I am excited that this article was selected to be featured in the Fall 2024 edition of the Signitt Gazett, a semiannual publication that highlights thought-provoking articles and captivating interviews. https://www.signitt.net/gazett
Last updated: August 4, 2026
The main takeaway that I would like to leave with everyone is the importance of communicating with your family members about the important topics of your family’s values, culture and legacy, and listening to your children and grandchildren communicating with you about their questions, concerns, and points of view.
Best Governance Practices for Family Offices
Read this short piece discussing the importance of Best Governance Practices for Family Offices, as published in Inspiration and Insights online magazine on October 10, 2024, also a brief video clip.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
We can all learn from best practices for families and family offices.
The very best practice for a family is to plan ahead for leadership succession, starting on Day 1. Those families and family offices who think about and plan for their leadership succession from the very beginning are setting themselves up for success.
My second suggested best practice for families of wealth and family offices is a culture of open communication. The family should discuss and identify who they are as a family, what they stand for, not just their value statement, but actually their family story. I often help families craft their family story in such a way that it can be told and retold, not haphazardly, but intentionally and thoughtfully after consideration.
What does good family governance look like?
Please click to read this short piece on “What does good family governance look like?“, as published in Impact! online magazine on September 9, 2024, also a short video clip.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
What does good family governance look like?
The foundational question is, what is family governance? To me, governance in the family context is simply a fancy way of saying, “How are we as a family going to make decisions, especially when the chips are down, when it gets difficult, when there is a divisive family conflict?” The best family governance structure is the one that is thought about and agreed upon ahead of time, when the family is still in harmony.
As to what a good family governance structure looks like, it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. What might be the perfect approach for one family might be completely inappropriate for another.
New Podcast Interview: Family Office TV with Angelo Robles 8/13/2024
What an absolute delight to engage in discussion with Angelo Robles on his Family Office TV podcast on “How to Incorporate Next-Gen Across the Family Enterprise.”
Among the many topics included were:
• The intricate details of incorporating the next generation into various aspects of the family enterprise, including the family business, family office, and philanthropy.
• The importance of developing a strong internal purpose and leadership, and how these elements contribute to the family culture — along with common pitfalls.
Reasons to Establish a Family Office
Please read this short piece discussing Reasons to Establish a Family Office, as published in Point of View online magazine on August 7, 2024, also a brief video clip.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
What are some of the reasons that families establish a Single Family Office?
The reasons are as unique as the families themselves, but ultimately, they tend to fall into a few different buckets.
Building Trust at a Family Meeting
Click to read this short thought piece on Building Trust at a Family Meeting, as published in Talking Trends online magazine on July 8, 2024.
You can also watch this brief video clip.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
Building a threshold level of trust within the family is a critical component of planning for a family meeting. It is not always intuitive or easy.
Interview in 2024 Acclaim magazine
I was interviewed in the 2024 Acclaim magazine, which recognizes leaders across the global wealth management industry.
Read it HERE.
Communicate Your Family Legacy
Read this short piece discussing the importance of Communicating Your Family Legacy, as published in Inspiration and Insights online magazine on June 5, 2024, also a brief video clip.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
My favorite quote on the topic of family legacy is from George Bernard Shaw, who said, “The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
Many parents tell me that they believe that their kids have no idea about their family’s wealth. I often respond that nonverbally, the parents have often communicated much more than they think they have. Children watch their parents for nonverbal cues; how you live, how you travel, the relative size and location of your home, even the schools your children attend, will communicate volumes to your children.
Winner! Family Wealth Counseling
I am thrilled to have won at the Family Wealth Report Awards 2024 for Family Wealth Counseling! The awards ceremony was on May 2, 2024. The judges commented that Wealth Legacy Advisors “offers a range of services to families of significant wealth including advising on raising family members, developing leadership succession plans and legacies of family businesses. Susan R Schoenfeld is a true thought-leader in the UHNW community.” What an honor just to be included with the other exceptional finalists in this category. Congratulations to all the talented and amazing professionals and firms who were recognized.
The “Why” of a Family Office
Read this short piece on “The “Why” of a Family Office“, as published in Impact! online magazine on May 2, 2024, also a short video clip.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
The notion of Legacy in a family is the most critical “Why” for families setting up a family office. Why is your family establishing a family office, and what is the legacy of your family that your family office will support?
What is a Family Office?
Please read this short piece discussing What is a Family Office?, as published in Point of View online magazine on April 3, 2024, also a brief video clip.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
“What is a family office” is a very interesting question. There is a great deal of confusion and disagreement about the term. In the past 20 years, there has been a proliferation of RIA’s and wealth management firms calling themselves family offices because it’s the new “it” label, and it may be seen as a way to attract new investors.
There are two main types of family offices, the Single-Family Office (SFO) and the Multi-Family Office (MFO).
Gold Medal Winner!
I am thrilled and honored to be the GOLD WINNER of the Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year at the 2024 Citywealth Powerwomen Awards USA! The award ceremony was on March 14, 2024. Thanks to Citywealth for championing women in the wealth sector, and congratulations to all the talented and amazing professionals who were recognized.
The Biggest Mistake in Setting Up Family Offices
Click to read this short thought piece on the Biggest Mistake in Setting Up Family Offices, as published in Talking Trends online magazine on March 4, 2024.
You can also watch this brief video clip.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
One of the biggest mistakes that people make in setting up a family office is the failure to think about the future and to build-in adaptability and flexibility into their structure.
If the wealth creators have set up their family office simply to run their own assets, and they’re not necessarily thinking about or incorporating and engaging the next generation’s needs and values into that family office, then it’s destined to fail.
If the family is setting up their family office and isn’t thinking about leadership succession planning from Day One, then it’s destined to fail.
The Right Age to Start Teaching Next Gen About Wealth
Please read this short piece discussing the right age to start teaching the next gen about wealth, as published in Inspiration and Insights online magazine on February 7, 2024, also a brief video clip.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
The right age to start teaching the next generation about wealth was yesterday. You can’t start yesterday, so start today!
It’s the age-old questions of how much do we give our kids, and when? And how much do we tell our kids about our family’s wealth, and when? Those two questions are the ones that, in my experience, do keep parents of wealth up at night.
Wealth Legacy Advisors Named Finalist in 4 Categories at 11th Annual Family Wealth Report Awards 2024
Wealth Legacy Advisors LLC, nationally recognized thought-partner to UHNW families and their trusted advisors, today announced that it has been designated a finalist in 4 separate categories at The 11th Annual Family Wealth Report Awards.
We are honored to have been included in the list of finalists in these categories:
-FAMILY WEALTH COUNSELLING
-LEADING INDIVIDUAL
-OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO WEALTH MANAGEMENT THOUGHT LEADERSHIP (INDIVIDUAL)
-WOMEN IN WEALTH FAMILY OFFICE (INDIVIDUAL)
Winners will be announced at a gala on May 2, 2024. The Family Wealth Report Awards recognize expert services for private family wealth firms. The awards reward achievement and showcase best-in-class providers. Read the Press Release HERE.
Helping The Next Gen Find Their Own Identity
Click to read this short piece discussing Helping The Next Gen Find Their Own Identity, as published in Impact! online magazine on January 10, 2024, also a brief video clip.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
In thinking about helping the next generation find their own identity, I recall a family meeting that I facilitated a number of years ago. The wealth creator and his wife had three high-school age children. The parents called for a family meeting because they had the foresight to recognize that their children were different than they were. The children were not financially-minded people, they were artists: one child was a filmmaker, another was a fine artist, and the third was a musician.
As the kids began their college research process, the parents wanted them to know that they had the freedom and flexibility to pursue their passions, and that their parents would not force them into the family business. They wanted their children to understand that as long as the children were doing something productive with their lives and making the world a better place, the parents’ estate plan would support that.
This was years ago and I still remember the story, because the empowerment that these youngsters felt in knowing that they could pursue their passion with freedom and a safety net, that they didn’t have to become captains of industry in order to inherit their parents’ wealth, was a powerful lesson to me. It is one that I share with you because parents of wealth often struggle with how to get their kids to find their own path in life.
What is Wrong with this Picture?
Please read this short piece discussing the wrong picture in wealth management meetings, as published in Point of View online magazine on December 5, 2023, also a brief video clip.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
My journey to working with families on what is so often in the wealth management space called the soft tissues, but I actually think they’re the hardest issues of all so I call them the human issues of wealth, all started with a human encounter.
I describe myself as a recovering trusts and estates lawyer. At some point I realized that there was more I could be doing for families of wealth beyond just drafting their estate planning documents. I then went in-house at a wealth management trust firm, and while working there, I had one of those Aha! moments.
Why is a Family Foundation Like a Holiday Puppy?
Read this short piece on “Why is a Family Foundation Like a Holiday Puppy?“, as published in Talking Trends online magazine on November 6, 2023, also a short video clip.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
When parents set up a Family Foundation they often think, wouldn’t it be nice after we’re gone that our family gathers at holiday time and they talk about what really matters to them, they talk about their values, and they say, let’s give the money away to charities that can help heal the world.
I had a former colleague who used to say that a family foundation is like a holiday puppy. Why, you ask? I’ll let you think about it for a moment.
Technology in Family Offices
Click to read this short thought piece on how the use of Technology in Family Offices was a game-changer during the pandemic lockdown, and highlighting some cyber risks for families, as published in Inspiration and Insights online magazine on October 3, 2023. You can also watch this brief video clip.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
On the topic of the use of technology in family offices, we cannot fail to mention what we just lived through for the past three years.
We could not have survived during the pandemic without technology. The platforms of Zoom, Teams, GoToMeeting and others made family meetings possible at a time when it wasn’t safe to gather and to meet in-person and to travel.
During the heart of the pandemic lockdown, I facilitated a series of family meetings with an international family, and I never met them in person.
A New Podcast Interview!
I had a fun and thoughtful conversation with Kurt Thoennessen on his Private Client Risk & Resilience Podcast.
Listen to it HERE.
Involving the Next Gen in Family Governance
Click to read this short piece discussing involving the next gen in family governance, as published in Impact! online magazine on September 5, 2023, also a brief video clip.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
The opportunity to mentor the next generation is critical. Give them an opportunity to be heard, to voice their feelings, and to participate in the family meetings, even before they’re of age.
Powerwomen Awards Shortlist
I am surprised and delighted to have been shortlisted for the Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year category of the Citywealth Powerwomen Awards (USA) 2024, which champions women in the wealth sector. Thank you so much to whomever nominated me, and congratulations to all the amazing professionals who were nominated this year! Please vote for me here:
https://www.citywealthmag.com/powerwomen-awards-usa-voting/
Voting closes December 1, 2023, and winners will be announced on March 13, 2024.
What is Family Governance?
Read this short piece on “What is Family Governance?“, as published in Point of View online magazine on August 2, 2023, also a short video clip.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
What is governance? As a term, governance is really just a fancy way of saying, how do we as a family make decisions? How do we as a family establish structures and a framework for generations who come after us to make decisions after the referees — the matriarch and patriarch — are no longer with us? After the referees are gone, the opportunity for bedlam can ensue.
Interview in 2023 Acclaim magazine
I was interviewed in the 2023 Acclaim magazine, which recognizes leaders across the global wealth management industry.
Read it HERE.
Celebrating 10 Years!
On July 1, 2023, we celebrated a major milestone – 10 years since Wealth Legacy Advisors was founded!
I couldn’t be more proud of, and more grateful for, the trust and confidence that my clients have placed in me these 10 years, and I look forward to continuing to serve you for many more years to come.
What keeps you up at night? Ten years ago I had a big idea – that what keeps families of wealth up at night is not their investments, taxes or estate plans, but rather raising their families in an atmosphere of wealth to become competent and confident stewards of their wealth.
Read more HERE, as published on June 2, 2023 in Inspiration and Insights online magazine.
Celebrating 10 Years!
Last updated: July 8, 2026
On July 1, 2023, we will celebrate a major milestone — 10 years since Wealth Legacy Advisors was founded!
I couldn’t be more proud of, and more grateful for, the trust and confidence that my clients have placed in me these 10 years, and I look forward to continuing to serve you for many more years to come.
What keeps you up at night? Ten years ago I had a big idea — that what keeps families of wealth up at night is not their investments, taxes or estate plans, but rather raising their families in an atmosphere of wealth to become competent and confident stewards of their wealth.
What is in a name? Our name Wealth Legacy Advisors was chosen carefully to convey that we advise on the legacy of wealth, not the financial or investment management of that wealth. We are thought partners to UHNW families about the human issues of wealth: their legacy, stewardship and governance. We do not provide any investment advice, legal advice or tax advice, and do not sell insurance or any other product.
The families who have invited me into their worlds these past 10 years are each fascinatingly unique but, upon reflection, do tend to fall into two distinct patterns. First are the families experiencing some pressing business transaction or transition, perhaps in an operating family business or in the “business of the family” — the family’s ongoing investments, or even the family’s philanthropic vehicle.
These families brought me into their system because they trusted that my deep background in law and business advising UHNW families for my entire career would enable me to understand — and not inadvertently disturb — the complex and technical planning, agreements and transactions already in place.
Second are the families NOT experiencing an immediate business crisis, who want to get ahead of the curve by engaging in governance planning to set up the next generation for success, and creating structures for better communication and decision-making before the inevitable issues arise.
I’ve been engaged by family offices and by trustees of family trusts to foster responsibility and common bonds among beneficiaries, and by parents and grandparents to facilitate family meetings and engage in mission, vision and values exercises which might result in family constitutions and the like.
With my People-First approach, I helped UHNW families like yours navigate the complex issues at hand, while acknowledging that the true source of tension may well be at the intersection of financial matters with the family dynamics iceberg lying deeper below the surface.
I am passionate about the work that I do with families of wealth. The so-called “soft issues” of wealth are the hardest of all, and I look forward to my next 10 years of guiding families through the land mines … and having fun while doing so!
How to Retain Clients During The Great Wealth Transfer
I am honored to be featured in the Family Wealth Report in a new article that I co-authored with Carol R. Kaufman: How to Retain Clients During The Great Wealth Transfer, published on May 17, 2023. You can read it HERE, or read a short piece about it published in Talking Trends online magazine on July 10, 2023 HERE.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
The largest generational wealth transfer in US history has already begun.
Most research shows that fewer than 20% of adult children of affluent clients will remain with their parents’ financial advisor after inheriting their parents’ wealth, because they have very different expectations of how they want advisory services delivered to them.
Trusted advisors to HNW baby boomers, such as financial advisors, wealth managers, and estate planning attorneys, recognize that retaining the next generation of clients is critical for the long-term success of their business. The issue is how to best accomplish this.
Winner: Outstanding Thought Leadership!
I couldn’t be more delighted to announce that on May 4, 2023, I won the Family Wealth Report Award for Outstanding Contribution to Wealth Management Thought Leadership (Individual)!
The judges praised my “many pieces of written thought leadership, and participation on panel discussions and in interviews.“ In a prestigious category with so many talented and worthy finalists, what an honor to be singled out.
Read the press release HERE.
The 3 Rules of Family Governance
To learn my views on the 3 Rules of Family Governance, read this short piece published in Impact! online magazine on May 2, 2023. There’s also a super-short video clip.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
We all know that the three rules in real estate are location, location, location.
My three rules of family governance are communication, communication, communication.
But what do many wealth creators think the three rules are? Control, control, control.
The Decision Tree Before Creating a Family Office
Read this short piece on the Decision Tree Before Creating a Family Office, as published in Point of View online magazine on April 3, 2023, also a short video clip.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
If you don’t have the proper team in place to advise on setting up family office structures, you’re doing yourself and your family a disservice. There are many landmines and you can’t just follow the fact pattern of the Lender case without considering a number of other factors.
When I help families think through structuring their family office, some of the first questions that I ask are:
Susan Schoenfeld Quoted in Crain Currency!
Susan Schoenfeld was quoted in Crain Currency:
March 29, 2023: When family offices cross borders, they encounter challenges … and opportunities.
Click HERE to read the PDF, or read the article online: