As I reflect on the 8 years since I founded Wealth Legacy Advisors in July 2013, and throughout my career working with ultra-high net worth families, the one consistent question I hear is: What are other families doing in this situation? How are other families successfully raising their children in an atmosphere of wealth to become competent and confident stewards of their wealth?
I have worked with many families of wealth over the course of my career. The beauty and the thrill of the work that I do is that every family is unique, like a snowflake; nevertheless, a distinct pattern has emerged in families who have engaged me to help guide them through a particular challenge they face. In all cases, the families have significant wealth, whether inherited or created at their generation, such that they are thinking about their legacy and the generations that will come after them.
Although I am a ‘recovering’ Trusts & Estates attorney with a J.D. and LL.M. in Taxation, I do not practice law or give any legal advice. Although I am a CPA and have an MBA, I do not give any tax, accounting or professional advice of any kind, but I use my skills, background and experience to inform my work with enterprising families and the challenges they face.
Some recent examples of families* who have engaged me to facilitate their discussions include:
The Dixon family created a family bank-like structure to provide seed money to family members who wished to start a business, with required family co-ownership for any business launched as a result. One family member’s business did not match the ownership structure envisioned by the rest of the family, which resulted in disharmony and upset.
Our work with the family led to a deeper discussion of the family’s underlying values, including how to educate the grandchild generation about the family’s story and principles. The values discussions branched out into a vision of a collective family philanthropy initiative.
The Lynch family faced an impending leadership succession dilemma. The business founder and visionary was approaching age 80, the two other family members active in the business were in siloed operational roles, and the founder did not believe they had the strategic skills to succeed him in the top role.
After a series of family meetings, the family collectively decided to sell the company now while the founder was still able to maximize sale value.
The George family, whose operating family business was planning a significant transaction that required all the shareholders to commit to keep their capital invested in the business for a period of years. For financial as well as family dynamics reasons, some of the cousins wanted to deploy their capital elsewhere.
After a series of facilitated meetings centering on fairness and respect, these cousins exited the family business so they could strengthen their family relationships without the stress of being co-investors. The remaining family members were pleased to have family harmony restored.
The Harris family had established a family limited partnership to invest in private equity. One 2nd generation family member managed the private equity and asked for an enhanced compensation formula. This request sparked dissention and conflict, but it turned out that the underlying issue was actually the perceived favored position of this family member with the family patriarch.
Our mandate was to restore family harmony among the 2nd generation. One of our facilitated family meetings culminated in a spontaneous group hug among all of them!
These stories all are different, but the one common theme is the struggle at the intersection of family business and the dynamics of inter-generational communication.
*Names and some details changed to preserve client confidentiality.
