How can families best prepare the rising generation for inheritance and/or joining the family business? Parents may reasonably worry about raising spoiled or entitled offspring, and may feel uncomfortable discussing topics like wills and trusts before their kids are mature enough to grasp such concepts. However, a failure to prepare children for the responsibilities that come with being a custodian of significant wealth is not in the best interest of the child or the assets….
Family philanthropy can be a very effective way to bridge generations and engage the rising generation. However, according to a recent poll from Key Private Bank, there are significant differences between parents and children on matters of giving. Most parents are not discussing philanthropy with their children, let alone agreeing on causes. 82% of advisors say very few clients involve the next generation in family philanthropy. Faith-based causes represent 73% of interest from parents, but…
When seeking to deal with conflict in family business, it is essential to understand the impact of the family dynamic on a business. Conflict in family business happens differently, therefore must be resolved differently. Disputes within a family don’t escalate suddenly. They are often built on years of relationship sentiment that is latent or suppressed. The triggers for those conflicts can be the smallest thing, because they are just the straw that breaks the camel’s…
The conflicts that take place within wealthy families are often on display through the media as a result of their public profiles (and because people want to read about them). For outsiders, they can be hard to understand: What are they fighting about? Surely there is enough there for everyone? But in fact, wealthy families have all the same family issues as others: sibling rivalries, favouritism, jealousy, power struggles, and the search for identity. The…
Wealthy people broadly come in two flavours – wealth creators and wealth inheritors – and each have very different characteristics. Attitudes to money and wealth are usually established as we grow up and largely remain with us for the duration of our lives. Creators often grow up without a lot of money and therefore have different attitudes to spending and the value of a dollar, are uncomfortable talking about it with their children, and often…
I thought I would re-share this co-written article last year with me and Henry Brandts-Giesen for the New Zealand Law Society about two different perspectives on information disclosures for family trust beneficiaries. I discuss the the humanistic perspective while Henry discusses the legal view of it. They put forward the trustee’s obligations and rights in this article. Original Article: https://www.lawsociety.org.nz/practice-resources/practice-areas/trusts/perspectives-on-the-disclosure-of-information-to-beneficiaries-of-family-trusts For additional in-depth, thought-provoking discussion points and commentary on family and business, sign-up to gain…
Kenny Rogers sang of the importance of knowing “when to hold ’em, and when to fold ’em”. Any succession plan worth its salt isn’t just a plan of who will succeed whom in running the business. It also needs a “Plan B” for the scenarios where the chosen successor is unwilling or unable, where there is no successor, or where a generational transition of the business might lead to serious conflict. Some business founders/owners enjoy…
Financial advisors are an ‘old’ bunch – with an average age in their mid-50s and a big bulge of advisors now in their 60s and 70s. If that didn’t already pose a risk to their clients, the COVID-induced recession means that many of them will leave sooner than expected – either by choice or otherwise – and may choose to retire completely in the current economic environment. Merrill Lynch, perhaps in response to both issues,…
During a crisis, having a family business can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, there are often family elders with experience in overcoming previous recessions, support from the family unit, and the fact that family businesses tend to be more risk averse and therefore in a better position to weather the storm. But some of those very attributes can also manifest as weaknesses. For example, family businesses have a concern for a wide range…
A “universal truth” about the imbalance of inputs and outputs is what became known as the Pareto principle, or the 80/20 rule. While it doesn’t always come to be an exact 80/20 ratio, this imbalance is often seen in various business cases, Here we will address how not to sell a family business. 0% of all businesses do not sell, and only about 30% of family businesses get handed down to the next generation. If…
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