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When you’ve made the decision to protect a collection through insurance, you want to be sure that coverage amounts measure up to the value of your items. Determining proper values can be tricky, as so many variables impact a piece’s worth. Given the ever-changing market, values are in constant flux. That’s why professional appraisals are critical, and it is important to make an informed decision when choosing an appraiser.

Sustaining wealth across multiple generations require more than financial planning. Interrelated and building off one another, 25 non-financial best governance practices have been identified as having a positive impact on the ultimate success of sustaining wealth for enterprise families.

Today’s risk environment is more complex than ever before, and successful individuals, families, and family enterprises are facing a convergence of personal, commercial, strategic, and financial risks. This latest Family Office Benchmarking Study provides a deep examination of concerns, trends, and personal insurance data and programs that are specific to the family office segment.

Works of art are at great risk of being damaged during handling and transportation. To reduce the likelihood of loss, it is important to adhere to a stringent set of guidelines for every transit. Arrangements will differ in each situation, but following the recommended steps—including selecting a fine art specialty shipping company and reviewing your insurance policy regarding any limits on transit coverage—are components of every good transit protocol.

Lending to middle market companies in the U.S. and in Europe has shifted due to structural changes and evolving risk tolerances in each respective banking system. The emergence of direct lending as an established asset class is here to stay, and given the recent inflow of new entrants into the sector, it is imperative that investors select managers wisely. In this comprehensive market analysis of the U.S. and European Direct Lending markets, it is clear that direct loans offer distinctive investment opportunities and can generate attractive returns.

Federal tax reform has potentially and perhaps unexpectedly increased the tax liability for families by destroying the deduction for investment expenses. However, the recent United States Tax Court decision on the Lender Management case may provide an opportunity for family offices to maintain deductibility for legitimate business expenses under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) 162 instead of Section 122. Therefore, family offices desiring to deduct expenses may want their facts to closely mirror those of Lender Management, LLC and to consider restructuring.

Many employers and family offices find performance reviews can be a challenging task. But with a new take—one that turns a performance review into a career conversation—it can become an opportunity to establish a healthy dialogue that provides space to exchange feedback, assess performance, and “take the temperature” of the manager and staff. The time spent with your team is valuable, as well as critical to the success and cohesiveness of your organization, business, office, or home.

While it is true that having money can create great opportunities, it can make some people feel awkward and harbor deep feelings of regret and shame. Those feelings can dramatically influence wealth management decisions, affecting both the inheritors and wealth creators. When issues surrounding wealth as a burden go unrecognized, they can be magnified over several generations and result in dysfunction and conflict. To resolve these feelings, it is helpful to become explicitly aware that they exist and then to look more deeply at their source.

Communication is found to be the most important factor for cohesion in families and sustainability of family wealth. As one of the key tenets to happy, healthy, and thriving families, it is essential for family members to dedicate the effort necessary to become better communicators. Practicing effective communications—including being open and listening empathetically—will go a long way in building strong relationships, especially for families who work together around shared ownership of family assets.

Family connectedness, not money, has the greatest influence on multi-generational family continuity. But when many think about legacy, it’s often in the context of multi-generational financial wealth. Money, though, masks what people are really interested in passing to future generations of their family.