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It is clear that affluent women today are involved, aware and knowledgeable about their wealth and wealth management. Indeed, more women are overcoming inherent obstacles and stereotypes by reaching out for additional financial knowledge and engaging experts as well as spouses to aid them in making prudent wealth management decisions.

While men continue to play a leadership role in their families when it comes to wealth management planning and decision-making, a growing number are inclined to discuss the family wealth and wealth transfer intentions with not only their spouses but also their heirs. Research indicates wealth-related decision-making is now a shared responsibility in more than 50 percent of households.

One key to helping develop greatness in the next generation is to encourage entrepreneurship. The formula for encouraging entrepreneurship will differ among families and may need to be adjusted to fit the needs of individual family members. It is important for families to recognize some of the unique issues they face and to think in advance of the steps they can take to address these challenges.

As the management and control of a family office passes to a younger generation, it is common for new leadership to reassess many of the organization's strategic elements against a new measurement criteria, a necessary process that can lead to difficult and transformational decisions. For many, the single-family offices that remain will bear little resemblance to the operations that their parents established.

The current economic environment offers parents the opportunity to educate their children about the transience of wealth and the need for self-reliance. This paper from Relative Solutions offers suggestions for overcoming a sense of entitlement and for increasing responsibility among next-generation family members.

Despite its challenges, the current economic environment offers opportunities that can benefit family-owned businesses. This article from the Beringer Group encourages family businesses to consider the possibilities that may exist in acquisitions, corporate restructurings, internal buyouts, succession planning and estate planning.

A hundred years is a long time. It is especially long in an age of the Internet, cell phones and Blackberrys. Society is also very much focused on instant results. Nevertheless, planning for the next 100 years is one of the most critical tasks a wealthy family faces today. With this 100-year plan, a family sets in motion a culture and philosophy that can guide future generations to perpetuate the family's financial and intellectual capital.

Based on a global survey of high-net worth individuals, including almost 300 family business owners, the eighth instalment of Barclays Wealth Insights provides fresh analysis into the state of family businesses around the world today. The report will assess the current situation and prospects of family businesses, and examine in detail their unique characteristics, advantages and disadvantages, with particular reference to today's challenging economic, financial and operating environment.