What does it mean to be an engaged and responsible beneficiary? We will explore the roles and responsibilities of a trustee, and learn from a father-daughter team about how they make the trustee-beneficiary relationship work. We will understand the roles each party plays and how to effectively approach trust-related communications.Robert Hammett, Vice President, ChiFam LLCStephanie Hammett, ChiFam LLC, NextGenSarah Kerr Severson, Partner, Schiff Hardin, LLC
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Traditionally, wealth advisors use a succession planning framework that involves working with the founders to look downstream to the next generation for an effective “passing of the baton” strategy. In contrast, a multi-generational approach encourages each person within the family system to contemplate and share with others where they’ve come from, what they’ve come with, what they wish to pass on, and what they wish to leave behind.
Market research reveals that nearly 70% of intergenerational wealth transfers fail by the third generation and almost 90% by the fourth. These are compelling statistics which have become top of mind concerns for many families as they plan their wealth transition to the next generation. For Australian families, there are three key challenges they face when transitioning wealth. A closer look shows what they are doing to beat the statistics and ultimately succeed, beginning with preserving family harmony and unity.
There’s no denying that the looming transfer of wealth will be great—the largest in history. However, for all the hype and years of coverage, the Great Wealth Transfer is more like the Great Wealth Trickle. Even as a trickle, for wealthy families focused on preserving their legacy over generations, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of effectively transferring wealth and how certain factors can impact the transfer on multiple fronts. Smart families recognize that a proactive approach is essential to a smooth transition.
Many wealth management clients often want to know how to prevent their children from becoming entitled. Specifically, they’re concerned that their children will rely on family wealth instead of forging their own paths to success and will lack an understanding of money beyond how to spend it. Moreover, parents may inadvertently seed entitlement in their children even as they’re trying to avoid it. To sidestep the entitlement trap, here are five consistently identified principles to help parents create more self-reliant children.
Most family businesses take on the characteristics of their founder or founding family, especially in their formative years. This changes as the company grows and the founder begins to transition ownership and control to future generations. To guide the business succession transition forward on a successful path, there needs to be a family governance plan to establish a framework for joint decision-making among family members based on shared values, a common mission or purpose, and a collective vision for the family’s future.
Thomas Calandra, who is in his mid-twenties, is the owner of Calandra Enterprise. Thomas credits his family business’s success to his grandfather’s hard work, determination, and artistry that greatly influences the services provided to their customers and clients at their bakeries, hotels, and restaurants. He and his sister vow not to be like other family-owned businesses that rise in the hands of the elders and crumble in the hands of the grandchildren.
A high-quality board of directors with a range of talents and experience can be a powerful resource for your company. Taking steps to ensure your board is well-designed, well-informed, and properly engaged will reap significant benefits for your company’s shareholders and management team.
As families and business grow and become more complex, family governance structures are created to ensure the success of the family enterprise and the preservation of the family and its legacy. But, how do you ensure the success of your governance plan? From practical aspects like running effective meetings to keeping the family engaged while they pursue their lives and dreams elsewhere, this webinar explored the essential components of effective governance, such as: