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Businesses worldwide are increasingly using social media networks to advertise and communicate with potential customers and constituents. Regardless of whether a business is using social media, its employees certainly are. Here are four reasons to establish rules for how employees use social media sites.

Selling the family-owned business is one of the most important financial decisions and transactions that any family will face. Business owners, their children and grandchildren will live with the results for a long time to come. Getting it right is important to maximize family wealth, and some basic advance planning — even several years in advance ...

Leadership succession and governance are important issues for every financial family. However, these issues are especially complex for business-owning families. To explore succession from an expert perspective, FOX spoke with Kelin Gersick, co-founder and senior partner of Lansberg, Gersick & Associates, a consulting and research firm specializing ...

Parents who are concerned about family harmony after their deaths are wise to address the issues of estate equalization as a key element of their estate and business planning. Most of the problems that would create disharmony among their children can be handled with careful thought and with wills, trusts and business agreements that clearly dictate...

For many entrepreneurs, the experience of selling their business may involve a loss of identity and purpose, despite the financial security that usually accompanies the sale. This paper addresses the personal challenges entrepreneurs face during the transition as well as issues created by a significant change in the nature of their wealth, from ill...

Family dynamics often play a critical role in the long-term success of family businesses, and women's relational and interpersonal skills tend to make them well-equipped to manage these issues. Effective leadership within the family business is, now more than ever, dependent on the inherent relational skills that a woman can bring to the busine...

A business transition plan should provide a good fit: for the business, for family members and for the owner. A transition road map also should provide clear instructions in the event of the owner's incapacitation or death – a sound reason to establish a plan sooner rather than later.

A method for determining the complexity level of a prospective client and evaluating if they are a good fit for the firm's services.

Even with the recently enacted financial industry reform legislation, prudent investors should evaluate whether their advisors are truly acting in their best interest by examining nine areas in which a conflict of interest could exist.

In our 1st Quarter 1991 newsletter, FOX interviewed the Laird Norton family office, which at that time had become a Private Trust Company and had been serving outside clients for several years. Now a firmly established Multifamily Office, Larid Norton discusses how their firm has evolved.

In general, a lifestyle specialist should save you time, reduce your stress, be exceptionally trustworthy and honest, and demonstrate veritable focus on making your specific desires and objectives into exceptional realities. The imperative to preserve your complete privacy, security, and integrity should be both second nature and at the front of...

Social media has moved from the fringes of techno geek culture to the mainstream with astonishing speed. The terms “social media” (or “social networking” or “Web 2.0”) is a catch-all for a variety of digital services, usually free to users and carrying advertising. Technology has always outpaced regulation and social media is no exception. Regulato...

Just a couple of decades ago a fortune of $50 million was more than sufficient to justify directly employing a staff of accountants and investment managers to keep track of the family finances, including the holdings of various trusts and foundations. Today, the “break even” point is closer to $250 million and climbing. Hence, many former single-fa...

Once a “fad” for tweens, teenagers and young adults, social media has morphed into a long list of websites and other applications that are frequented and used by people of all ages. Used correctly, social media can reap many benefits for families of wealth and their businesses. However, inappropriate use can wreak havoc on families' reputations and...

To select a high quality advisor, families must do their due diligence to verify experience, credentials and weed out conflicts of interest. This article, originally published in Worth magazine, looks at what questions you should ask during the selction process.