Search Results

From risk management to objective perspectives to succession planning, boards are a crucial component to help the family business achieve longevity. Boards serve as a mechanism to clarify the mandates of the family and provide continuity and formal guidance to future generations. During this session, experts will share easy-to-implement governance ...

The Board of Directors plays a pivotal role in the effective governance of any organization, including the private family trust company. Board members fulfill their roles and responsibilities, in part, by holding regular meetings that utilize a comprehensive agenda. One vital tool for an effective Board meeting is the meeting agenda. Here, ten sugg...

The death of a loved one is a difficult and emotional time for a family. There is often additional stress if you are appointed as the executor of the will and trustee of your family’s trusts, especially if the deceased had been the sole manager of substantial family assets and wealth. For an untrained person, it can be a daunting role. For these re...

When done well, a trustee’s service can have a profoundly positive impact on a family; when done poorly, a trustee’s service can create or exacerbate fissures within a family, dissipate family wealth, create personal liability for the trustee, and create a public spectacle that sullies the family’s good name and reputation. For key employees in fam...

Black swan events—like the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID pandemic—often come with high velocity and are slow to recover. While these events are difficult to predict, the best way to get ready for the next crisis is with extreme preparation. Looking ahead with intentional risk management, here are 8 ways to prepare your business, family enterp...

Ultimately, how well your wealth transfer plan fulfills your legacy and meets the needs of the next—and future—generations depends on whom you name as your trustee(s). This makes your trustee selection one of the most critical aspects of an already complex wealth planning process. To help navigate this selection process, work with a framework built...

Serving as a trustee for your family can be a valuable experience for you, while also providing an important service to your family. But before you accept the position, make sure that you understand the role you will play for the family and are willing to accept the responsibilities and liability that come with it.

To effectively serve as a trustee, it's crucial to understand your fiduciary duties. Even trustees with the best of intentions can create liability for themselves by being unprepared for the job or by not fully understanding their obligations. Learn more about some of the common mistakes family trustees make that can lead to lawsuits and other...

Creating a truly effective board doesn’t happen by accident. From selecting the right people, to running crisp meetings, to fostering good working relationships with management and one another—boards are tasked with many decisions that impact how well they function. Over time, boards fall into routines for how they operate. But how many regularly l...

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.

In this episode, two industry experts share their thoughts and practical guidance on directors and officers insurance (D&O), covering the fundamentals of the protections that A-B-C D&O insurance coverage provides and the three topics that D&O insurers are focused on right now: event-driven litigation such as cyber breaches; ...

The wealthy face compounding risks and a growing gap in protecting what they value most. Their insurance planning and coverage requires more customization—especially for assets that carry an emotional value. This research study examines the growing gap between what successful individuals and families value and how they choose to protect it against ...

Choosing a trustee is a major decision—one that may impact you and your family in many ways for generations to come. Essentially, when you establish a trust for the benefit of others, you are handing down your values through the terms of the trust and your contributed financial assets. And with an increasing number of trusts lasting for multiple ge...

Resilient enterprise families have learned how to see beyond the crisis at hand to find the opportunities hidden underneath. FOX Foresight keeps you up to date on our latest thinking about matters affecting Enterprise Families. It gives you our forward look on what we're learning from our members and subject matter experts. Please share it broad...

Senior leaders increasingly take opportunities to sit on boards or serve as executives of outside entities. But while serving in that capacity, is an individual director or officer covered under his/her organization’s directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance policy? Although such opportunities may benefit all companies involved, it also...