Family strategic planning

Family estate planning
Generally known simply as "Estate Planning" (and sometimes as "Inheritance Planning"), "Family Estate Planning" typically revolves around planning for the future transfer of financial assets from an Owner to one or more Heirs. The transfer is typically initiated by the death of the financial asset Owner and the planning typically focuses on: Indeed, traditional family estate planning often focuses almost exclusively on minimizing the taxation implications of a financial asset Owner's death in order to maximize the financial wealth transferred to the Owner's Heirs.
 * 1) the allocation of financial assets to Heirs;
 * 2) the terms of financial asset transfers to Heirs; and,
 * 3) the legal and taxation implications of financial asset transfers to Heirs.

In recent years, however, there has been a growing recognition that traditional estate plans often fail to accomplish the financial asset Owner's objective of maximally benefiting the Owner's Heirs. Indeed, traditional estate plans can sometimes positively harm the Owner's Heirs. Williams and Preisser claim that "research has established that 70% of wealth transitions fail", with "failure" "defined as 'involuntary loss of control of the assets'". Hughes notes that many cultures have a version of a proverb that states, "From shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations" -- suggesting that a family's financial wealth rarely lasts more than two or three generations.

In most cases, the failure of traditional estate plans to achieve the financial asset Owner's objective is not due to shortcomings in the legal and taxation planning -- "the 'money side' of inheritance planning". Rather, most cases of traditional estate plan failure are due to shortcomings in the "human side" of estate planning -- in other words, failures to adequately plan for (and even pro-actively shape) the behavior of Heirs (and of the Heirs' social networks of family and friends) prior to, during, and after inheritance. Williams and Priesser claim that research indicates that: Only:
 * 60% of "Estate-Transition Failures" were due to "a Breakdown of Communications and Trust within the Family Unit"; and that,
 * 25% of "Estate-Transition Failures" were due to "Inadequately Prepared Heirs".
 * 15% of "Estate-Transition Failures" were due to "ALL Other Causes such as Tax Considerations, Legal Issues, Mission Planning, etc".

Family succession planning
Loosely modeled on the notion of "succession planning" in business and other organizations, "Family Succession Planning" focuses on the "human side" of estate planning. "Defensively", one might say, family succession planning anticipates and effectively prepares for "the family issues, problems, and conflicts that arise with ever-increasing frequency when spouses, children, and others inherit the 'family wealth'." "Offensively", one might say, family succession planning seeks to prepare Heirs to effectively receive the "family wealth" they will someday inherit.

Family strategic planning
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Family therapy
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Financial wealth is a means not an end
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Financial wealth is not inherently beneficial
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A family's "end" is its members' well-being
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Most families are dysfunctional to some degree
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Family estate planning is necessary but not sufficient
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Family succession planning is necessary - but not sufficient
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Family strategic planning is necessary
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Family therapy is likely to be necessary
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Families with family businesses
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Families without family businesses
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Boglehead families
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Family leadership pre-planning
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Whole family strategic planning
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Whole family ongoing development
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Control
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Secrecy
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Greed
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Longevity
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Market variability
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Objections to family strategic planning
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Books
Hughes, James E., Jr.


 * Family Wealth--Keeping It in the Family: How Family Members and Their Advisers Preserve Human, Intellectual, and Financial Assets for Generations, 2nd. rev. ed. (New York: Bloomberg, 2004). ISBN 978-1576601518.
 * Family: The Compact Among Generations (New York: Bloomberg, 2007). ISBN 978-1576600245.

Williams, Roy [and Vic Preisser]


 * For Love & Money: A Comprehensive Guide to the Successful Generational Transfer of Wealth, (San Francisco: Monterey Pacific Publishing, 1997). ISBN 978-1880710012.
 * Preparing Heirs: Five Steps to a Successful Transition of Family Wealth and Values, (San Francisco: Robert Reed, 2003). ISBN 978-1931741316.
 * Philanthropy, Heirs & Values: How Successful Families Are Using Philanthropy To Prepare Their Heirs For Post-transition Responsibilities, (Brandon, OR: Robert Reed, 2005). ISBN 978-1931741514.

Lucas, Stuart E.


 * Wealth: Grow It, Protect It, Spend It, and Share It, (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2007). ISBN 978-0132350112.

Condon, Gerald M. and Jeffrey L. Condon


 * Beyond the Grave: The Right Way and the Wrong Way of Leaving Money To Your Children (and Others), rev. ed. (New York: HarperCollins, 2001). ISBN 978-0060936310.

Articles

 * Sullivan, Paul. "What to Tell the Children About Their Inheritance and When". New York Times. 20 July 2012
 * Riva, Richard A. "The Family Retreat". Revelations. (20 October 2010?)

Podcasts & Videos

 * Diefendorf, Rory and Vic Preisser. "Estate Planning for the Post Transition Period". 3 Dimensional Wealth. 1 October 2007.

Other

 * "Ongoing Family Meeting Process Chart". Money, Meaning & Choice Institute. (August 2012?)