The Opportunity
Tom and Susan had simple childhoods and their parents worked hard to provide for them the best they could. With nothing to lose, Tom became an entrepreneur in his early 20’s and built up a successful business over the years. He and his wife Susan were proud that they were able to provide their three children with more opportunities and experiences than they had growing up.
Now their three children are in their late teens
and early twenties and Tom and Susan wonder how to approach the subject of
their wealth with them. Tom and Susan want to help their children succeed in
life and get ahead in their careers, as it’s harder than ever to become
established at a young age now a days. However, they also don’t want to remove
their children’s ambitions to set their own career paths and they have always
tried to instill in them that they need to work hard for their successes.
The Plan
As a Family Office we worked with Tom & Susan to have conversations with their children to gain a better understanding of what the children assumed about their family wealth, hear what it means to them, and to discuss their family values and to start teaching financial literacy. This is intended to give the children the knowledge of how to make good financial decisions and to continue to build on their own financial success independent of any inheritance they may receive and invest in a portfolio of profitable businesses.
While the family meeting conversations didn’t revolve around the exact dollar figures of the family’s wealth, it set the stage to discuss what responsibilities their wealth carries, what do they hope wealth does for their family, what are their family values, and potential roles within the family business.
The Outcome
This conversation is not ‘one and done’, but rather it’s an ongoing dialogue that the family will continue to have at different times and as their children mature. When Tom and Susan are ready to share more details of their wealth strategy, their children will be ready. An open dialogue about the family values and wealth will also help to create a strong relationship between Tom and Susan and their children and will help avoid resentment and anger in the future, and instead give the children a deeper interest in learning how to achieve an even greater level of success themselves and respect for their parents’ philanthropic goals.