Breaking the Third Generation Wealth Barrier

The occurrence of family wealth not surviving beyond being passed to the third generation is a noted occurrence around the world. One reason is that estate planning decisions are often made without understand the thinking and values of the next generation, or expressing the reasons behind the gift. Here are four tips for breaking this global trend:

1. Focus on family values when making financial decisions for estate planning purposes.
2. Base decisions on the intended purpose and intended impact of passing wealth to the future generations.
3. Have a clear understanding of the spiritual values of the family members.
4. Indentify other value systems or key life events that shape the way the family makes decisions.

See Richard Orlando, Preparing for the Assets, Wealth Management, July 31, 2014.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.