Helping families get better, not just feel better

We help clients and their advisors address the relational issues that often make the family succession process so challenging. We connect with the members of each generation in a non-judgmental manner, providing a safe forum to talk through difficult subjects. We ensure that families have the support they need to persevere and explore multiple options.

We work alongside the couple engaged in a premarital process in the context of significant wealth, placing their relationship at the heart of the work, not on the sidelines. The premarital process becomes an important step in the growth of the couple’s relationship, NOT just a legal agreement outlining what to expect in the event of death or divorce.

We work with family businesses to design workable structures for decision-making in the family, the ownership group and the business, with a focus on the goals and tasks of each group. We also help identify the leadership roles and responsibilities for each group. Once these structures and processes are in place, our clients can move confidently towards their goals as a family and as a business.

We believe that starting with a shared purpose is essential, as it describes the glue that bonds family members together in their enterprise. Regardless of the countless strengths and talents each individual brings to the family and the business, the shared purpose is the North Star guiding the family through its inevitable challenges.

Families who have determined the ‘who’ in ownership often need help figuring out the ‘how’. We enable rich conversations about how owners make decisions, determine responsibilities and reach consensus to best develop financial and human capital.

Every wealth creator dreams of having their family wealth contribute to the wellbeing of their children and grandchildren. Inheritors face very different challenges related to finding meaning and purpose in their lives. We help families work together across generations to use their wealth as an engine for personal growth and self-actualization.

We work with families who need help establishing thoughtful decision-making around philanthropy and understanding how their giving impacts not just the world, but also their family. We guide conversations about philanthropic priorities and goals and about how to weave philanthropic activities into the family’s shared purpose.

It’s important that boards are aligned with the family business vision and are energized to fulfill that vision. We create customized processes and structures to help existing and newly established boards balance competing management and fiduciary interests while supporting family goals.

Through focused workshops and ongoing meeting facilitation, we work with families in real time to build communication skills needed to engage in the productive conflict necessary for a secure future for the family and the business.

The capacities required to grow a successful business or build significant wealth are very different from those needed to sustain a legacy family enterprise through the generations. We help our clients develop an understanding of this distinction and apply these different skill sets.

Family business offers a crucible for developing essential leadership qualities. We work with rising generations to ensure they have the leadership skills necessary to balance the needs of the enterprise while ensuring the wellbeing of the family.

Many people dream of how their lives would improve if suddenly they had significantly more money. The reality is that integrating a shift in financial status often feels like a shock to the families that actually experience it. We support families before and after liquidity events to grow the capacities needed to manage this transformative experience.