Is stewardship right for your burgeoning family office?

Ryan FelpsStewardship

Once you see that your family’s wealth is complex in nature or is on its way to becoming complex with future events unfolding, it’s important to take an honest look at whether the practice of stewardship is a fit for your family wealth management.

Start with a simple assessment

Who has all the information concerning each legal and financial relationship impacting the estate? How is that information stored? Would a fire be catastrophic to your record keeping efforts? How easy is it to put your fingers on the information? Who is keeping things up to date? How are you kept apprised of upcoming deadlines that affect the estate? (For example, how easy is it to see a list of every loan coming due or contract terminating in the next 18 months?)

There is an “institutional memory” that knows the history of the legal and financial relationships that touch the estate. Is that institutional memory you? What’s the continuity plan in place to ensure that institutional memory can pass to the next generation?

Are there certain advisors that maintain key information that you don’t personally maintain? What would happen if you could no longer access those advisors?

If after asking yourself all of these questions you feel comfortable, excellent. Keep up the good work. However, if this self assessment leaves you with heartburn, you are in good company. The super majority of families are just like yours. But being in the majority in this instance is not cause for celebration; it’s cause for action.

The specialists at Complex Interests are experts in the practice of stewardship of complex family wealth. They can put you on the path to put your mind at ease. Schedule an appointment today!