The Family Talk: Financial Matters to Discuss With Heirs

By Gregory Salsbury

Some studies indicate that a family’s wealth is usually dissipated within about three generations. Although discussing finances with family can be uncomfortable, it is necessary when it comes to successfully managing money. In the article Family and Finances: Start the Dialogue both parents and children can learn from common mistakes that many families make when it comes to financial planning.

Some topics that the article highlights include:

• The first steps in ensuring an inheritance lasts for generations
• How to handle an inheritance or sudden wealth
• The four key designations all family members need to complete on financial accounts and how to avoid common errors
• How to deal with financial planning whether you’re a parent saving for a college fund, child of elderly parents or planning for your own retirement

This article is not only helpful for retirement planning but can also be very useful for adult children who are hesitant when it comes to initiating a discussion on family finances. Even if you are well informed when it comes to financial planning, making sure that your children and/or parents are also informed is the next step in ensuring that family money can become a legacy.

By Douglas McCormick

Succession planning for the “family CFO” is the most commonly neglected component of most families’ financial planning, but it is one of the most important actions that will determine the ability of your “Family Inc.” to thrive over multiple generations. Many work a lifetime to accumulate wealth yet spend minimal time discussing financial planning goals with family members.

In the article, Steps to Smoothly Transfer Control of Your Family’s Finances, Douglas McCormick uses his own personal experiences to highlight the importance of family financial planning. Despite having 20+ years of experience with professionally managing money, even McCormick came across a number of issues when it came to his family’s succession planning. In this article you will find useful tips on how to approach the daunting task of financial planning and what it takes to be the “family CFO.”  

Some of the important highlights from the article include:

• A guide on continuity planning
• Why approaching family finance as a business leads to more sound decisions
• What the family CFO should take into consideration
• The skills and values that are important to have in family financial decisions

Financial planning is challenging and requires time, patience, teaching, humility and honesty, but the payoff can be significant. The conversations that are required can be daunting, delicate and even embarrassing, however they are a necessity when it comes to ensuring a legacy. In this unique approach to family finance, we hope that McCormick’s guidelines can help point you in the right direction when it comes to your planning and selection of the family CFO.