Many of us never knew our great-grandparents. But that’s changing. As Americans are living longer and are healthier than in previous generations, demographers are now saying that future generations are likely to have at least one living great-grandparent. Kenneth Wachter, the Chairman of the Depart of Demography at the University of California, Berkley, has estimated that by 2030 more than …
March 1st was a big day. It’s the day I asked my wife, Brooke, to marry me. It’s also the day that we lost her mother. Brooke’s mom (Sue) was a kind and wonderful mother. She was also a super grandmother. She had worked as an OB/GYN nurse and was present at the hospital for the birth of our four …
In September 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a plan to spend an extra $144 million toward fighting the opioid crisis. Ninety-one Americans die each day from opioid abuse. But as Mitzi Perdue, prominent family business specialist, noted in her commentary on Fox News (October 10, 2017),¹ substance abuse is sinking America’s family businesses. As Perdue pointed …
Exercise of poor character can’t be blamed on personality. In this three-part series (here’s Part I and Part II), I’ve been discussing the worst question to ask in family legacy discussions: Why can’t you be like me? It’s such a poor question because it assumes that the person that you are speaking to is not adequate and needs to change. The …
In my last blog, the first in a three-part series, I spoke about the single worst question in family legacy: Why can’t you be like me? Why is it the worst question? It assumes that who you are as an individual in the family system is not good enough, doesn’t measure up—and that you should be something other than yourself. …
There’s one question that’s a killer when it comes to preserving family legacy. I’m not going to delay it. I’ll get right to it. It goes like this: Why can’t you be like me? This single question prompts more misunderstanding and breeds more mistrust than any other single question. Let me explain. The question starts with a presumption: Your personality is …
Ah, the family lake house—such an enjoyable place. Fond memories, summer evenings, fish fries: The photos on the wall tell such a warm and pleasant story. But will that story continue after you are gone? Who gets to use it, and when? Why does Susie get to use it more than Joanie? And if there are multiple properties, do the …
When Steve died, the family was shocked in more ways than one. His untimely death from heart attack just wasn’t in the cards. But his youngest son was surprised to find out that he was the trustee and placed in the unenviable position of dictating his father’s wishes to his older siblings. Worse still, his mother was unschooled in financial …
A September 2016 article in the Harvard Business Review notes that over 50% of high-net-worth families have not told their children about their wealth. Why is it hard to talk to our children about our wealth? I remember when my son was in high school. He took a personal finance class, and he asked innocently but point blank, “How much …
Did you know that there are two types of inheritance? Legal and spiritual. A legal inheritance is what we traditionally think of: Someone has a will or trust and leaves money or property to an heir. It’s pretty straightforward and can be done without a lot of emotion or conversation, in many cases. In fact, most people who have a …
