Following my invitation, I sent three more emails to our family members in anticipation of the family meetings I hoped to hold during our Family Fun Week.

The first was simplest: I simply forwarded an email I had requested from our CPA in anticipation of year-end financial planning to maximize our giving. Read the rest of this entry »

Our family–my parents’ family–held its first family meeting, a governance meeting, last Saturday. Neither our mother (who died in 1985) nor our father (still living) participated. Indeed, the meeting came about specifically to discuss what we, his children, should do with, for, and about our father.

There were a number of obstacles we had to overcome before we could hold our meeting. For one: who would be in charge? Who should lead? Brother #1 is in Germany. Brother #2 (that’s me!) wasn’t pushing for a meeting. So it was initiated by Brother #3.

Most significant, however: the six of us live all over the world. Three of us live in Colorado (about 45 miles from one another); one of us is in Orlando, Florida; and two are in Germany–one in Hamburg and one in Mainburg–over 350 miles away from one another. Read the rest of this entry »

A wealthy man had completed his estate plan. His advisor asked, “So when do you plan to hold your family meeting to talk with your kids about their inheritances?”

“Family meeting?!? There’s not going to be any family meeting!!!”

“Oh, there will be a family meeting. The question is only when it will occur,” said the advisor. Read the rest of this entry »

I wrote, about a week ago, about intangible wealth. Somehow the subject keeps coming up in my mind. Read the rest of this entry »

Carol Weisman makes some really useful suggestions for a family meeting. (See Raising Charitable Children, Chapter 3.) She says in her family they start out each annual meeting by passing a list of the charities to which they’ve donated in the past. The list not only shows the names of all the charities, but also expresses why the family donated to them. Weisman says that’s a good way to get people brainstorming about where the current year’s donations might be directed. Read the rest of this entry »

As I noted last time, James Hughes says that a family’s wealth is contained, first and foremost, in its human and intellectual capital. Certainly sounds high-minded. But what difference might that make in practice? And how do you account for such wealth or capital? Read the rest of this entry »

Sarita took careful notes of what occurred at yesterday’s family meeting. I’m not going to walk through all the details. But I think a summary might be helpful. We actually covered a lot of territory. But what has happened in the last 24 hours since the meeting is perhaps the most surprising–shocking–result of all.

Now where will we head? Read the rest of this entry »

I sent a letter this morning to our attorney and our CPA with copies to all the members of our immediate family . . . plus G_____, our legacy planner.

B____ & L____ (with G____ “looking on”):

Outline of this email:

• Background: Legacy Planning
• Meeting Purpose
• Proposed Meeting Agenda

Read the rest of this entry »