The Selby Family

The Selby family was struggling with their $40 million estate and its transition to their 3 children. All their children were married, pre-nuptial agreements had been executed with their spouses, and grandchildren were appearing regularly. Yet the family remained completely in the dark as to the size of the estate, what was expected of them, how they could possibly please their business-building parents, and a host of other issues that kept them separate, worrying their parents. After reading the book "Preparing Heirs" they decided to take action to change their situation.

After the first two family meetings, helped along by professional coaching from The Williams Group (TWG), the family reached agreement on a "Family Wealth Mission Statement"(FWMS). This defined the agreed-upon long-term purpose for their wealth. The parents made disclosures about their estate and substantially raised the level of trust and communication within the family. It was now time for the lawyers and accountants to "conform" the estate plans to the new FWMS.

At first, the professional advisors were unanimously opposed to the necessary revisions in the estate documents. Wills and trusts had been designed specifically to "protect" against sibling encroachment, spousal meddling, and dilution of parental intentions. However, after one day of intensive discussions with TWG coaches, the professional advisors had an epiphany of sorts…. They realized that the family was their client, not just the parents!

They also realized that with an increased level of internal knowledge and trust within the family, that certain additional structural "risks" could be taken. Modifications to the documents took place with the following impact on the parents and the heirs:

• Parental lifestyle was not diminished or put at risk
• Over $7 million in estate taxes were immediately avoided
• Spousal income was doubled, with no change in the pre-nuptial agreements and no ceding of control or interest shares
• The children turned to the advisors for their estate planning

This is an actual case, reflective of how "soft-side" issues impact the "hard side" options involving real money. Solving internal family problems of trust and communication routinely provides professional advisors with a wider range of planning options, less need for protective silos, and opens up relationships with the upcoming generation for their estate planning needs. Post-Transition planning is an emerging field where tools are now becoming available.