Family Governance

The agreements a family makes about how it decides together, and who has a say. They matter most once the wealth spans several households and the people who built it are no longer the ones deciding.

How we work

What we do

How the family decides together, written down before it is needed.

Family council

A standing group with members, a chair and a calendar, and an agreed way to decide. It gives each household a seat once the wealth spans several.

Distribution policy

Agreed rules for what the shared wealth pays out, to whom and on what terms, so a request is answered by the policy instead of by whoever is asked.

Trustee succession

Who takes over as trustee, and how they are chosen, decided before the role falls vacant.

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Part of one design

Estate documents say who receives what. They do not say how a family decides together. Family Governance aims to keep the relationships the wealth runs through working, once the founders no longer decide alone.

We do

  • Design the council and its calendar
  • Shape the policies with the family
  • Prepare the rising generation
  • Keep the record of what was decided

Your counsel does

  • Your attorney drafts the legal documents
  • Your trustee administers the trusts

When it matters most

The moments that change who decides, and what we do in each.

All transitions

Taking Over a Business

Stepping into a company you did not start, usually one your family did. You inherit its relationships and its comparisons along with its balance sheet.

The successor’s authority is written down before the first hard decision.

Receiving an Inheritance

Receiving assets from someone who has died, most often a parent. The legal clock and the emotional one run at different speeds, and most of the irreversible choices fall on the legal one.

Heirs join the council as the assets pass to them.

Death of a Loved One

The death of a partner or family member. Grief and administration arrive together, and only the administration has deadlines.

The council carries on, with the roles already settled.

Marriage or Partnership

Two financial lives joining. Combining accounts and debts is the straightforward part, and reconciling what each person assumes money is for takes longer.

A new member is welcomed into how the family decides.

1 of 4: Taking Over a Business

Common questions

Every adult the family chooses to include, usually across generations and households. Whether spouses and partners join is a decision the family makes for itself, and we help it make that decision openly.

Start with a conversation.

Tell us what is changing in your family. We listen first, and tell you plainly whether we are the right office for it.

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