Family businesses that continue to prosper from one generation to the next often do so because they have robust governance structures. Nevertheless, many family businesses have not given enough thought to governance. They rely too much on a carefree attitude toward issues such as succession, ownership and management, and they wait until one of these issues becomes an unavoidable problem before attempting to deal with it.
Family Governance
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Can The Wealth Inheritor Chase The American Dream?
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It is easy to understand why the American underclass has almost insurmountable obstacles to living the American Dream. What may not be so obvious is how difficult it may be for the wealth inheritor to live the American Dream.
Effective governance empowers leaders of wealthy families and/or families in business to make the most of the unique strength of a family enterprise: the synergy between a strong, unified business owning family and a well-run family enterprise or family office.
How To Make Governance Meaningful to Family Members
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One of the most difficult things for family leaders to convey to younger owners is the relevance and complexity of family governance. Using our recently completed Family Learning Module, Charlie Grace will provide an overview on governance concepts, and he will show you how to highlight the most important concepts to make the decision-making process a priority for family member. In addition, we will have a family member who has faced this challenge explain what they have learned about the process, and how to avoid the pitfalls of family members who lose interest in the process.
Case Study – The Art and Complexity of Distributions
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Distributions have many implications for the PFTC. The responsibilities of the Private Trust Company in preserving the corpus and being true to the role of the trustee must also align with the changing needs of the family. This peer dialogue will center around a case study examining the art and complexity of family distributions:
For those considering a PFTC or in the early stages of developing one, this session provides the core information needed to get started, including identifying the right state and right structure for your family, chartering or licensing, and insight on the day to day realities of operating a PFTC.Attendees will learn:
Responsibilities and Risks as the Family’s Trustee
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Poor trust risk management and family disunity remain major if not the major threats to families seeking to remain together from generation to generation. Often embraced hesitantly by families, the most important risk management actions are basic and logical, only requiring families to understand and commit to them. Communication is often the key to both trust risk management and overcoming family disunity.Attendees will learn:
Private Trust Companies were created and constantly evolve to meet the needs of wealthy families for trustees not adequately met by the traditional alternatives of institutional and individual trustees. The foundations for choosing the right trustee for a family are(i) identifying the role they need their trustee to play, and(ii) understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each type of trustee for filling that role.
A founder of the modern private trust company industry will provide a brief history of the industry and where it is at today: its strengths, growing maturity, challenges and how it must evolve going forward. Attendees will learn:
Supervision and Examination of PFTCs
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Regulated PFTC’s are licensed and supervised by state banking regulators. In exchange, families are given the only non-federal, permanent corporate/LLC charter allowing them to provide trust services and, without registration with the SEC, act as an investment adviser. The main price they pay is the burden of state regulations and examinations. This session makes transparent the supervisory regime.Attendees will learn: