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The big wealth transition is now underway, with ownership of more than 60% of family enterprise expected to be handed off within the next decade. With the input of business owners and Family Enterprise Advisors, this report takes an in-depth look at transition planning and how family business leaders can prepare their family, as well as their business, for this imminent transition of wealth, ownership and leadership.

As families transition into another year navigating the pandemic’s unknowns, the need to prepare for succession and practice decision-making is greater. In this Tolleson Insights podcast episode, Richard Joyner shares why prepping for a family’s future and helping eliminate the “what would happen if…” is essential.

Enterprising families are acutely aware of the threats and opportunities that influence their sustainability. Through the data and insights gained from this report, we aim to deepen the collective understanding and importance of the next generation and their hopes and intentions when it comes to their family business and legacy. This report also includes key questions and insights on the transition of ownership, including intentions, timelines, and perceived barriers to and within family ownership transition.

Many families of wealth struggle with a fundamental question: Can our wealth be sustained across generations and have a positive impact on those who use it? Through experience and research, a series of best practices for the successful transfer of multi-generational wealth has been identified to help reduce the likelihood of families succumbing to the paradigm of “shirtsleeves-to-shirtsleeves in three generations.” Families who devote time and effort to adopt the best practices will be better able to increase the 1 in 3 chance of maintaining wealth through multiple

It can be surprising to hear that just 30 percent of families successfully sustain their wealth beyond three generations. The reasons for wealth transition failures are generally personal rather than technical—resulting from a breakdown of communication within the family, inadequate preparation of heirs, and lack of a shared family vision. Successful families consider the impact of wealth on their family and look beyond financial capital to consider human, intellectual, and social elements of unique wealth.

Families with significant wealth often assume that requiring a prenuptial agreement should be expected, but frequently have questions on the impact the discussion can have on current and future family relationships. Through effective communications and careful development, a prenuptial agreement can enhance and clarify a couple’s financial relationship and intentions prior to marriage to provide measures of safety and security.

Over the next 15 years, the youngest of America’s Baby Boomers will turn 65, and waves of small business owners across the country will get ready to cash out. Sales of Boomer-owned small businesses and wholesalers are expected to reach an apex by the end of the decade. And finding time to plan for the future can be hard—especially for wholesalers, who face intense competition, market consolidation, and day-to-day operating pressures. Thinking 12 months ahead can feel uncertain, and planning for next-generation ownership can feel even more daunting.

Under 35s are creating more companies, with higher headcount and greater profit ambitions. They show strong interest in the new economy, but not exclusively, and prefer diversification across their investments. Dubbed as the “Millennipreneurs,’ these are business starters from ‘Generation Y,’ born between 1980 and 1995, also known as Millennials. Each Millennipreneur has started an average of 7.7 companies, and 78 percent of successful Millennipreneurs come from families with a history of running their own businesses.