Search Results

When the time comes for assets to be dispersed among heirs, everyday objects of sentimental value can become contested belongings. Many parents admit to worrying about the sibling rivalries this process may stir up. Yet, uncertain how to confront these issues, many tend to simply hope for the best. A better course of action: proactive discussion, a...

Approached the right way, a prenuptial agreement can strengthen the bonds of marriage and encourage a productive, healthy discussion of finances and expectations. Many religions require a discussion of finances in premarital counseling, but talking about money is very difficult and not a topic many people are accustomed to discussing.

When surveyed two years ago, U.S. family businesses were warily eyeing their next big bet but hesitant to place it. Now, they’re actively playing their hand. This report highlights the views of 100 owners, leaders and top executives of U.S. family businesses across a variety of industries.

One of the things we’ve learned is that a family contract can be a valuable tool to help families build trust and avoid conflicts. We’ve also found that for a contract to work well, everyone who signs the contract should have a say in how the contract is written. That doesn’t mean you will get everything you want and, as you proba...

Few problems are as vexing and seemingly impossible to resolve for families, advisors and trustees as the active alcoholic or addict, particularly those who continue to use after treatment. While low recovery rates for treatment and subsequent relapse may be understandable in the aggregate, on the individual level the experience is frustrating and ...

When families feud, nobody wins. What causes reasonable human beings to defy the advice of trusted advisors and lose sight of the costs of family fighting, not only in terms of money but vital family relationships and peace of mind?

For family members working in the business, the area of compensation overlaps with contentious considerations of fairness, equality, performance-management and long term engagement. This artcle itemises how families have approached this issue, and advocates some pathways to avoid disharmony.

“The cobbler’s children have no shoes,” refers to the phenomena where people who are successful at doing something spend so much time on their own professions that they neglect to take care of business close to home. In the folktale, the cobbler’s children had holes in their shoes because he was so busy repairing the shoes o...

Families experience significant and sometimes difficult changes over the years as elders pass on and new family members grow into leadership roles. What worked for a two-generation family with five members may not work when the family reaches the fourth generation and now involves multiple households with varying wealth structures.The word “c...

Family businesses are an essential source of prosperity and stability to both our global economy and our society. The characteristics and practices of large, long-lived family businesses serve not only as a model for other family businesses but also for all companies that aspire to maintain an entrepreneurial spirit, innovate and maintain growth. T...

There are no easy answers when it comes to prenuptial agreements, but understanding the fundamentals will help ensure that the agreement is ultimately fair to all parties, achieves the family’s objectives, and will withstand any future challenge. This article provides tips, advice and a number of options when it comes to setting up a pr...

In 2022 Dr. Jamie Weiner published The Quest for Legitimacy: How Children of Prominent Families Find Their Place in the World, a collection of qualitative research modeling rites of passage, pathways to individuation, creating trusted partnerships, and addressing family dynamics. Similarly, in 2022 FOX has conducted focus groups and a rising gen st...

Money conversations can be difficult, and yet they are necessary. FOX Chief Learning Officer Mindy Kalinowski Earley is joined by Amy Zehnder and Cindy Coe as they discuss financial education using an engaging, gamified approach. Using the FOX Family Learning Handbook, and Amy and Cindy’s new book Courageous Money, Your Adventure Through Money Nati...

The new year brings unique opportunities for families and their offices, but it can also create new obstacles to navigate. FOX has identified three dominant themes that will drive disruption and opportunity for families of wealth, their family offices, and their professional advisors. We call them the “3Ts” – transitions, talent, and technology....

FOX’s Chief Learning Officer, Mindy Kalinowski Earley, explains how and why family education is an essential component that supports family cohesion and the transfer of wealth and legacy through generations. During this session she walks viewers through the newly released FOX Family Learning Handbook, filled with a roadmap of tools that will assist...