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Learning and practicing the basics of money management can have a profound impact on a young child’s life. What parents often overlook, even those who are investors themselves, is taking the education to the next stage once their children get older—say, around age 11 or 12. At that point, it may be the right time to start a conversation about inves...

Time is our most precious, finite, and versatile resource. Family office industry stakeholders are reevaluating their relationship with time—making meaningful behavioral changes to maximize their “return on invested time.” Powerful and practical tools—some borrowed from the field of investment management—can help maximize return on this scarce and ...

President Obama's proposed budget for fiscal year 2012 includes a reduction in the real estate exemption, a minimum 10-year term for new GRATs, and restrictions on valuing family-controlled entities as well as higher tax rates and reduced savings from itemized deductions for higher-income individuals.

Families can find a well-qualified firm to meet their home technology needs by performing the proper due diligence. Before hiring an automation company, families should consider the reputation of the firm, determine its qualifications, conduct a targeted interview, and evaluate the firm's design experience.

Staying focused on a single family may seem like an easy and less risky option in the wake of Dodd-Frank. However, the competitive climate will make it increasingly difficult to bypass the efficiencies and economies of scale that come with managing more families.

Long-term care insurance can help wealthy families with a number of issues when a family member needs extended care. These include privacy through care coordination and staff training; improved family relationships with a written plan of care; liquidity and tax issues, and estate planning by allowing gifts as planned despite medical costs.

Best-of-class medical care can be achieved only if all of a patient's caregivers work together across the continuum of care. It is important for patients to understand what should happen during the four key areas of care – case immersion, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-through – because research shows that mistakes occur most often when patients ...

The selection of an appropriate interior designer, architect, or landscape professional for a project is not unlike choosing other professionals as one always checks on reputation, appropriate licensing, and insurance. However, there are certain aspects of hiring talent that must be addressed to optimize the client/talent relationship.

Beginning August 2, the Federal Aviation Administration will release registration numbers of all private flight operations unless a specified security concern is received. This reflects a change in the Block Aircraft Registration Request program, which since 2000 has allowed aircraft operators to prevent the general public from tracking their indiv...

Travel providers offer the destination expertise and global contacts to plan one-of-a-kind vacations. Beyond those two capabilities, in choosing a travel provider, look for someone who offers customized vacation planning, provides knowledgeable travel tips based on past experience, and offers 24-hour emergency assistance during the trip.

The cost of President Obama's proposed $447 billion Jobs Act would be shouldered by wealthy individuals and their families. And while the proposed credits and deductions for businesses and workers are temporary, the revenue raisers would be detrimental by permanently changing the tax law.

The marginal utility of the Fed's tools is decreasing. And relying on that one agency to turn activity from the greatest recession on record does not seem logical. The rest of Washington needs to notice the economic malaise and work together to resolve some of the economic challenges we face.

The SEC recently adopted Rule 13h-1, which imposes registration and reporting obligations on large traders. Private funds, family offices, investment advisors, and individuals all could qualify, depending on how actively they trade certain types of securities. The rule went into effect October 3, and large traders must identify themselves by Decemb...

The federal government proposed sweeping new tax rules earlier this month that would dramatically affect family businesses, investment partnerships and other entities. These rules, which could become final and binding as early as the end of 2016, would artificially inflate the value of interests in family entities for gift and estate tax purposes. ...

With the advent and growth of Internet-based communications, it has become normal to instantaneously pass on information. If the Single Family Offices (SFOs) and ultra-wealthy do not secure this traffic of critical and private information, they can expose themselves to significant financial—and potentially physical—risks. The threats ar...