How Can I Sustain My Family Wealth?

How Can I Sustain My Family Wealth?
By Alan Olsen

At GROCO we work with some of the most successful and wealthiest people in the world. We’ve seen a lot of clients come through our doors and we’ve learned a lot about what makes them successful. We’ve also enjoyed much success in our own right. Our clients have a lot of questions for us and many of those questions are focused on protecting what they have and making it last for years to come. In fact, many of our clients take advantage of our expertise to help them not only sustain their wealth throughout their own lifetime, but also for their families after they are gone. Whether you’re young or old, if you are a high net worth individual then you want to do what it takes to make that wealth sustainable for the foreseeable future and beyond. So then, just how do you sustain your family wealth?

Setting Priorities

Whether you are directly responsible for your current wealth or you are trying to sustain the wealth earned by a previous family member, you need to take certain actions. One problem wealthy families can run into is overestimating how much they really have and underestimating how much they will need to have to sustain their current way of life. Sustaining your wealth takes honesty and sometimes some difficult but necessary decisions. Even though you might have a lot of wealth today, you could lose it tomorrow. Things don’t always go as planned so you need to be prepared for the future. That means you and your family members have to have honest and direct discussions about how your money is being spent, given away or saved. You need to determine and set some priorities and then ensure that everyone adheres to them.

Trust & Communication Are Key

In order to establish your priorities it takes communication and trust between family members. Many families that have lost their wealth claim that a lack of these two things was a chief cause. That’s why it’s so important to establish the priorities and then communicate them regularly and honestly whenever needed.

Define Your Wealth

Being wealthy can mean different things to different people. It’s important to define wealth and it’s important for everyone in your family to understand the definition. Wealth is not just about money and assets. Wealth can mean so much more, like your physical health, your spirituality, your charitable causes, even your talents and your education and skills. Financial wealth is just one part of the equation. You should also look at money as a way to achieve greater things and accomplish greater purposes. Wealth can be misused but it can also be a great force for good if used in the right way.

Establishing and Sustaining Family Wealth

The bottom line is you need a solid and practical plan in place in order to protect your family wealth. At GROCO we provide experience and expertise in helping the world’s wealthiest people sustain and grow their wealth. We will help you determine what your true wealth is, establish goals and priorities, and then set up parameters that will help you be successful in achieving those goals. We are a family focused office with the goal of helping you earn and save more money. We will help you create a solid wealth management strategy for your family wealth and give you the tools to make sure that strategy is successful. Contact us for more details.