Multigenerational Wealth Planning: 5 Foundations

Five foundations for wealth that bring a family together

By Laurel Moulynox, Managing Director and Family Wealth Adviser, Morrows

Wealth can do wonderful things for a family. It can open doors, fund an education, support a business and make generosity possible. But I’ve also seen it become the thing a family quietly argues about, usually because they never had the conversations that mattered.

Successful families that stay close across generations aren’t necessarily the wealthiest, or the ones who never disagree. They are the ones that made a few deliberate choices early, while they still had time to think. Here are five of them.

1. Know what the wealth is for

Money alone rarely keeps a family connected. A shared sense of purpose does. Is the wealth there to give the next generation a head start, keep a business going, support causes you care about, or give you freedom? Each answer leads to different decisions about investing, distributions and succession.

Talk about it more than once, not just when documents are being signed. Graeme Marks explains how to start that conversation in his article on building trust in a family business; the principles apply to family wealth.

2. Put the right structures around it

Trusts, wills, estate plans, shareholder agreements and a family charter all work best when they reflect what the family has actually decided, not what was easiest to set up. As families grow and branches spread, with different goals, risk appetites, and places to live, good structure keeps things clear and fair.

Structure never replaces conversation, though. Regular family meetings where each generation has a voice are what make the paperwork work.

3. Make room for different needs

One of the most common sources of tension is that family members rarely want the same thing at the same time. One is happy to stay invested for decades. Another needs capital for a home or a business. A third wants to step back.

Building in sensible ways for people to access liquidity, reduce involvement, or exit certain investments gives a family room to disagree without damaging relationships.

4. Prepare the next generation to be stewards

Families who successfully sustain wealth tend to see each generation as a steward, not just a beneficiary. That takes patience. Include younger family members in decisions, mentor them, encourage independent careers, and teach them about risk and long-term investing early.

When people feel prepared and trusted, entitlement tends to shrink and capability grows. Graeme and I talk about this in our Q&A on preparing the next generation.

5. Have one coordinated team around you

Wealth, tax, legal, superannuation and business decisions all affect each other. When advisers work separately, the family ends up as the go-between. A coordinated team can manage complex structures, support respectful and considered intergenerational transfers, balance growth with liquidity, and keep decisions consistent.

Just as importantly, an independent adviser can help when a conversation is hard to start, keeping everyone focused on the family’s long-term goals and legacy.

A word on disagreement

Some conflict is natural in any family, and it can even be healthy. What matters is having a respectful way to work through it early, before a decision forces the issue.

Common questions we receive from families

• How do we start if our family rarely talks about money? Start small, and start with values rather than numbers. A first conversation doesn’t need anyone’s accounts on the table. It needs everyone in the room feeling heard. An adviser can help set it up.
• Do we need a family charter, or is a will enough? They do different jobs. A will deals with what happens to assets. A family charter records how the family wants to make decisions and treat each other, which often prevents disputes from starting in the first place.
• What happens if one family member wants their money out? It’s more common than people expect, and it’s much easier to manage if the family agrees on options in advance. That might mean ways to access liquidity, reduce involvement, or exit certain investments without pressuring the rest of the family.

Start the conversation early.

Every family has to start somewhere, and the first conversation is often the hardest. We can help you get started and bring everyone onto the same page. Morrows brings together private wealth advisers, family business specialists and tax professionals to support both the personal and technical sides of wealth.

If you’d like help getting started, speak with your Morrows adviser. Our Family Business and Wealth advisers are happy to help you start those important conversations.

Read next: Trust is built before it’s tested by Graeme Marks, and Preparing the next generation: a Q&A.