Incorporating a family’s values into legacy plans requires advisors – and clients – to think about the real effects their strategies have on heirs.
As advisors in multi-family office practices of family-focused wealth management firms, we have a unique opportunity to play a critical role in our clients’ lives. Our work allows us to both initiate conversations with our clients about their deepest values and to touch the wide variety of planning issues necessary to assure that these values are reflected in their financial strategies.
The opportunity to shepherd our clients through a process that reflects their inherent values represents some of the most rewarding work that we can do. But it is not always easy. And it is not always clear how to incorporate this process into our day-to-day efforts to help our clients with their financial affairs.
This article will attempt to draw a road map that incorporates this work into our ongoing client interactions and show us how we as advisors can make the best use of the unique position we occupy with our clients and their families.