We recently engaged clients in conversation with Dr. Tom Deans, The New York Times and Globe and Mail best-selling author of three books on family wealth transfers including Every Family’s Business, Willing Wisdom and his newly released book, The Happy Inheritor.

He discussed the importance of having a well-thought-out estate plan that is kept up to date, and how valuable being transparent with your family about that estate plan is. To that end, he is an advocate for family meetings. Family meetings are essential for educating beneficiaries on, and preparing them for, the wealth that they are set to inherit and hopefully will continue to pass down for generations. This is how the stewardship of wealth is maintained.

He emphasized that family meetings are not “one-size-fits-all”. No two discussions will look alike. They do not have to take place around a boardroom table, in fact, there doesn’t need to be a table at all!

He also spoke to the benefit of engaging your entire family with the same advisory team. Smith Falconer Financial Group prides ourselves on our intergenerational family relationships, for whom it is our privilege to share his expertise with. We were pleased to see him highlighted this summer in Globe Advisor. The article, titled, “What the ‘most strategic advisors’ are doing to facilitate wealth transfers”, discussed the importance of being transparent with family about financial matters.

If you’re interested in reading his newest book, The Happy Inheritor, we would be happy to share a copy form the “library of Smith Falconer Financial Group”!