You might be asking what a Multi Generational Strategy is? 

Basically, it is a set of Advisory Services that provide much more than traditional estate, financial or asset protection planning. These are without a doubt components of such a strategy but with additional considerations.

Multi Generational Advisory incorporates the idea that clients can pass both their values and their valuables to their children. Where traditional planning often ends when the client passes on. Families that have been successful in passing wealth and businesses from generation to generation take a slightly different approach. They do comprehensive planning that integrates and incorporates their business and personal assets and actively plan for both the assets and the family relationships on a continuing basis with the right set of professionals.

The purpose of Multi Generational Advisory is to ensure for generational succession and has certain core values such as streamlined co-ordination, simplicity, and peace of mind that not only is capital preserved but also the family or human capital is just as well preserved.

So what kind of team of professionals is required to develop and maintain such a strategy? Many clients would make use of multiple independent advisors and it is up to the client to ensure a seamless integration between advice received. This can be difficult and therefore many clients seek a Multi Family Office that has combined such advisors under one roof to more seamlessly deal with their Multi Generational Strategy.

Such a Multi Family Office may be a boutique family business that not only provides high technical expertise, creative business leadership but also a highly personalised and bespoke service. The kind of skills the professionals in such a Multi Family Office would need range from legal, estate planning, financial planning property and business succession planning skills.

Multi Generational Advisory Services would also comprise of various components including advocacy for the family’s best interests, facilitating better co-ordination between family members as well as possible other advisors to those family members, facilitation of discussion of issues not related to the family business, developing a comprehensive multi-generational plan and facilitating the communication of this plan to the various family members. Educating on a continuous basis may be required, especially to younger family members.

The benefits of a Multi Generational Strategy are that it enhances a family’s cycle of wealth creation and preservations, by identifying family objectives and priorities. The adequate documenting of multi-generational plans creates clarity for future generations and facilitates better communication between family members as well as the advisors to those family members.

Be aware however, more recently banks/ trust companies and major financial services companies have used the term ”family office” or Multi Family office to refer primarily to financial services for wealthy families. In those situations, they typically are repackaging financial services products, and really don’t offer true family office planning.

At Alcock & Associates we have a professional team of attorneys and have partnered with a credible financial services practice and knowledgeable property company to offer clients the services of a Multi Family office to adequately create and maintain a Multi-Generational Strategy.