Building Wealth is Just the Beginning

You’ve worked incredibly hard to build your business and accumulate wealth. But here’s something you may not have thought much about: what happens to that wealth after you’re gone?

Research shows that 90% of first-generation wealth doesn’t make it to the third generation ⁽¹⁾. It’s not because your kids or grandkids don’t care—it’s because the structure, education, and intentionality to preserve it just isn’t there.

In this article I share how to approach multi-generational wealth transfer differently —intentionally, holistically, and with clarity. We’ve seen patterns show up time and time again for successful business owners; read on to learn a 5-step process to help mitigate your risk and preserve your hard-earned wealth.

Why Entrepreneurs’ Fortunes Fade

When you were building your business, you were everything. Sales, service, strategy, growth. You figured things out as you went. But when it comes to personal wealth—especially across generations—figuring it out as you go doesn’t work.

What often happens is:

• Wealth gets passed down without any conversation or roadmap.
• Your family starts guessing what you would’ve wanted.
• Misunderstandings and mismatched expectations turn into resentment.

In most cases, families aren’t fighting about the money. They’re reacting to the lack of clarity around what the money was meant to do.

5-Step Approach to Preserve Your Wealth Across Generations

Step One: Zoom Out

Before you make any concrete plans, it’s important to zoom out—way out. Think 60,000 feet. What do you want your wealth to mean? What kind of impact do you want it to have? What values do you want it to reflect?

When that vision is clear, your financial, legal, tax and giving decisions can be made with purpose. Without it, strategies become siloed and reactive.

Every advisor you work with — your accountant, your estate attorney, your financial advisor and investment team — should understand that vision and operate from the same playbook.

Step Two: Engage the Next Generation

You don’t want your wealth to be a mystery. You want it to be a blessing. That means preparing your family early; not just with documents and trusts, but with conversation, guidance, and shared experiences.

You can start by:

• Talking about what money means to you and your story
• Introducing basic financial literacy early
• Involving family members in investments or giving strategies
• Hosting structured family meetings

Some families have created trusts to fund shared experiences, like a family vacation property that’s managed collectively. Others introduce investment accounts for children to learn decision-making. There’s no one right way, but there is a right time: before wealth transitions.

Step Three: Structure for Protection

You may already have trusts or entities in place. But they only work if they reflect your current goals and are maintained over time.  This means:

• Reviewing and updating legal documents as life changes
• Defining roles for trustees and beneficiaries
• Tracking important deadlines like Crummey letters, gifting windows, and trust reviews

A plan that isn’t maintained is a plan that quietly falls apart. Make sure your structure is doing what it’s supposed to.

Step Four: Reduce Family Tension

If you have multiple children or blended family dynamics, things can get complicated fast. Who’s involved in the business? Who gets what? What’s “equal” versus what’s “fair”?

Create clarity around:

• Succession or sale plans for the business
• Inheritance expectations
• Who makes decisions and how

Wealth can either strengthen family bonds or fracture them. The difference is often structure and communication. With the right advanced planning and framework, you can reduce family friction.

Step Five: Define and Live Your Legacy

Legacy isn’t just about what happens after you’re gone. It’s about what you do now with the people and causes that matter most.

Some families create donor-advised funds to encourage multi-generational giving. Others fund experiences that reinforce family connection. Some define values-based parameters for family foundations or trusts.

Living your legacy allows you to model generosity, gratitude, and purpose in real time and gives your family something on which to build.

A Smarter Way to Sustain Wealth

This isn’t about complexity for complexity’s sake. It’s about intentionality—knowing what matters to you and setting up your financial life to reflect that.

If you’re serious about building a legacy that lasts, take the time to bring your vision, your structure, and your people into alignment. You’ve done the hard work of creating wealth. Now comes the meaningful work of sustaining it.

If you want help thinking through these steps or understanding how our family office model can support your efforts, I invite you to reach out to me. Let’s talk about what your legacy could look like and how we can help you make it last for generations to come.

⁽¹⁾Roy O. Williams and Vic Preisser, Preparing Heirs: Five Steps to a Successful Transition of Family Wealth and Values (Bandon, OR: Robert D. Reed Publishers, 2014).