Book description
Managing the transition of family wealth from generation to generation
is a daunting task. Families with businesses require inheritance plans
that are even more complicated because wealth and worth are often
intricately woven into the business. And many transition plans focus
only on financial capital and ignore a family's less tangible assets.
Other plans detail the intrinsic elements of an inheritance without
satisfying the practical issues.
In Family Wealth Transition Planning,
Bonnie Brown Hartley and Gwendolyn Griffith guide advisers to families
with small businesses through the intricate process of preparing and
transferring wealth to heirs. The authors take a holistic view of
transition planning, focusing on the assets that fall under the umbrella
of financial capital, as well as the other key sources of family wealth:
human and social capital.
Advisers learn the essentials to achieving successful wealth continuity:
- Healthy family relationships
- Responsible stewardship of wealth, in all forms
- Creation and preservation of the family legacy
Throughout the book, three fictionalized business families, based on
Hartley's experience as an adviser, tell their personal stories as
they navigate the estate planning process. In this way, Hartley and
Griffith demonstrate how to develop wealth transition plans that are
wide enough in scope to encompass all forms of wealth yet customized
to manage each family's different needs.
Bonnie Brown Hartley, President of Transition
Dynamics Inc, works primarily on governance systems and life-long
learning systems for client families. She works with family offices,
multi-generational business families and their businesses on mapping
and implementing transition plans. As part of that process, she
mentors multi-generational families and their advisers on
communication and relationship management.
Hartley has published four Fire Drill books for building
strength and flexibility in families: Sudden Death, Unexpected
Wealth, The Dynamics of Aging Families and Health Care Issues
of Aging Families (the latter two with co-author John Gibson).
Hartley speaks internationally to business families and their
advisers.
Hartley serves on the Attorneys for Family Enterprise board. She
is a past Family Firm Institute board member, a founding FFI Fellow,
and holds FFI's Certificates in Family Business Advising and Family
Wealth Advising. In 2008 she was honored by FFI for contributions to
interdisciplinary adviser teams. She is also a member of a national
think-tank, Psycho-Social Dynamics of Family Business, and the
Collaboration for Family Flourishing.
Gwendolyn Griffith is Of Counsel at the Portland, Oregon law
firm of Tonkon Torp LLP, where her business and tax practice includes
business formations, reorganizations and dissolutions, as well as the
crafting of complex wealth transition structures and governance
systems. She has substantial experience representing nonprofit
organizations and multi-generational businesses. Gwen is a graduate
of Stanford Law School and Rollins College.
Gwen began her career with Akin, Gump in Dallas, Texas. She
then taught corporate, partnership, individual and international tax
at various law schools, including Willamette University, Florida State
University, and the University of Oregon. Prior to joining Tonkon
Torp LLP, Gwen was a shareholder in the Eugene, Oregon law firm of
Speer Hoyt PC. She is the author of several books on taxation and is
frequent speaker on tax and business-related topics.
Gwen is a member of the Oregon and California bar associations.
She is on the Executive Committee of the Oregon State Bar Taxation
Section and is also on the Advisory Board of The Tax Adviser, the
monthly publication of the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants. She is also a trained mediator and arbitrator.
