PREPARING HEIRS Five Steps to a Successful Transition of Family Wealth and Values
byRoy Williams and Vic Preisser
Common Sense Approach Looks at Wealth Transition With Insight and Integrity
Are you concerned about the impact of wealth on your heirs? Are they prepared for wealth and the responsibility that comes with it? Based upon almost 40 years of counseling successful families, Roy Williams and Vic Preisser disclose their private research into the legacies of 3,250 wealthy families. With extraordinary insight, they reveal what successful families have in common: how they achieve family harmony, a smooth transition of wealth, and well-adjusted heirs. Equally interesting are the factors that cause the majority of wealthy families to fail in their transition.
PREPARING HEIRS offers well-organized, easy to follow, clear, and concise instructions that will enable you to evaluate your plan for transition of family wealth. The result of extensive experience and research, this book is designed to answer the three questions most frequently asked by family leaders:
With my current plan, can I reasonably expect to successfully transition the family wealth and family values to the next generation?
What can I do to be sure that my children are prepared and that money doesn’t hurt them, but is a force for good in their lives?
What should I expect of my heirs to prepare themselves for wealth and responsibility, and how can I objectively assess their readiness?
PREPARING HEIRS is an assessment tool that can be used in conjunction with the services of qualified professionals such as attorneys and accountants. It addresses the major causes for the 70% failure rate in estate transitions, which lay within the family itself and are within the control of the family. This book can help you develop a plan to transmit the family values underlying the accumulation of wealth and prepare your heirs to be good stewards and thoughtful administrators of that wealth.
Praise for PREPARING HEIRS:
"I think this book will be a jewel for anyone who wants to get started with planning wealth transfer. More than that, it is a gift for families who haven’t figured out the basics of how to get along, appreciate each other for each member’s talents or developed the trust needed to be in harmony." - Pete Coors, Chairman, Coors Brewing Company
"Parents concerned about the impact of wealth on their children (and their spouses) need to read this book before they sit down with their estate planners. It’s practical, full of wisdom, and destined to become a classic." - Jack Canfield, co-author, Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul on Tough Stuff ® and The Power of Focus
“This book will be a very helpful tool for many people who are facing decisions of this type.” - Rosemary B. Hewlett
Family Transitions, Wealth, Relationships, Values, September 4, 2006
"Preparing Heirs" is a common sense approach to insuring that you and your family take the necessary steps to successfully transition your family assets and values.
The text is accompanied with easy to use, tables, charts, and questionnaires to summarize and illustrate forecasts, causes of failure, heir readiness, and other step by step checklists. The authors have created situations, and cases to illustrate more clearly the principles presented. Their analysis includes both successful and unsuccessful family examples.
Personally, I found the wealth transition checklist invaluable. The details for establishing a mission statement, involving participation of family members, establishing their future roles, and the process of communicating estate, and asset distribution plans provided helpful guidelines.
The summary statements provide either a warning note or an opportunity for implementation. For example: "The most important single issue that undermines successful transfers of wealth is the breakdown of trust and communications within the family unit."
Roy Williams, consultant, and author, with a career of 40 years coaching, researching, and educating families in areas of successful finance, is well qualified to co-author this significant work. Vic Preisser adds his expertise in business, government, and his experience as the Director of the Institute for Family Business at the University of the Pacific to round out this team of authors.
This is an important book for you and your heirs regardless of the size of you estate.
An astutely written collection of solid advice, October 18, 2003
Successful businessman Roy Williams and experienced family coach Vic Preisser successfully and expertly collaborate to present Preparing Heirs: Five Steps To A Successful Transition Of Family Wealth And Values, a straightforward guide to facilitating the smooth transfer of great wealth from one generation to the next. Focusing on five crucial steps, as well as pitfalls to beware and issues to keep firmly in mind when grooming one's heirs to become responsible future beneficiaries, Preparing Heirs is an astutely written collection of solid advice and is very highly recommended reading for anyone seeking to have their children (and their children's children) continue to promote, preserve, and extend their family's financial and ethical heritage.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Roy Williams has almost 40 years of experience in coaching successful families throughout the world. His research on 3,250 wealth-transitioning families is a logical continuation of his contributions as a Trustee for Alliant University. His earlier books Preparing Your Family to Manage Wealth and For Love & Money are widely used by estate planners, trust officers, and lawyers. He is an acknowledged authority in the field of family coaching and shares his research speaking before professional groups across the nation.
Vic Preisser brings 35 years of experience in business, government, and education to his partnership with Roy. Former Director of the Institute for Family Business at Pacific University, Vic has also served as Secretary of Social Services for the State of Iowa and worked for The White House. A successful entrepreneur, as well as Resident Professor of Management, Vic has served in senior executive capacities with Fortune 500 companies and is a Stanford MBA.
Family Transitions, Wealth, Relationships, Values, September 4, 2006
