Succession Planning in Family Offices
Succession is the discipline of designing transitions before they are forced. Done well, it is invisible.
Key takeaways
- —Succession planning is governance work, not just estate planning.
- —Three transitions matter: leadership, ownership, identity.
- —Documented decision rights before transition prevent disputes after.
- —Plans should be tested through scenario exercises annually.
Succession planning is the active design of transitions in leadership, ownership, and identity inside a wealthy family. It is distinct from estate planning, which addresses the legal moment of death; succession addresses the years and decades around it. Most failures of inherited wealth track to gaps in succession governance, not to the legal documents.
Working plans cover three layers: who leads (and how that leader is selected), who owns (and on what terms shares move), and what the family stands for (and how that identity is transmitted). Plans without all three layers tend to fail at the inflection point. Annual scenario exercises — sudden incapacity, unexpected exit, branch dispute — surface gaps in the plan before reality does.
Stay informed
Weekly insights for family office professionals.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.