Communication is key to sustaining family wealth

Effective communication is one of the keys to happy, healthy and thriving families, so it behooves family members to try to become better communicators. This is especially important for families who work together around shared ownership of family assets. That said, communicating effectively can be challenging even when the message appears simple. Add the unique dynamics of family members running a family business, and communication becomes exponentially more difficult. Yet communication is the key to the success of every interaction, whether personal or professional.

Communication is an essential factor for cohesion in families and sustainability of family wealth. Roy Williams and Vic Preisser note in their book Preparing Heirs: Five Steps to Successful Transition of Family Wealth and Values that more than 70% of families are unsuccessful at multigenerational wealth transfer. Further, according to Williams and Preisser, 60% of the time this failure is attributed to lack of communication and trust within the family. The importance of communication cannot be underestimated, and the difficulty of communication cannot be overstated.

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