The Certior Group - Strengthening Families Through Informed Decisions and Exceptional Stewardship
  • About
    • Why the Certior Group
    • Your Team
    • Blog
  • People
  • Process
  • Structure
    • Wyoming Advantages
    • What is a PSFTC?
    • How a PSFTC Operates?
  • Contact

Responsive Menu

  • About
    ▼
    • Why the Certior Group
    • Your Team
    • Blog
  • People
  • Process
  • Structure
    ▼
    • Wyoming Advantages
    • What is a PSFTC?
    • How a PSFTC Operates?
  • Contact

What Really is Estate Planning? Part 2

February 18, 2020 by Avi Kantor

Last month, I discussed how traditional estate planning focuses on wills, trusts, and other legal, tax, and financial structures. I emphasized that such an approach has been largely unsuccessful in sustaining multi-generational wealth. I proposed that if we “Put People First”, we might better sustain wealth and help people live more happy, fulfilled, meaningful, and joyous lives.

So, how might we put people first? We’ve developed what we call a “Universal Framework”. The framework breaks planning down into four phases – Discovering, Designing, Implementing, and Stewarding. Our framework keeps people top-of-mind as we engage in ANY planning process and implement financial and legal structures. By keeping people top-of-mind during each planning phase, we believe that planning becomes more relevant and ultimately more successful. Why? Traditional estate planning often focuses on minimizing taxes by dividing money among beneficiaries and/or deferring the payment of taxes. What winds up happening is that assets get distributed to unprepared beneficiaries, only to see those assets dissipated because beneficiaries weren’t engaged in the long-term planning and strategy of the family. In other words, the plans don’t involve the beneficiaries; they are done to them. We believe that what’s missing is the participation and involvement of all family members – in other words, the people.

What might we do differently? We begin by focusing on each individual’s True Wealth – that which is most essential for each family member. Each individual family member’s clarity and awareness about their values and priorities and their vision of the future prepares them to contribute to the overall planning, implementation, and stewarding of a family’s assets.

Much like a successful sports team or a high-performing orchestra, family members need processes and structure in order to perform at their best as an organization or enterprise. Everyone participates and contributes, even if their contribution is relatively small. This notion of a “Family Enterprise” seeks to optimize the way a family functions together; that is, the enterprise seeks to optimize the people, process, and structure of the family.

To carry the metaphor of a sports team or orchestra one step further, we (The Certior Group) function much like a “conductor” or “general manager”, maintaining the flow and momentum of the planning process. We adapt our Universal Framework to collaborate with other professionals. We then focus our endeavors on keeping people top of mind as we co-create, curate, and optimize products and services for the benefit of our client families. Our role is to maintain collective focus on long-term individual and multi-generational family happiness, fulfillment, meaning, and joy. It’s our notion of what “Stewardship” is all about.

Filed Under: Collaboration, Estate Planning, Family Enterprise Tagged With: Collaboration, Estate Planning, People First, Stewardship

What Really is Estate Planning?

January 20, 2020 by Avi Kantor

Most lay people would probably respond “wills and trusts.” If you ask professionals who specialize in estate planning, you might get answers like “preserve and protect money and assets for future generations” or “minimizing taxes and maximizing the transfer of assets.” Both perspectives are certainly accurate. But this raises the question, “Why do we do estate planning?” In other words, what are we trying to accomplish when we do estate planning?

If we look at the typical professional approach, it boils down to maximizing the money and wealth transferred and assuming that that will best serve the people involved (i.e., the family). For this article, we’ll call this Approach #1. But if you could read people’s minds, I would speculate that what most people really want is for their family to remember and honor them by capturing and leveraging their lifetime of experiences and wisdom to help their family thrive for generations. We’ll call this Approach #2.

The statistics for Approach #1 are not encouraging. As much as 70% of family wealth is lost by the end of the 2nd generation and over 90% by the end of the third. In other words, all of documents, structures, governance, education, etc. that has historically gone into Approach #1 has resulted in a meager success rate. There’s actually a folk saying for this phenomenon – Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.

We believe it makes more sense to “Put People First”; to not let taxes, structures, distributions, etc. drive the estate planning process. We often see that the typical estate planning process “leaves the people behind” because it focuses and prioritizes legal documents, saving taxes, and maximizing asset transfers, etc. Instead, we believe in first building individual, self and social awareness; nurturing emotional intelligence, enhancing communication skills; and setting the conditions for collaboration (Putting the People First). THEN, utilizing the traditional tools and techniques of estate planning to enhance the outcome and serve the people, not the other way around.

Why ultimately do we put people first? In order to optimize multi-generational True Wealth; that is, to help people live happy, fulfilled, meaningful, and joyous lives.

Filed Under: Estate Planning Tagged With: Estate Planning, Family Culture, Family Office, People First

Recent Posts

  • Experiencing Awe Through Your Child’s Eyes
  • Illuminating What Really Matters
  • The Empowered Abilities of Nature
  • Focusing on Post-Traumatic Growth
  • Tackling New Year’s Resolutions with Atomic Habits

Recent Comments

    Archives

    • September 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • February 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • August 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016

    Categories

    • Collaboration
    • Estate Planning
    • Experiential Learning
    • Family Enterprise
    • Family Office
    • Leadership
    • New Normal
    • Philanthropy
    • Recent Events
    • True Wealth
    • Your Team

    The CERTIOR Group, LLC

    The Certior Group, LLC.

    • 307.264.0007
    • info@certiorgroup.com
    • EW Connect Login

    The Certior Index

    Discover how much True Wealth is already part of how you live your life. Take the Certior Index today.

    Complete the Certior Index

    Connect with the Certior Group

    LinkedIn Google Plus Twitter Facebook

    Copyright © 2023 · Empowered Wealth Ambassador Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in