Situation 3: The Allen Family

The Allen family is a great example of multi-generational wealth management and how doing cross generational planning can make all the difference. 

Their main issues were:

• The Allen family’s first generation was having health issues which required some changes in the home.
• The first generation also wanted to make sure that the future generations had adequate money management skills so they were good stewards of any money that they inherited.
• The second generation of the Allen family was beginning to feel a squeeze from both their parents and their kids as they both needed extra care and attention.

How we helped them:

• To help the first generation address their concerns about aging in place, we helped them to create a plan for the proper allocation of resources so that they would have the money needed to make the necessary changes to the home to allow a comfortable living late into their lives.
• To make sure that all generations of the family were on the same page, we conducted family meetings and discussed, as well as educated where necessary, investing and money management skills so the first generation could have the confidence that their legacy would remain intact in the future.
• To ease some of the pressure off of the second generation, we were able to complete an analysis of their own financial situation and arrange for a potential sabbatical from work if the family need arises.
• To facilitate the transfer of wealth across the generations, we worked with their estate planning attorney to implement numerous ways to transfer some of their wealth now, and some in the future, reducing their potential estate tax burden while providing for the next generations of the family in a way that was appropriate for each specific situation.

As often happens, in getting all of the family to work together, both the first and second generation of the Allen family realized that time was more important than money and were able to make the adjustments now to make sure that their finances were properly aligned with their values.