Preparing Heirs: Five Steps to a Successful Transition of Family Wealth and Values Hardcover – January 1, 2010

After reading this book, you may conclude, "Well, that was obvious." Unfortunately, if you are busy building and/or running an empire, the obvious can fall by the wayside, sometimes with disastrous results. I claim that the information in this book is 'necessary but not sufficient' because the simple guidelines in this book may not directly address the complexities of your situation. Nevertheless, it's a good place to start for anyone thinking about estate transition.Skeptics might claim that this book is just an extended infomercial for The Williams Group's estate planning ('coaching') services. The authors certainly don't plan to get rich by selling books, but collecting 1% of large estates through advisory fees looks like a more promising approach. It's interesting that the Williams Group website uses the ".org" suffix despite no sign of having applied for 501(c)3 tax-exempt status. If you decide to give them a call, ask what's going on here. I think that there is enough good high-level information in this book to justify reading it, whether or not you conclude that it's just an infomercial.

Easy read

Williams group has done some amazing research to launch the legacy movement. This book contains much of the readable poppets from their huge study of 3,250 families.The reasons families of wealth fail is not what you'd expect. This book outlines real reasons why they do and offers some solutions on how to fix it.

A short and concise book and read really well. I found it great to get some insight into the way family's manage to maintain their wealth successfully. I will ensure I have this available as a handy reference tool in the office. Amazing level of research and very thought provoking. A must ready for successful intergenerational wealth transfer.

This is definitely one of my top 5 go-to books regarding the qualitative aspects of estate planning. The book provides great insight into successful wealth transitions. It is easy to understand, supported by a study of over 3,200 families and summarized very well.As an advisor to families, I quote this book often!

This is a great, well-written book. It includes good food-for-thought for people who want to pass their wealth on so that their heirs have the knowledge and training to keep that wealth.

Excellent book. Recommend it for other families.

informative REGARDING THE CHOUCE OF A COUNSELOR, BUT NOT INFORMATIVE ABOUT THE STEPS NEEDED.

Some very good ideas