Taking the "Awkward" Out of Financial Conversations with Family
As business leaders, we spend years preparing our companies for the future.
We create strategic plans.
Develop future leaders.
Protect the business.
Build wealth.
But how much time do we spend preparing our families?
Pam and I recently realized that while our kids had watched us live out our values over the years, we'd never intentionally sat down to explain why.
Why stewardship matters.
Why generosity is one of our family's core values.
Why we believe everything we have is entrusted to us, not owned by us.
So this past week we gathered four generations around one table.
Our purpose wasn't to discuss inheritances or investments. It was to share the stories that shaped our family, honor Pam's parents for the legacy they've modeled, and begin preparing our kids and grandkids to become wise stewards themselves.
Was it a perfect presentation?
Not even close.
But perfection wasn't the goal.
Starting the conversation was.
We've learned that legacy isn't transferred through legal documents alone. It's transferred through conversations, stories, shared experiences, and the intentional passing of values from one generation to the next.
As business owners, many of us have succession plans for our companies.
Do we have one for our families?
If you've been putting off "those conversations" because they feel awkward, I'd encourage you to start anyway. You don't have to cover everything in one evening. You simply have to open the door.
One conversation today can shape generations tomorrow.
Thank you to Jack Hansen and the Hansen Wealth Management Group for walking alongside us during this meaningful discussion, and to Bill High of Legacy Stone for helping us think intentionally about building a family legacy rooted in faith, stewardship, and purpose.
The greatest inheritance we leave our family may not be the wealth we build, but the wisdom and values we intentionally pass on.
Rusty Fulling