For many affluent families, the issue of effectively transferring assets from matriarchs and patriarchs to kids and grandkids is a key part of their wealth planning efforts. In seeking to draw lessons from the Super Rich, let's examine how they "pass the baton" when it comes to one very specific aspect of their wealth—single-family offices, which are entities established and run to address the financial and lifestyle concerns of extremely wealthy families.

Think for a moment about how hard you have worked to build your company and your personal wealth over time. It feels great, doesn’t it? The last thing you want to do is lose that wealth due to the carelessness or maliciousness of other people. That’s why it makes sense to consider putting asset protection planning (APP) strategies in place—or, if you already use them, evaluating whether what you’ve currently got is still capable of doing what you want it to do!

How confident are you that your planning is set up to deliver the results you expect, want and need? If you’re even the least bit uncertain, it may be time for a stress test.

You probably expect to use your wealth to take care of your family in the here and now—health care, travel, college tuition and the like. But chances are you haven’t thought nearly as much about positioning your assets so they’re ready and able to help the people you love after you’re gone. Even if you have made some headway in this area, your plan for your estate is probably a little—and maybe a lot—out of date. If that describes your situation, don’t fret. Even if you have many moving parts to your finances, you can get on track by focusing on two main areas of estate planning: wills and trusts. Here’s how to do it.

A little-discussed change in education funding legislation now makes it easier for grandparents to give. When Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 in December 2020, it made some significant tweaks to education planning – some good (a simplified FAFSA form!), some not so good (the removal of an aid benefit when multiple children attend college simultaneously).

The pandemic has impacted people’s financial lives in ways both large and small. For many of us, it’s changed how we spend our money, and therefore how we accumulate and use those oh-so-desirable rewards doled out by our credit card companies, travel reward programs and the like.