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A few times in the past, I have posted stories from real life intended as cautionary tales.  My point was that many families, even very well-advised wealthy families, somehow manage to make a mess of their wealth and business succession.  

The results are almost always the same.  Family conflict and the destruction of family wealth and businesses.  The loss of assets which have taken years of hard work to create.  There is often also complicated and expensive litigation. These are all real problems for real families, but perhaps the saddest thing is that most of them could have been avoided.

I am going to share another such cautionary tale today. However, this time I am going to go one step further and explain what it is that the family in question could have done to prevent the problems from arising in the first place.  This is quite challenging because, of course, every family is different, and there are few, if any, ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions.  However, in this case I am going to try anyway.

Our family this time is the Del Vecchio family of Milan.  

Leonardo Del Vecchio was born into poverty in 1935. His father was a street vegetable seller but died before Leonardo was born.  His mother already had four other children, and young Leonardo grew up in an orphanage.

Despite this challenging start to life, Leonardo went on to found an eyewear business which by the time of his death in 2022 owned some of the world’s most iconic brands including Oakley and Ray-Ban sunglasses.  He was also financially successful. At the time of his death, his wealth was estimated at US$24 billion.

In this case, unlike many other first-generation business creators, Mr Del Vecchio had a plan.  He decided to divide his business into eight equal shares, giving one 12.5% share to each of his six children, his wife, and his stepson.

At first glance, that sounds like a fair approach, treating everyone equally.  I agree that in terms of providing benefit to his family, it is indeed very fair.  The problem though, is that we are not considering just benefit, but also the control, management, and leadership of the business.  If everyone has equal shares, and nobody has a majority, then who’s in control? Who makes decisions?  Who decides on the future of the business?

Not surprisingly, things have not gone well since Mr Del Vecchio’s death, and judging from the media coverage, the result has been a family feud which continues even today. What’s perhaps more concerning is that the disagreements also seem to be stifling the growth of the business at a time when it is facing increasing competitive challenges.  The division of the company might not be the only cause of these disagreements. Life is complicated and people are different, but the equal division probably didn’t help.  

There is no need for me to go into the details but if you want to see how things have gone wrong in practice, you can read more here.

 

What went wrong?

There are a few things that went wrong here.  Mr Del Vecchio seems to have had good intentions, but with the benefit of hindsight, he seems to have missed a few things:

• • Sharing benefit equally is great; sharing control – at least in this way is not
  • We seem to be seeing a lot of disagreement amongst the family members. Did Mr  Del Vecchio consider the different perspectives, situations and goals of family members when he made his plan?

 

How to do it correctly?

A lot of people might look at this case and say “Yes, Mr Del Vecchio should have put the business in a trust. By doing that he could have separated ownership (divided by 8) and control”

That might be true, and it might also be a good end-point, but it’s not the correct beginning point.

Instead the best way to approach this is time-tested and proven.  It’s a step-by-step process that is different for every family but usually looks something like this:

1. 1. Mr Del Vecchio starts by finding an experienced family governance professional to guide him through this process.  It is not a ‘D.I.Y. project ’, and the benefit of experience here is irreplaceable.
      
   2. Mr Del Vecchio starts by meeting with this adviser.  He expresses his vision for the future of his family and his business.  This conversation takes time – needing a minimum of 3-4 hours. It is not something that should be squeezed into a 30-minute meeting slot
      
      The meeting should also focus on Mr Del Vecchio’s values and on the principles that he would like to see applied to the management of the family wealth in the future.  Mr Del Vecchio has the right to do this, the right to set rules that apply even after he is dead.  He earned this right because it was he who created the wealth in the first place.
      
   3. The next step is critical.  The adviser then meets with each of the eight descendants, perhaps in small groups, or more likely individually. The adviser essentially asks them the same questions as she asked Mr Del Vecchio.  She tries to understand everyone’s perspectives and personal priorities.  She is also trying to identify the points on which most people agree and those on which there is disagreement.
      
      Some of the heirs may be excessively passive or may even refuse to cooperate. This process is seldom perfect, but it is often informative
      
      Very importantly, the adviser needs to try to understand how each person sees their future in the family and in the business.  For some, a passive role will be enough, but others may see themselves as leaders or managers of the business. (Not everyone can be the CEO).
   4. The adviser takes all the outputs of these meetings (sometimes 2-3 cycles of meetings) and tries to combine them into some meaningful output which forms the basis for a ‘whole family discussion’ or ‘family forum’.  This big meeting usually takes place somewhere nice and often includes some sort of social / family togetherness aspect.
      
      It can sometimes be challenging as the topics can be sensitive, and having the adviser present as an independent facilitator can be very helpful.
   5. The eventual output of this process should be a document, which we can  call a ‘Family Constitution’  

This document sets answers to these questions:

• • • • Who is our family (and who is not)
      • What are the values that are important to us?
      • What is the future vision for our family – and also if applicable, our family business 
      • What can the family members expect from the family? (i.e. What do I get?)
      • What does our family expect from family members (i.e. What do I have to do to get it?)
      • How do I express my opinions?
      • Who makes decisions?

If all has gone well, this document will be something that everyone, and especially the Founder, agrees with.

Of course it doesn’t always work like that.  Sometimes there are too many different priorities and perspectives, and the best that can be achieved is ‘partial alignment’, with the points of disagreement being resolved by the Founder’s decision.  Remember, it’s his money, so he has the right to do this.  In such a case, we would suggest that all descendants are given a choice.  They can sign the family constitution document, accept its rules and values, and thus be entitled to participate in decision-making.  Alternatively, they can refuse to sign.  In that case, they will continue to be entitled to benefit from the family wealth, but they will have no right to participate in decision-making.

A well-crafted Family Constitution will set out clear rules for who controls the family wealth and family business.  In many cases, the wider family will have a forum for expressing their opinions, but it will be a smaller sub-group that has decision-making power, but always and only if they follow the rules set by the founder and the family constitution.

Another approach to solving these alignment issues is to appoint a ‘protector’. This is an independent person who guides the family in decision-making.  In such cases, the protector also has the power to veto decisions of the family council if they conflict with the wishes of the founder, or the rules of the family constitution,

As you can probably tell, all of this is quite a complicated and time-consuming process.  But if Mr Del Vecchio had only done this, then he might have prevented the feud that followed his death.  Creating family alignment, a shared vision for the future, and clear rules for who makes decisions takes away much of the potential for conflict and argument.  We think that would have been a worthwhile investment.

In our experience, this process, irrespective of outcome, is also really helpful in strengthening communication and relationships within the family.

Whether or not a trust, or other legal structures are then needed is an important question, but in most cases it’s a secondary question.  That’s because the answers will normally already have been provided by the family constitution.

If you would like some help in developing a family alignment in your own family, please get in touch.  We’d be happy to help you get started.

 

Photo by Laura Chouette: https://www.pexels.com/photo/sunglasses-on-trunk-21690887/

Following the success of the last round of this course in Warsaw, I have decided to once again offer it in Prague, this time on 8 October.

Four seats have already been reserved, meaning there are four left.  If you are interested, more details can be found here.

Have you ever spent months building the perfect succession planning structures for a client — only to find that somehow they don’t work quite as well in practice as you thought they would?

It’s probably not your structure that was at fault. It’s more likely that the agenda was set by your client, reflecting his or her vision, ideas and goals, but ignoring the opinions and ideas of the family.

If you force things on people, you cannot be surprised if they don’t buy in.
There is a better way — and it starts with family governance.

On Thursday, 23 April 2026, I’m running a half-day in-person course in Prague: Family Governance, Constitutions and Structuring for Professionals. Click here for more information on the course.

When you think about families from the start, the whole process becomes faster, easier, and far more effective.

The Five Secrets of Enterprising Families

In this month’s article, I would like to continue my series on the most common family success mistakes by sharing the Five Secrets of Enterprising Families,

These were originally developed by Northern Trust in the US[1].  I like Northern Trust and their approach to business, and I wanted to share these useful pointers, which focus on helping parents connect with their children and grandchildren.

The reason they are ‘secrets’ is that they are not that obvious.  They tell you what to do, but also, by implication what it is you should not do (the mistakes you need to avoid).

The secrets are aimed at families who have accumulated wealth and who want to ensure it has a positive (rather than a negative) impact on future generations. They explain that the key to making that impact positive is properly preparing your children and grandchildren for the future.

I can vouch for the validity of these suggestions from my own experience.  They may have been developed in the US, but they are relevant to CEE families.  In fact, because of the way that Communism destroyed family business culture and traditions in our region, they are even more relevant here.

 

Secret 1: Silence Doesn’t Make It Go Away

Families with significant wealth often avoid talking about money. There are many reasons for this: a natural tendency toward privacy, a feeling that the subject is “taboo” or vulgar, or a worry that too much information might negatively affect your children’s motivation.

However, if you don’t communicate with your children, you cannot prepare them for the day that wealth becomes their responsibility.

Effective communication doesn’t mean sharing every bank balance. You should also take into account your children’s ages and their ability to process information maturely. Rather than focusing on the dollars and cents, your goal should be to “normalise” the conversation. Focus not just on what wealth brings, but on the challenges and responsibilities that come with it. This openness helps your children gain a healthy perspective.

Secret 2: Resist the “Carrot and the Stick”

It is very tempting to use money as a tool to enforce specific behaviour. However, doing so often produces the opposite of the intended effect. It is far better for your children to be motivated by a personal desire for success and a determination to achieve in their own right.

Money should be a tool that helps them achieve, not the reason for achieving. It should also not be used as a punishment for failure because it is important to let them make mistakes and learn from them. Using wealth as a “club” to force certain behaviours can create deep-seated negative attitudes toward the family and the wealth itself.

Secret 3: Write It Down — And Communicate

Putting pen to paper is the first step in developing your shared family vision. This isn’t just about the money; it’s about deeper questions:

• • • Who are we as a family?
    • What values define us? What things are important to us all?
    • What role does our family play in the family business (and how does the business ‘fit’ within our family?)
    • What does our family look like in 20 or 50 years?

This should include a two-way discussion: what your children can expect from your family, and what your family expects from them.

In the Czech Republic, I often see “Family Constitutions” treated as top-down decrees—much like Moses descending from Mount Sinai with stone tablets. But if you simply impose your own rules, without discussion, your children usually won’t buy in.

In contrast, a well-communicated, shared vision can truly last for generations – but only if you take the trouble to write it down (and sign it!).

Secret 4: Develop Financial Skills

This is about gradually building the business and financial skill sets your descendants will need. On an obvious level, this could mean supporting appropriate university studies.  However, this needs to be tempered with a recognition that not every child is interested in finance.

Remember too, not all education is academic. I have seen younger grandchildren taken on factory tours so they understand what the family business does and why it matters. Young adults can be given holiday jobs in the family business.  They can also be given the chance to practice making financial decisions with real outcomes but limited downside. Supporting an adult child’s start-up is a great use of wealth—provided the business plan is realistic.  Other adult children benefit from working in your family business, or even better, in other companies in similar business sectors.

Secret 5: Anticipate Conflict and Find Common Ground

This is perhaps the most challenging of the secrets in practice. While the first generation is still around, things seem simple because you are there and you can steer things in the correct direction.

But what about the future? In 30 or 50 years, your family will be much larger, with more members and a much wider set of views. Even the best set of rules will struggle to cope with a changing world and a wide range of opinions.

As I mentioned in my last article, this is why clearly expressed shared values are much better than prescriptive rules. Defining, and agreeing these values means your family can adapt to change and reduce conflict by focusing on them – rather than the strict letter of the law.

A lot of this conversation connects with the idea of a family constitution. If you are a business family wondering about the transition from one generation to the next, then writing a constitution is a great place to start.  A well written constitution will cover the topics above – and more.

Not every family constitution indicates the need for a succession plan using trusts, foundations etc.   Sometimes the constitution itself is all the roadmap that you need.

On the other hand, if you do, then go through the process of setting up legal structures and mechanisms, a good constitution will make that process much easier  – saving a lot of money and greatly simplifying the process.

 

What next?

I am happy to help you develop your own family constitution.

Sometimes I can be directly involved as ‘a facilitator’ at a family meeting.  This can be especially helpful if there is already some level of conflict within the family – as I can guide the process and act as an independent intermediary.

But more often, this is a ‘do it yourself’ project.  If you do decide to go that way, please let me know.  I would be happy to send you some (free of charge) worksheets which will provide an agenda for your family discussions.

As with many things in life, it is not so important how exactly you start.  What is important is that you do start.

[1] https://www.northerntrust.com/united-states/institute/five-secrets-of-enterprising-families

I am looking forward to speaking at this year’s STEP Bratislava conference.

This will be a repeat of last year’s inaugural conference, only bigger and better!

The full program is here.

I would like to highlight the forthcoming APRSF Seminar for Trust Professionals — at which I am delighted not to be speaking 😁

If you’re advising Czech families, you can’t afford to “sort of” understand trusts and private family foundations. This seminar offers a deep dive into what Czech lawyers, tax advisers, and other professionals truly need to know to advise clients confidently and competently in this area.

The course is delivered in Czech (and can also be made available in English, subject to demand). The next session will take place on 15–16 April.
If you are a Czech professional and want to provide confident, competent, and up-to-date advice — not guesswork — I encourage you to register.

I am looking forward to speaking at this year’s STEP Hungary conference. It’s always a pleasure to be in Budapest.

https://www.stephungary2026.hu/event/step-hungary-conference-2026-budapest-8/register

Margaret Thatcher once said:

“Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides.”

Like many successful people, she recognised that one of the secrets to success is to clearly and precisely set out your position.  In her world, and in the minds of many other successful people, ambiguity is the enemy and precision is the key.  It is not surprising that many of my successful family business succession clients share this view.

In addition to being focused, successful business owners tend to be strong, determined and decisive people.

As a family business owner, it may be that these characteristics also apply to your own success in business.  However, when you apply them to the future of your family wealth, they can sometimes lead to problems.

The reason is that when you make normal business decisions, you do so based on a clear understanding of the current situation. Your decisions are implemented immediately or soon, and you are always around to adjust if things go wrong.

In contrast, the family wealth management decisions you make today are not implemented tomorrow, but rather in 20 years’ time, or 50 years’ time, in a different world, and sometimes after you are no longer around to make adjustments if they are needed.

 

The Problem

Here’s an example of a simple and precise rule:

Distributions from the family wealth to my descendants will not be permitted if the distribution exceeds the amount that the person is earning from gainful employment.

I love the logic that underlies this rule.  The idea is to give effect to what I call the Warren Buffett principle:

“I want to give my kids just enough so that they would feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing.”

The logic here is that, in order to benefit from the trust, your children need to work, and the harder they work, the more they can benefit.  In contrast, children who do nothing won’t get anything from the family wealth at all.

A great rule, right?

Yes, until you apply it to the real world.  Consider people who take lower-paid jobs because they prioritise personal fulfilment over money.  So if one child takes a job as a primary school teacher while another is working as an investment banker, then should we ‘value’ the investment banker’s work more, simply because she makes more money?

What about if one of them then loses their spouse in an accident and gives up work to care full-time for their children?  No gainful employment means no distribution from the family wealth.  Is that what you would have actually wanted?

Here are some more rules that look great at first glance, but do not stand up well to ‘stress testing’

• • Only blood descendants may benefit from the family wealth.
  • Do not sell XYZ Ltd before 2075 and then only with the consent of 75% or more of my descendants living at that time.
  • The duration of the trust is fixed at 75 years.
  • The holiday home shall be maintained for the exclusive use of family members.
  • No married descendant may receive a distribution unless they have a prenuptial agreement that prevents their spouse from benefiting from the family wealth in the event of divorce.
  • Pay 10 million to Anna when she reaches the age of 25.
  • Distribute no more than 10% of the profit generated by the business each year to the beneficiaries.
  • Anything else which includes a fixed amount or percentage.

I see rules like this all the time.

(If you are having trouble working out what is wrong with these rules, try imagining a range of ‘what if’ scenarios, or get in touch and I will explain).

The First Solution – Documentation

There is no need for you to compromise on your requirements.  You are the one who created the wealth and it your absolute right to decide what to do with it.  The secret to success is not necessarily to change the rules, but rather to change how they are expressed.

In a well-designed family dynasty structure, you will find a range of different documents.  For example, if there is a family trust, then there will be a trust deed or trust statute.  There will also normally be a family constitution and a letter of wishes.

All of these documents are places where you can express your rules, but there is a difference;

The Trust Deed or Foundation Articles

The trust deed and similar documents such as Foundation Articles are relatively ‘public’ documents.  In most cases, beneficiaries have the right to see these documents, and they are also often filed with regulators.  The other important thing about these documents is that they are absolutely binding on your trustees.

If you put a rule that says “Pay 10 million to Anna when she reaches the age of 25” then Anna will be able to see that rule and will know that 10 million is coming her way, for sure.  Does that knowledge have a positive influence on her life?

Even worse, because the rule is expressed in your trust deed, then your trustees must make the payment, no matter if doing so would actually produce a nonsensical result.  So they will pay her the money even if she is struggling with drug addiction, even if she is in the middle of a messy divorce, even if she is bankrupt.

Finally, what will be the real value of 10 million at the relevant time.  If the distribution is going to be made next year, then it’s clear enough. But what if Anna is only five now. Will 10 million be a lot of money in 20 years?  Enough to buy a house?  Enough to buy a car? Maybe just a bicycle?

It is a good rule, but strict application can lead to bad results.

Because you made a fixed rule, you took away your trustees’ ability to apply common sense.

And that’s the thing; a good trustee wants to try to put himself or herself in your shoes when you are no longer around and try to make the decision as you would have made it.  Fixed rules like this take away this ability of the trustees and the chance for them to use common sense.

The Family Constitution or Letter of Wishes

These are much better places to put these rules.  Why? Because the rules you put in these documents are ‘sort of binding’ on your trustees but not absolutely binding.  Without going into too much detail, a good structure will have strong mechanisms to make sure your rules are obeyed, but the difference with these documents is that they also allow for the application of logic and common sense. In other words, if it turns out that your well-intentioned rule is going to deliver a nonsensical result, the trustee can decide not to apply it.  They will be able to do this only after careful discussion, documentation and decision, usually with the support of the protector, and only for a very good reason.

By simply moving most of the rules above from the trust deed (hard rules) to the letter of wishes (still hard, but slightly less hard), most of the problems are solved.

The trust deed should generally not contain more than the absolute minimum of immutable detail.  Please resist the (admittedly very strong) temptation to add lists of detailed rules.  Doing so almost inevitably ends in tears.

Most of our problems are solved.  But not all of them.

The second solution – Guidance

Let’s go back to our original example:

Distributions from the family wealth to my descendants will not be permitted if the distribution exceeds the amount that the person is earning from gainful employment.

Let’s assume we have moved this from the trust deed to the letter of wishes.  That’s a good first step.  If I am your trustee, I am now free to use common sense in the application of the rule.

But how do I do that? I now have freedom to avoid obviously unfair results, which is great, but what about our example of the schoolteacher and the investment banker?  How should I deal with this?  The truth is that I do not know. I do not have enough information.  The words above are not enough to guide me on their own.

For example, perhaps you value money over personal fulfilment. Perhaps you think it’s right that the investment banker receives more than the teacher.   Personally, I don’t agree with that approach, but if I am a trustee, it is your view that matters.  It’s your family and your money, not mine.

So how can I know what you really want?

In practice, as a trustee, it is my job to find out in advance.  I need to meet with you, talk these scenarios through, take copious notes, and ideally get you to sign off on my notes.  Then, once you are gone, I, or the future trustees, will know what to do.

So we have come full circle.  Don’t make precise rules.  Instead, it is better to provide softer guidelines but with precise guidance.

Putting it into practice

If you have strict rules in your foundation or trust, or you are thinking about including them, I am very happy to help you review how best to achieve what you actually want without creating unnecessary problems in the future.

Please get in touch – I am always happy to have a chat.

 

Thank you Helena Svárovská and J&T Family Office for the opportunity to talk not just about STEP but also how the Czech succession planning sector compares with the rest of the world.

https://www.jtbank.cz/clanky/inspirace/j3i2devfqb-james-turnbull-predavani-uz-neni-jen-zalezitost-synu-ale-cele-rodiny